Engineer Memoirs
The same day had a call from a friend of mine in OMB, who said, "I hear you're going to
retire."
I said, "I have no idea, no intention of retiring."
He said, "Well, that's the word out there."
Ken Ballou, Under Secretary of the Army, with whom I had worked closely on the public
works business, had told General Abrams that I might be unhappy because I didn't get to be
Chief. I don't know where this all started, but I was surprised by this reaction.
I was called over to General Abrams' office. Now, keep in mind I'd already had one call about
the Tennessee Valley thing and another call from a guy in OMB that morning. That afternoon
I went to see General Abrams, and being a very forthright person, the first thing he said to me,
"Morris, I've been hearing some nice things about you. Are you planning to leave the Army?"
So I said, "Sir, this is the third time I've heard about that same subject today. If you're trying
to tell me something, I'd like to hear about it," or some words to that effect.
He said, "No." Then he asked, "Where is Kerr Dam?"
"It's down here in Virginia. It's a Corps project."
"Well, I'm thinking about going down there for a couple of weeks. What do you think about
From left to right, Don McBride, former assistant to Senator Robert Kerr; Robert Kerr, Jr.; and
General Morris when he was Director of Civil Works.
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