Engineer Memoirs
I think FEMA had to happen, simply because there were so many things that needed to be
done that were beyond the authority of the Chief of Engineers. It was a stretch, to take public
works money and use it, even though the law said you could use public funds which had been
appropriated for other purposes to reduce loss of life and hazards-I don't recall the exact
wording. That was the intent of it, but it's quite a stretch to get from there to supplying homes
and that sort of thing and the cleanup.
Agnes was a major event. In the years that followed we had several more, major disasters. Our
experience with Agnes provided the needed confidence to make decisions later.
Q ..
Let me ask a couple of follow-on Agnes questions. Several of the things that you
mentioned-trailers and things like that-have become sort of standard procedures for FEMA
now.
A ..
Yes.
Q ..
I guess the Office of Emergency Preparedness was small enough of an agency without a large
budget so that it really couldn't do that sort of thing.
A ..
The Corps did it. We built these trailer parks. When Agnes was over, the trailers were stored
for future use. The experiences in Agnes laid the groundwork for much of the present
response to hurricanes. Tornadoes, earthquakes generate different circumstances. Where you
have a lot of water, Agnes was a proving ground for much of the current activities, just like
you said.
Q ..
Were there any other federal agencies that played nearly as large a role as the Corps did, or
was the Corps sort of the lead of the agencies?
A ..
No, not federal. At the same time, state agencies, the utility companies, the highway people,
and the state health department were involved. The response and the cleanup, the re-
establishment of normal life among the individuals was basically a Corps activity.
Q ..
Just one quick follow-up while we're on this. Were there any problems in closing the
Susquehanna District?
A ..
No. We closed it as planned. There was some pressure to keep it, but there was no reason to
keep it. There was nothing for it to do. We didn't give it any mission other than the emergency
work.
Q ..
That's sometimes cited as the last Corps district to be closed. That's a little bit of an anomaly.
A ..
Well, it is the last one to be closed, but it was also the last to be opened, and it was always
intended to be closed.
Q ..
I did wonder if there was some pressure to keep it open.
A ..
Some people wanted to keep it open. Closing it down got to be a little tedious because of the
mechanics of closing it. General Groves didn't want to close it until he got all of the bills paid
and all that cleaned up. At OCE we selected a certain day. I don't remember what the date
was, but once all the players accepted the date to fold flag, that was the end of it.
Q ..
Agnes was an unusual event. What about the more routine business of civil works?
A
Now to the more day-to-day type business of the director of Civil Works. Agnes was a fast
start for a new three-year tour and proved to be good conditioning for the rest of my
assignment because things never seemed to slow down after that.