John W. Morris
I hadn't been in Civil Works very long before I realized that my style of operating would be
somewhat different from my
I prepared a memorandum in some detail outlining
how I thought we should operate. Basically, I sought a team spirit where everybody worked
together to resolve problems quickly and with good judgment. That document was satisfactory
to the need and did serve as a touchstone for the rest of my tour in Civil Works and later.
I came from Omaha with a belief that the people who knew the Corps liked the Corps. I think
we had pretty well proven that if we could just get the word out and say the right things, the
public understanding and acceptance of the Corps could be vastly improved. Well, that was
a belief which I tried to instill during my term as director of Civil Works. We worked hard
getting the word to the public by communicating in various ways and putting a good, solid,
professional face on our work in the public arena. The same requirements had to apply in
dealing with the powers that be in Washington outside the Corps of Engineers where our
problems were as severe as with the public.
Q ..
Who was on your staff in Civil Works?
A
The deputy director of Civil Works initially was General Ken Cooper, but he left soon after
my arrival. He was replaced by General James Kelly, a brand new brigadier. Kelly was very
smart, made a wonderful impression, and was very decisive and courageous. He was an
excellent deputy for me. He saw to the implementation of programs already in place and also
new programs as they came along. I took responsibility for dealing with the Congress and the
Executive Branch of the government, and particularly the new Secretary of the Army for Civil
Works.
We had a third person in the office, Colonel Howard Sergeant, the executive. He was
responsible for the day-to-day operation of the office and was assisted by Lieutenant Colonel
Ernie Edgar and also Tom
Jeanine
who later became the Chief of
Engineers' secretary, was the director's secretary. The civilian staff was outstanding.
I soon learned that the best head in the place for dealing with new problems, and particularly
with the legislative problems, was Joe Tofani, whom I had known since Tulsa days. He's very
strong minded, of good character, and quick to arrive at a good answer to tough problems. He
loved the Corps, he understood the Corps, and I soon learned to talk to Joe on any problem
of a policy nature. That relationship continued for the remainder of his assignment with the
Corps. Few people were as highly respected among their peers and their associates as Joe
Tofani. He was a tremendous asset as an adviser to the director of Civil Works. I'm sure he
was to all directors. He certainly was to me.
I don't mean to pass by the other excellent people we had. [Irv] Reisler, [Alex] Swaiko,
[Homer] Willis, [Mark] Gurney, [Bory] Steinberg and many, many others were key members
of the Civil Works team. We had some folks from the Secretary of the Army's office working
with us at the time. Steve
still is in the office of the Chief of Engineers as a
representative of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Dr. [Ed] Dickey came
while I was there.
I should mention the training program of young officers. Again, Tofani was the key in
developing them into outstanding public servants, either in the Army or outside. I can think
of several that he trained that went on to be important players elsewhere in the government.
Tom Donnelly, and Jim Smith all left the Army for civilian careers and served
Mike
the country well as congressional committee staff persons. There are others.
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