Nicholas Stephen Hordij Krawciw was born in Lviv, Ukraine, at a time of deep political unrest. To avoid Soviet occupation and persecution his family pulled up stakes and moved progressively west for the next several years—into the emerging Second World War. At one time they were passengers on the last small boat crossing a river at night, under fire, as advancing Soviet forces closed in. They passed through Poland, Slovakia, Austria and, after enduring two years of Allied bombing in Berlin, found a home in Bavaria. It was there, in 1945, that 9-year-old Nick watched in awe as General Patton’s Third Army rolled through his village, setting the region free. That sight and the liberation that it brought inspired young Nick to his calling as a soldier, and as a leader.

In 1949 the family immigrated to the United States, where they joined the Ukrainian-American community in Philadelphia, PA. Nick’s prowess and perseverance paved the way to Bordentown Military Institute, U.S. citizenship, and an appointment to West Point, where on July 5, 1955 he became a soldier in the U.S. Army. As a cadet, Nick graduated in the top third of his class, was a mainstay on the varsity Soccer Team, and was a standout in military aptitude as cadet regimental commander in his final year, the second-ranking member of the Class of 1959.

Following graduation and commissioning, Nick married Christina Kwasowska, also born in Lviv, but whom he only met in the United States during Ukrainian “Plast” (scouting) summer camps while in high school. So began a distinguished 31-year career of Army and family adventures. One of the first members of his class to go to Vietnam, Nick was severely wounded in an ambush in the Delta. Several soldiers riding with him died. After recuperating and while commanding a cavalry troop at Fort Hood, TX, he was inspired to co-develop an advanced armor protective system for ground vehicles, and later for other transports as well. He returned to Vietnam for a year of intense fighting along the DMZ, where he was instrumental in devising new tactics and countermeasures against the enemy and was awarded three Silver Stars. 

In other tours, Nick served in Bad Hersfeld, Germany (where daughter Alex was born); at the Armor School at Fort Knox, KY (where son Andy was born); as a tactical officer at West Point; then, in 1972, in Israel for two years as the chief operations officer for the UN Truce Supervision Organization, with responsibilities for outposts both on the Golan Heights and in the Negev during the Yom Kippur War.

Next, Nick commanded the 1st Squadron, 2nd ACR in Germany and became involved in rebuilding the Army in the post-Vietnam era. His year at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University (for Army War College credit) and then at the Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Monroe, VA (where son Paul was born) yielded seminal work on maneuver doctrine that helped transform the way the Army fought, organized, and trained—ideas contributing to victories in later major combat operations and smaller contingencies. With his trajectory set, Nick assumed a series of more senior assignments: brigade commander in the 3rd Armored Division, participant in the senior seminar at Department of State, and military assistant to the deputy secretary of defense. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1984 and successively became the assistant division commander of the 3rd Infantry Division; executive officer to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe; and, in 1987 as a major general, returned to the 3rd ID as commanding general—a tour which always held special significance for him for his closeness to the soldiers. Nick retired from the Army in 1990 as director of NATO policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Because of his Ukrainian background, military experience, and the trust he engendered, Nick was called to assist newly independent Ukraine to reorganize, reeducate, and restructure its military along Western lines. Including a year in Kyiv, through 2006 he advised the secretary of defense, contributing to the transformation of a Soviet era force to one functioning under democratic standards. The justification and fruition of these efforts manifested in the Ukrainian army refusing to intervene against the Orange Revolution that overturned the fraudulent election of 2004, and in its indomitable spirit and skill defending against the Russian invasion of February 24, 2022.

Alongside his efforts for Ukraine, post-retirement life allowed Nick to engage in another passion: from 1995 to 2015 he chaired the Board of the Dupuy Institute, dedicated to historical research on military campaigns.

In recognition of his accomplishments, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America awarded Nick the Shevchenko Freedom Award in 2004. The West Point Association of Graduates awarded him the Distinguished Graduate Award in 2006.

With gratitude to a nation that provided him unbelievable opportunities, and with rich memories of the friends and soldiers that supported him, Nick fully retired in September 2006. He resided in Tulsa, OK and later at Fort Belvoir, VA, where he died September 29, 2021. He is buried at West Point and was survived by his wife, Christina; daughter Alex (and husband Matt), sons Andy (and wife Samantha) and Paul (and wife Kristin); grandchildren Elijah, Benjamin, Daniel, Annika, and Nicholas; and his sister Maria and brother George. He is pre-deceased by his grandson Kyle.

Anyone who had the good fortune to spend any time with Nick received a generous dose of his kindness, contagious joy, and boyish enthusiasm for life. Rest in peace, Nick. The Long Gray Line grips hands with you.

— Family and classmates