Lyman Louis Lemnitzer (1899-1988), American soldier-statesman and respected strategist, was one of the principal post-World War II architects of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP).

Lyman L. ("Lem") Lemnitzer was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, on August 29, 1899, and showed an early interest in mechanical and technical matters. Choosing a military career, he spent a year of study beyond high school to prepare for a U.S. Military Academy appointment, which he received in June 1918. He graduated in 1920, 86th in a class of 271, with physics his best subject. Vicissitude was a hallmark of Lemnitzer's early career, but he would later say that nothing in the service ever caused him to "blow his top" or even consider it. Yet after the class of 1920 were "graduated cadets" and appointed first lieutenants, he and many of his classmates were, eight months later, reduced to second lieutenants...