Robert John Fleming Jr. (January 13, 1907 – July 14, 1984) was Governor of the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the ter ...

from 1962 to 1967.

Biography

Fleming was born at

Fort Robinson Fort Robinson is a former U.S. Army fort and now a major feature of Fort Robinson State Park, a public recreation and historic preservation area located west of Crawford on U.S. Route 20 in the Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska. The ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

on January 13, 1907 to Augusta and Robert John Fleming, an 1891 graduate of the

United States Military Academy at West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. As a military dependent, he attended three different high schools and graduated with honors at the age of fifteen. Fleming then studied at the

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

for two years before entering the U.S. Military Academy in July 1924. He graduated in June 1928 and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers before earning an B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

in June 1931. Fleming was assigned to the headquarters of the Hawaiian Department before and after the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, serving as staff engineer and special assistant to Lieutenant Generals Charles D. Herron,

Walter C. Short Walter Campbell Short (March 30, 1880 – September 3, 1949) was a lieutenant general (temporary rank) and major general of the United States Army and the U.S. military commander responsible for the defense of U.S. military installations in ...

and

Delos C. Emmons Delos Carleton Emmons (January 17, 1889 – October 3, 1965) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army. Essentially a "desk general," he was the military governor of Hawaii in the aftermath of the Attack on Pearl Harbor and administered t ...

. He remained 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, ...

as an engineering officer until 1954, his

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

service including duty in the Pacific Theater before a series of staff posts in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Fleming graduated from the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

in 1951. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1955 and major general in 1961. After a period in public service that included a three-year sojourn in public service in France, Fleming was appointed by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

as Governor of the

in 1962. His tenure in charge had also seen the most comprehensive survey of the canal with the intention of widening it, the inauguration of the ''Panama Canal Spillway'' newspaper and the opening of the Thatcher Ferry Bridge. Fleming retired in February 1967 to take up a position as Executive Vice President for a company in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Fleming died in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...

on July 14, 1984. He was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

beside his parents and wife.

Awards and decorations

His years of military and public service came with several awards. He was given the

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

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, 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 ...

, the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

, the

Order of the White Lion The Order of the White Lion ( cs, Řád Bílého lva) is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia had no civilian decoration for its ...

from

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

from France and the Order of Grand Cross, Condecoration Vasco Nuñez de Balboa from Panama for his various and varied public services.

References

External links

Panama Canal Authority biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Robert John 1907 births 1984 deaths Phillips Exeter Academy alumni United States Military Academy alumni United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel MIT School of Engineering alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Legion of Honour National War College alumni United States Army generals Governors of the Panama Canal Zone Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Burials at Arlington National Cemetery