John
Morris
A
That was a tough problem. The Assistant Chief of Engineers basically is there to assist the
Chief of Engineers on Army staff matters. If the Corps did not have a civil works program
it would still need to have an Assistant Chief of Engineers. He might be called the deputy or
something. Historically, an engineer battalion in an Army division had a division engineer,
the battalion commander, and an assistant division engineer. The latter officer served at
headquarters and responded to the division staff while the battalion commander ran his
battalion. The ACE is the same concept and was understood within the Army.
At the Department of the Army level, the Assistant Chief of Engineers' office inherited many
operational activities. We were able to list those duties which fell into purely the Assistant
Chief of Engineers' business as the representative of the Chief. The rest fell under Military
Programs.
Generally speaking, the overall management of the ACE's shop, except for purely staff
actions, belonged to the director of Military Programs including items on the borderline.
The program worked well once in place, and if you talk to General Wray he'd probably
agree.
You have some additional observations on your selection as Chief.
A
I'd like to go back a little bit and pick up being selected for Chief of Engineers. I mentioned
the luck involved in getting the job. In my case, being a little bit late getting through the
grade of captain, for reasons I've already discussed, I was junior to two classmates who were
exceptionally well qualified and, in my judgment, more likely to be selected.
However, they both left the service before the selection process commenced. One was Bill
Glasgow, General William A. Glasgow, who had to retire for health reasons in 1969. He had
been executive to General Wilson as Chief of Engineers. The other was Bob
Brigadier General Robert E.
who was the last engineer commissioner of the District
of Columbia and also, I believe, the first member of the class of June 1943 to make general.
Bob was exceptionally well qualified, based on outstanding performance all through his
career; however, for personal reasons, he elected to retire in the late 1960s.
So those two better qualified candidates departed the service, cleared the way, and improved
my chances for selection. When I was sworn in, both were present, and I did thank and
congratulate them for their foresight in leaving the Army.
Another thing that happened that I would emphasize is the impact of all this on my wife and
family. Being away in Vietnam for a year was one thing. They knew I was going to be away
a year and they built their life accordingly; however, when I came back to Omaha and then
to the Chief of Engineers' office, their life depended on my daily schedule more or less,
which wasn't always predictable, convenient, or comfortable. In 1970, our son was at the
Military Academy and our daughter had already graduated from the University of
Connecticut and was teaching. So Gerry's life was considerably different during that period
than it had been earlier when our children were at home.
She traveled with me as much as she could within the regulations and took a great interest
in the Corps' roles. I think she probably visited more hydroelectric powerhouses and
inspected more dams than any woman in the world.
The situation changed materially with the Chief of Engineers' job. Social requirements meant
adapting our fairly private home lifestyle to the demands of the position. Such things as
entertaining the wives of the Engineer Officers Advanced Course students, New Year's
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