He is also the proud grandfather of MMA sophomore, Steven Cragg. Both Craggs live in Arlington. Ernie Cragg, 80, said he is impressed by his grandson. “The school has done him a great service,” he said. “I’m very proud of him and how much he has achieved and attained here at the school.”

Steven Cragg has earned the Golden Eagle Award, given for maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average, each of the 10 quarters he has been at MMA. He is a military police non-commissioned officer in charge.

He said he wants to either join a special forces unit or become a fighter pilot. The elder Cragg was a fighter pilot, flying two missions during the D-Day Invasion. “There’s something about flying all by yourself,” he said. “You’re the only man in that airplane. You can play with the clouds. You can dive in and out of them. When you go into combat, it’s you and that other guy.”   Ernie Cragg shot down two German planes. “There’s no other exhilaration quite like it - also scary as hell,” he said.

  Back in 1943, Ernie Cragg was riding from Texas on a Harley Davidson when he burned out a piston on the highway in Woodstock. He stopped at a gas station where an older couple called a young man. He sent Ernie Cragg to Roanoke to get some parts. When he came back, the young man fixed the motorcycle. “I have very fond memories [of Woodstock],” Ernie Cragg said. “[Fixing the bike] didn’t cost me a dime except for the pistons. So, Woodstock is a very famous place in my heart.”
 

After World War II, Cragg remained in the military, serving first the U.S. Army and later the U.S. Air Force. He served in the Korean War. The West Point graduate’s military assignments took him to France, England, Italy, and the Pentagon, before he retired in 1975.

It’s only recently that Ernie Cragg started telling stories about his military  experiences. “I never heard any stories about World War II until about the 50th Anniversary [of D-Day],” his son, Edward Cragg, said. “[1994] was the first time he would start talking about it.”

While he has some very pleasant memories from his military career, there are also some terrible ones, Ernie Cragg said. His two brothers also served in World War II. One lost a leg. The other, a flying ace, lost his life at 24.

Ernie Cragg has no qualms, though, about his grandson serving his country. “I don’t worry that it’s a tough, mean world out there,” Ernie Cragg said. “I just figure he’s being prepared to march into that society head high and will be a stalwart citizen.”

Steven Cragg said he’s always wanted to become the best he can be. “I realize perfection isn’t a possibility, and that there’s no shame in not reaching it,” he said. “However, there’s great honor in coming close to it.”

Ed Cragg, 12 March 2006