Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg

Military officer Lieutenant General Arthur J. Gregg was born on May 11, 1928 in Florence, South Carolina to Ethel Howard Gregg and Robert Lee Gregg. He attended the Chicago College of Medical Technology in 1945 and graduated from the Quartermaster Basic Officers’ Course in 1950, Quartermaster Advanced Officers’ Course in 1959, and Army Command and General Staff College in 1964. In 1965, Gregg received his B.S. degree in business administration from St. Benedict's College in Atchison, Kansas. He then graduated from the Army War College in 1968. In 1978, Gregg attended Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Gregg enlisted in the United States Army in 1945 as a medical laboratory technician and became involved in supply logistics while supporting the reconstruction of post-war Germany. He also became involved in the desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces, personally desegregating the Fort Lee Officers Club in Fort Lee, Virginia in the 1950s. Gregg oversaw a supply depot in Japan, commanded a supply and support battalion in Vietnam, and served in several other assignments in Germany throughout the Cold War, including leading the Army and Air Force Exchange System. At the height of his service, he served as logistics director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as deputy chief of staff for logistics for the U.S. Army. Gregg retired from the Army after thirty-five years of service in 1981 as the Army’s highest-ranking minority general. Afterwards, he became president of the management company UCI, Inc. in 1982 and vice president and general manager of Cox Cable in New Orleans in 1984.

Gregg’s service outside of the Army included serving as president of the Morgan State University ROTC Enhancement Team; chairing Excelsior College, the Opportunity Funding Corporation, and the University of the State of New York board of regents; and serving on the boards of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Quartermaster Foundation, the Association of the United States Army, Mission Readiness, the ROCKS, Inc., the National Veterans Coalition, Mission: Readiness—Military Leaders for Kids, Readyone Industries, Ability One Program, and Higher Achievement Program.

Gregg has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including induction into the Quartermaster Hall of Fame, the General Creighton W. Abrams Medal, the Distinguished Order of Saint Martin and the Ancient Order of Saint Martin, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, a Meritorious Unit Citation, and an honorary doctorate from Excelsior College. In 2016, the Army established the LTG Arthur J. Gregg Sustainment Leadership Award. In 2023, the U.S. Army renamed Fort Lee, Virginia to Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams.

Gregg currently resides in Dumfries, Virginia. He and his late wife, Charlene S. Gregg, had two daughters, Sandra Gregg and Alicia Collier.

Lieutenant General Arthur J. Gregg was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on June 7, 2022.