Draft:Brigadier General John L. Person

Brigadier General John L. Person was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, on December 16th, 1907, and commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers in 1929 upon graduation from the United States Military Academy, West Point. He was an Army Corps of Engineers officer for 30 years, who retired from active service in June 1959, died, Thursday, October 3rd, 1968 of cancer at Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington, D.C.

General Person, was Executive Vice-President of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress, Washington, D.C. since September 1965. From 1959 to 1965 he worked as an Executive Consultant in Louisville, Kentucky. From 1956-1959, he directed the Corps'nation-wide water resources program as Assistant Chief of Engineers for Civil Works, Wahington, D.C. From 1954-1956, he was the Ohio River Division Engineer for the Corps, with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. From 1948-1950, he was District Engineer at Louisville, Kentucky. From 1946-1947, He was Deputy Assistant Chief of Engineers for Civil Works, Washington, D.C.

General Person also received a bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1932. He attended the Technische Hochschule in Berlin, Germany in 1938. He was graduated from the National War College in 1948

Before World War II, General Person served in a variety of assignments, including service in the District Engineer's office in Louisville, Kentucky, and at the U.S Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi. he was Assistant Engineer Commissioner for the District of Columbia 1939 - 1941 and then served for two years in the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Washington, D.C., Military Construction Branch. Overseas, he served as Commanding Officer, of the 355th Engineer General Service Regiment; commanding Officer 359th General Service Regiment; Commanding Officer, of the Military Pipeline Service, and Deputy Chief Engineer, of the European Theater of Operations. As Commander Office of the Military Pipeline Service, General Person was responsible for providing gasoline to General Patton's Command.

General Person's decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, ETO Ribbon with four battle stars, and the Medaille de Reconnaissance (French) General Person was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Society of American Military Engineers, and the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses.

He had one son, John L. Person Jr., of Louisville Kentucky, and was married to Beth Christian, from Mississippi.