The Twenty-First Major Frank B. Creekmore, Jr. Lecture

AuthorJames J. Graham
PositionTrial Attorney in the Fraud Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Pages204-218
204 MILITARY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 205
THE TWENTY-FIRST MAJOR FRANK B. CREEKMORE, JR.
LECTURE
JAMES GRAHAM†‡
This is an edited transcript of a lecture delivered on 19 November 2009 by Mr. James J.
Graham, Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, to attendees of the Government
Contract and Fiscal Law Seminar, members of the staff and faculty of The Judge
Advocate General’s Legal Center and School, their distinguished guests, and officers of
the 58th Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course at The Judge Advocate General’s
Legal Center and School, Charlottesville, Virginia. The Major Frank B. Creekmore
Lecture was established on 11 January 1989. The lecture is designed to assist The Judge
Advocate General’s School in meeting the educational challenges presented in the field
of government contract law.
Frank Creekmore graduated from Sue Bennett College, London, Kentucky, and
from Berea College, Berea, Kentucky. He attended the University of Tennessee School
of Law, graduating in 1933, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif for
scholarly achievement. After graduation, Mr. Creekmore entered the private practice of
law in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1942, he entered the Army Air Corps and was assigned
to McChord Field in Tacoma, Washington. From there, he participated in the Aleutian
Islands campaign and served as the Commanding Officer of the 369th Air Base Defense
Group.
Captain Creekmore attended The Judge Advocate General’s School at the University
of Michigan in the winter of 1944. Upon graduation, he was assigned to Robins Army
Air Depot in Wellston, Georgia, as contract termination officer for the southeastern
United States. During this assignment, he was instrumental in the prosecution and
conviction of the Lockheed Corporation and its president for a $10 million fraud related
to World War II P-38 Fighter contracts. At the War’s end, Captain Creekmore was
promoted to the rank of major in recognition of his efforts.
After the war, Major Creekmore returned to Knoxville and the private practice of
law. He entered the Air Force Reserve in 1947, returning to active duty in 1952 to
successfully defend his original termination decisions. Major Creekmore remained active
as a reservist and retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1969. He died in April
1970.
Mr. Graham is a Trial Attorney in the Fraud Section, Criminal Division, U.S.
Department of Justice. He is a graduate of Boston College, and the University of Texas
Law School. Previous to his current position, Mr. Graham spent eighteen years as a
partner at the Washington, D.C., office of Jones Day. In October 2008, the U.S. Attorney
General awarded Mr. Graham the Distinguished Service Award. In June 2009, the
Department of Justice issued a press release regarding Mr. Graham’s involvement in the
conviction of a military contractor who had stolen large quantities of fuel in Afghanistan.
A subsequent Department of Justice press release, in August 2009, details Mr. Graham’s
recent prosecution of two individuals who pleaded guilty to bribing a U.S. Army
contracting officer in Afghanistan. Mr. Graham has also authored numerous articles.
See, e.g., James Graham, Suspension of Contractors and Ongoing Criminal
Investigations for Contract Fraud, 14 PUB. CONT. L.J.216 (1984); James Graham,
Mischarging: A Contract Dispute of a Criminal Fraud, 15 PUB. CONT. L.J. 208 (1985);
James Graham, Corporate Criminal Liability for the Public Contractor—Are Guidelines
Needed?, 21 NATL CONT. MGMT. L.J. (1988); James Graham, The Qui Tam

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