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 the war , 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
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
John C. H. Lee