Lieutenant General Lewis Andrew Pick (November 18, 1890 – December 2, 1956) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer who served as

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. ...

in the

Early life

Pick was born in

Brookneal, Virginia Brookneal is an incorporated town in Campbell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,090 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Lynchburg, Virginia, Lynchburg Lynchburg metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. History O ...

. He was part of the first graduating class of Rustburg High School in 1910 and attended VPI, graduating in 1914. Pick received his Regular Army commission in the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

on July 1, 1917.

Military career

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Pick served with the 23rd Engineers in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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 ...

from 1921 until 1923 and helped organize The 14th Engineer Regiment

Philippine Scouts The Philippine Scouts ( Filipino: ''Maghahanap ng Pilipinas''/''Hukbong Maghahanap ng Pilipinas'') was a military organization of the United States Army from 1901 until after the end of World War II. These troops were generally Filipinos and ...

, largely composed of Filipino soldiers. He was the Corps of Engineers' District Engineer in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

during the

Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with inundated in depths of up to over the course of several months in early 1927. The period cost of the damage has been estimate ...

, and he helped coordinate federal relief efforts. Pick was named

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 in 1942, and with William Glenn Sloan of the

Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it ...

he co-wrote the Pick-Sloan Plan for controlling the water resources of the Missouri River Basin. Pick carefully wrote his plan to avoid flooding Bismarck and

Williston, North Dakota Williston is a city in and the county seat of Williams County, North Dakota, United States. The 2020 census gave its population as 29,160, making Williston the sixth-most populous city in North Dakota. The city's population nearly doubled betwe ...

, along with Pierre and

Chamberlain, South Dakota Chamberlain is a city in Brule County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the east bank of the Missouri River, at the dammed section of the Lake Francis Case, close to where it is crossed by Interstate 90. The population of Chamberl ...

, but intentionally flooded the entire productive acreage of the

Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (MHA Nation), also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan language, Mandan: ''Miiti Naamni''; Hidatsa language, Hidatsa: ''Awadi Aguraawi''; Arikara language, Arikara: ''ačitaanu' táWIt''), is a fede ...

, some 155,000 acres, supporting 349 families of 1,544 individuals.

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...

Julius Albert Krug ordered compensation in the form of an equal amount of acreage on lesser lands, at-cost hydroelectric power for irrigation, grazing and watering rights for tribal cattle, and $5,105,625 in payment for lost lands. Colonel Pick revoked this order and all its compensations, then denied the Three Tribes all access to the reservoir which would flood their lands, including the rights to fish, water their cattle, or cut any timber from the land to be flooded. The tribes were likewise forbidden to hire legal counsel with any compensatory money they might receive. The revised plan was approved by Krug. Forced to sign the Pick-Sloan Plan contract, George Gillette, leader of the Three Tribes' business council
openly wept
Colonel Pick was assigned to the

China Burma India Theater of World War II China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States Armed Forces, United States military designation during World War II for the Second Sino-Japanese War, China and South-East Asian theatre of World War II, Southeast Asian or India–Bu ...

in October 1943, replacing Brigadier General John C. Arrowsmith as Chief Road Engineer. He oversaw construction of the

Ledo Road The Ledo Road () was an overland connection between British India and China, built during World War II to enable the Western Allies to deliver supplies to China and aid the war effort against Japan. After the Japanese cut off the Burma Ro ...

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. His driving force enabled the difficult task to be completed in two and a half years. His men nicknamed the road "Pick's Pike". After his return to the United States in 1945, he served again as Missouri River Division Engineer. On March 1, 1949,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

appointed him

. Pick was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal with

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 ...

. Pick City, North Dakota, located by the

Garrison Dam Garrison Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Missouri River in central North Dakota, U.S. Constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1947 to 1953, at over in length, the dam is the fifth-largest earthen dam in the world. The res ...

on the

was founded in 1946 and named for him.

Pickstown, South Dakota Pickstown is a town in southern Charles Mix County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 230 at the 2020 census. It was named after U.S. Army General Lewis A. Pick, former director of the Missouri River Office of the United States ...

, located by the Fort Randall Dam was also named for him. He died in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and was buried in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama. The population was 76,143 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Auburn metropolitan area, Alabama, Aubu ...

Personal life

Pick attended and played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Virginia Polytechnic Institute The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, and graduated in 1914. He was initiated into

Theta Chi Theta Chi () is an international men's college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856, at Norwich University then-located in Norwich, Vermont. It has initiated more than 215,000 members and has over 8,900 collegiate members across North A ...

fraternity in 1924 at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

, where he was a professor of military science and tactics. Pick married Alice Cary, one of the founding members of the Sigma Lambda chapter of

Kappa Delta Kappa Delta (, also known as KD or Kaydee) is an American collegiate social sorority. Established in 1897, it was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University), in Farmville, Virginia. Kappa Delta is one ...

sorority at Auburn. In 1948, Pick was elevated to National Honor Member by Chi Epsilon national civil engineering honor society. The Lewis Andrew Pick Birthplace is a contributing property in the Brookneal Historic District.

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''
Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pick, Lewis A. 1890 births 1956 deaths Military personnel from Virginia United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army generals Virginia Tech Hokies football players People from Brookneal, Virginia Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel United States Army generals of World War II

Early life

Military career

Personal life

See also

References