John C. H. Lee | |
|---|---|
 John Clifford Hodges Lee | |
| Birth name | John Clifford Hodges Lee |
| Nickname(s) | Jesus Christ Himself |
| Born | 1 August 1887 Junction City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | 30 August 1958 (aged 71) York, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1909–1947 |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
| Service number | 0–2582 |
| Unit | United States Army Corps of Engineers |
| Commands | 2d Infantry Division Services of Supply (ETO) Communications Zone (ETO) Mediterranean Theater |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Legion of Merit Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Britain) Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor (France); Croix de Guerre with Palm (France) Commander of the Order of Merit Maritime (France) Commander of the Order of Merite Agricole (France) Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown with Palm (Belgium) Croix de Guerre with Palm (Belgium) Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown (Luxembourg) Croix de Guerre (Luxembourg) Grand Officer of the Order of Adolph of Nassau (Luxembourg) Grand Cordon of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italy) Military Order of Italy Papal Lateran Cross |
| Other work | Episcopalian Layman |
John Clifford Hodges Lee (1 August 1887 – 30 August 1958) was a career US Army engineer, who rose to the rank of lieutenant general and commanded the Communications Zone (ComZ) in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.
A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, with the class of 1909, Lee assisted with various domestic engineering navigation projects as well as in the Panama Canal Zone, Guam and the Philippines. During World War I, he served on the Western Front on the staff of the 82d and 89th Divisions and earned promotions to major, lieutenant colonel and colonel as well as the Silver Star Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal and the Croix de Guerre from the French government.
After World War I, Lee served again in the Philippines, then became District Engineer of the Vicksburg District, responsible for flood control and navigation for a section of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. During the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, he directed relief work, attempted to shore up the levees, and coordinated the evacuations of towns and districts. He then directed various engineer districts around Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the Great Depression.
As World War II began, Lee received a promotion to brigadier general and command of the Pacific coast embarkation zones, then of the 2d Infantry Division. Promoted to command the Services of Supply in the European Theater of Operations after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he helped support Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of Northwest Africa, and Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy. The Services of Supply were merged with the European Theater of Operations, United States Army to form ComZ, which supported the advance across France and the Allied Invasion of Germany. Lee received many awards for his service from various Allied countries. A man of strong religious convictions, he urged that African-Americans be integrated into what was then a segregated Army.