Born in Springfield, Illinois on September 24, 1933. The second of thirteen children, he dropped out of high school and in 1949, just after his sixteenth birthday, lied about his age and joined the 44th Infantry Division, Illinois National Guard. He was assigned to the 106th Tank Battalion and despite his youth, his leadership potential was recognized and he received several promotions. His division, the 44th, was activated in February 1952. Creviston was sent to Korea in Nov. 1952 and served with the 7th Infantry Division, assigned to the 31st Regimental Tank Company as a platoon sergeant in a tank platoon. Wounded during the battle of Pork Chop Hill, he spent a month in the hospital, then returned to the heart of the fighting. When he rotated out of Korea in Nov. 1953, he returned to Springfield, married Pat, the girl for whom his tank was named, and worked in construction. He also remained in the National Guard, earning high school and college degrees and participating in advanced military training. In 1980, Jim served full time in the Illinois Army National Guard Operations and Training office, where he managed the Skill Qualification Testing program. He retired at age sixty after twenty-one years of active service and forty-three years of total service.
From the description of An interview with James Creviston / James Creviston ; Lee Patton, interviewer. 2008. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 226967619
