John Woodland Morris (September 10, 1921 – August 20, 2013) was an American

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

who became

Chief of Engineers The Chief of Engineers is a principal United States Army staff officer at The Pentagon. The Chief advises the Army on engineering matters, and serves as the Army's topographer and proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs. ...

. Morris was born in

Princess Anne, Maryland Princess Anne is a town in Somerset County, Maryland, United States, that also serves as its county seat. Its population was 3,290 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland–Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is hom ...

. He graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in June 1943 and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he commanded an airfield construction company in the Western Pacific. After the war he served in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, in the Corps' Savannah District, and as area engineer at Goose Bay,

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

. In 1960–62 he commanded the divisional 8th Engineer Battalion in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. Morris headed the Corps'

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

District in 1962–65 as it improved navigation on the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

. During the peak years of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, he was the Army's Deputy Chief of Legislative Liaison (1967–69), and he commanded the

18th Engineer Brigade The 18th Engineer Brigade (Theater Army) was an engineer brigade of the United States Army. It was a subordinate unit of 21st Sustainment Command (Theater) and was last headquartered at Conn Barracks in Schweinfurt, Germany. Soldiers of the 18th ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

(1969–70). He was then

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

Division Engineer for two years, the Corps' Director of Civil Works for three years, and Deputy Chief of Engineers in 1975–76. As

, Morris convinced the Army to include the Corps of Engineers among its major commands. Morris obtained a master's degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. He died in 2013, aged 91.

Awards and decorations

His military awards included the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation, state or country. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in act ...

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

with three

Oak Leaf Cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...

s, the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and the

Defense Meritorious Service Medal The Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, it is worn between the Purple ...

. General Morris was selected Construction's Man of the Year for 1977 by the ''Engineering News-Record'' for his work to oversee $17 billion in construction in Saudi Arabia. In 1996, he received the Carroll H. Dunn Award of Excellence from the

Construction Industry Institute The Construction Industry Institute (CII), based at The University of Texas at Austin, is a non-profit consortium of more than 130 owner, engineering-contractor, and supplier firms from both the public and private arenas. The group aims to enhan ...

.Construction Industry Institute
. Retrieved February 26, 2014. * Distinguished Service Medal ribbon

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

with three oak leaf clusters *

References

*''This article contains

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

text from'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, John W. 1921 births 2013 deaths Military personnel from Maryland United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel People from Princess Anne, Maryland United States Army personnel of World War II American expatriates in the Philippines American expatriates in Japan