Joining the Marines He attended
St. John's Military Academy in
Delafield, Wisconsin, and graduated in 1917. Craig had been in the
Reserve Officer's Training Corps for four years in the academy, and with the outbreak of World War I, he was offered a
commission as a
second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Craig, who was living in
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, at the time, failed two eyesight tests in
Chicago, Illinois, and had to personally plead to the
Commandant of the Marine Corps,
Major General George Barnett, for a third try. He passed his third eye exam and was commissioned on August 23, 1917. In November 1917, Craig was assigned to duty with the
8th Marine Regiment as an
adjutant to the senior staff. He continued officer training there into 1918. His unit was never dispatched to fight in World War I. Instead it was moved to
Fort Crockett in
Galveston, Texas, to safeguard
oil fields in
Tampico and other coastal areas from attack by the
German Empire. The regiment stayed there for 18 months, during which it trained intensely and Craig was promoted to
first lieutenant. In April 1919, Craig was ordered to foreign shore duty in
Haiti. His regiment, along with the
9th Marine Regiment sailed for
Cuba and landed in
Santiago, then
Guantánamo Bay before landing in
Port-au-Prince. The troops were made a part of the
1st Marine Brigade as part of the US contingent during the
occupation of Haiti. He only stayed in Port-au-Prince for a short time, though, before being transferred to the
2nd Marine Brigade during the
occupation of the Dominican Republic. He was placed in command of the 70th Company,
15th Marine Regiment, operating out of
La Romana. There he spent much of his time patrolling the area for bandits and rebels. He spent eight months with the 70th Company before returning to Santo Domingo, being promoted to
captain before returning to first lieutenant due to reorganization in the Marine Corps. He was then transferred to a remote outpost, Vincentillo, where he served for six months. He returned to the United States in December 1921, returning to Quantico before heading to
San Diego, hoping to join new units forming at that city's
newly established base. However, the Marine Corps diverted him to Puget Sound, where there was an opening. where he served as commanding officer of the Marine detachment at the
Puget Sound Naval Ammunition Depot,
Washington state. Craig later said he did not enjoy this duty because of its isolation, and so requested transfer. He was ordered to foreign shore duty in 1922, on this occasion to the
Olongapo Naval Station in the
Philippines. Craig only stayed there briefly, though, as he was again dissatisfied with the station.
Inter-war period , where Craig spent two years as part of the Marine detachment. In February 1924, Craig met a former commanding officer in a chance encounter and was able to trade places with an officer aboard the
Pennsylvania-class cruiser USS Huron, part of the detachment of Marines on that ship. He spent the next two years aboard the ship, traveling throughout the
Pacific Ocean. He later said he looked fondly on these years. During the duty, he also participated in several landings in Asia. Troops from the
Huron were among an international force that landed in
Shanghai, China, in 1924 to protect the
Shanghai International Settlement from rival Chinese armies fighting nearby. This duty lasted a month and Craig's force never saw combat. As it was in the midst of its
Warlord Era, China's scattered international interests were frequently threatened, and Craig again landed in China, and the force was sent to protect the
Peking American Legation from an offensive by the warlord
Wu Peifu. He remained in
Peking for around a month as part of another international force before returning to the
Huron. Craig returned to the United States in March 1926, and was assigned to the
4th Marine Regiment at
San Diego, California, briefly, before being assigned in June of that year as
aide-de-camp to the
Major General Commandant at
Headquarters Marine Corps,
John A. Lejeune, in
Washington, D.C. This post entailed numerous inspection trips and civilian duties with the general, whom Craig later said he liked. Craig remained in this post until Lejeune's retirement in 1929. In May 1929, Craig requested to be moved to
Nicaragua for duty with the
Nicaraguan National Guard. Near the end of 1931, Craig joined the Marine Corps Base at San Diego, California, where he remained until June 1933. During this period, he was on temporary duty in Nicaragua under the State Department from June to November 1932. Following a short interval of three months, during which Craig commanded a Marine detachment at
Disciplinary Barracks, San Diego, he returned to the Marine Corps Base where he was assigned as a company commander in the
6th Marine Regiment,
Fleet Marine Force. In July 1936, he was detailed as the personnel officer in the 2nd Marine Brigade under Colonel
Emile P. Moses. Craig joined the Marine Corps Schools at the Marine barracks in Quantico, Virginia, in July 1937, as a student in the Senior Course. Upon graduation in May the following year, he again returned to the Marine Corps Base at San Diego, where he served as instructor in the
Platoon Leaders' Course, Inspector-Instructor of Reserve Battalion Field Training, and Base Adjutant. From June 1939 to June 1941, he was Marine officer and intelligence officer for
Admiral Ernest King aboard the
aircraft carriers and , and for an interval of four months was stationed at the
Naval Air Station at Pearl Harbor. Here, Craig was often on the move with King's staff as they moved and exercised throughout the Pacific Ocean. During this time, he also served under
Charles Adams Blakely and
William Halsey Jr., each of whom commanded the force for a short time.
World War II In July 1941, he again joined the Marine Base at San Diego and in October the same year was appointed
provost marshal and commanding officer of the Guard Battalion at the base. He remained in the position until October, when he became commanding officer, Service Troops,
3rd Marine Division, and was promoted to
colonel. Craig sailed with the division for the South Pacific in February 1943. Commanding the 9th Marines during the landings at
Bougainville Island in November 1943, Craig led his troops through
Bougainville Campaign for months as they fought Japanese forces on the island. Craig's troops remained on the island until April 1944, when they were pulled back to Guadalcanal to prepare for another operation. For his leadership during the campaign, Craig was awarded the
Bronze Star Medal. The brigade was supported by
Marine Aircraft Group 33. It became a subordinate unit of the
Eighth United States Army under
Lieutenant General Walton Walker, who placed it in his
reserve. When the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade subsequently arrived in Korea, Craig once again became assistant division commander and took part in the landing at Inchon and operations in northeast Korea. The brigade took part in the
Battle of Masan, the
First and
Second Battle of Naktong Bulge and the
Battle of Yongsan during 1950. He was appointed to his present rank in January 1951. In March 1951, he returned to the United States, and assumed duties at Marine Corps Headquarters as director of the Marine Corps Reserve. While commanding the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star Medal, and the Air Medal with Gold Star in lieu of a second award.
Later life Lieutenant General Edward A. Craig served as director of the Marine Corps Reserve prior to his retirement on 1 June 1951, after more than thirty-three years of Marine Corps service. He died on 11 December 1994 at his home in El Cajon, California, at the age of 98. == Awards and decorations ==