Jackson Graham (June 27, 1915 – March 2, 1985) was a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

of the Army Corps of Engineers in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and was the first general manager for the

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...

(WMATA).

Early life and education

He was born in

Mosier, Oregon Mosier is a city along the Columbia River in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 433 at the 2010 census. History Mosier was first settled in 1854 and incorporated as a city in 1914. The building now known as the post office ...

, and during high school he joined his father, a bridge construction foreman on the construction of the main piers of the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...

as well as several other projects. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

in 1936. He was student body president at OSU during his senior year and served in the

Reserve Officers Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

Military service

Finishing in the top 3 percent on an army exam, he won a regular army engineering commission. He served with two combat engineer units in the

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

during World War II and commanded three heavy pontoon battalions at

Remagen Remagen ( ) is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the ...

. He gained the temporary rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

just days before

V-E day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, he commanded two engineer aviation groups. In the early 1950s, he served as the Corps of Engineers' chief of personnel. Later in his career he was district engineer in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, and then in 1963 as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

he became commander of the Ohio River Division, in charge of all civil and military construction for 14 states. He became a

in 1965 and was posted to Director of Civil Works. However, also in 1966, he underwent

open-heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to corr ...

to replace his

Aortic Valve The aortic valve is a valve in the heart of humans and most other animals, located between the left ventricle and the aorta. It is one of the four valves of the heart and one of the two semilunar valves, the other being the pulmonary valve. The ...

and retired in 1967 from the army with full disability.

WMATA General Manager

Jackson and his wife, Mabel Lee were planning a retirement in the motor home when approached by WMATA Chairman Walter Tobriner and NCTA Administrator Walter McCarter about taking the position of General Manager. Accepting after repeated pleas and after satisfying himself that the subway was going to be built, he accepted and was sworn in on March 17, 1967. He retired in late 1975.

Honors

* Oregon State University Distinguished Service Award (1977) * Inductee into Oregon Stater Engineering Hall of Fame (1999)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Jackson 1915 births 1985 deaths Oregon State University alumni Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority general managers United States Army personnel of World War II