Engineer Memoirs
Publications of various sorts emphasized the Corps' role. I mentioned Water Spectrum. We
also published special publications on dredge material, technical fliers on our research
programs, et cetera. The aggressive public relations had several internally good effects. It
bumped up morale and also began to get the team singing off the same sheet of music
throughout the country. The latter became especially important in meeting the reorganization
challenges which arose during the four years I was in the leadership position.
Could I ask one follow-up question on that? Did this mean any changes in the Public Affairs
Office, in the Corps headquarters?
A
Not really. We had a good civilian staff. There was Locke Mouton and Ray Leonard, also
Warren
who was over in Civil Works directly under the director of Civil Works.
Mouton was very well trained in the public relations business. He'd been working in
Albuquerque and Tulsa Districts years before as a public relations person. He wrote well and
he had an incisive view on things. So the staff was good.
Usually, an engineer colonel was the Public Affairs officer. General Kern, Sam Kern, as a
lieutenant colonel was a very good Public Affairs person. Our public relations staff
coordinated frequently with the Army Public Affairs people in the Pentagon.
As mentioned earlier, the Corps won the Silver Anvil Award, the Oscar for public affairs,
with the Sergeant
Bicentennial effort.
About the middle of my term two things happened at the Pentagon which affected the public
affairs activities. First, they offered us a nonengineer professional public relations
officer-Colonel Tom Garrigan. Garrigan was excellent. He knew most of the name reporters
in town from his time in the Pentagon. He brought a new twist to our efforts.
The Army Chief of Public Affairs suggested that the Corps produce a magazine, a newspaper.
So we started the Engineer Update. The first one was published in 1978 and has become
pretty popular throughout the Corps. I hope it is being distributed to retired people and friends
as well as just to active duty and permanent people within the organization because it should
continue to get broader attention.
While on the subject of public affairs activities, I should cover a few specifics. One of our
public affairs officers was a Lieutenant Colonel [John V.] Foley, who later became district
engineer in Los Angeles. I was asked to appear on the NBC Today Show in 1974. Foley
helped prepare me before we went to New York. As covered earlier, and while director of
Civil Works, a Mr. Heuvelmans from Florida had written a book about the Corps of Engineers
ruining the rivers of Florida.
He had been on the Today Show and gave us the works. I was asked to come up the next day,
which I did, and was interviewed by Mr. Frank McGee. It came off okay, partially because
the Public Affairs Office prepared me and managed the visit nicely.
A bit earlier, I had also been on 60 Minutes. Now, the Today Show was one thing, that's live
so you know what happens is what happens. On 60 Minutes they took about four hours getting
about maybe a minute on TV. Morley Safer did the interview in my office in Civil Works.
Locke Mouton was present and helped me prepare.
The subject of their program was the conflict between the Fish and Wildlife people and the
Corps over the effects of navigation and flood control, especially in the upper Mississippi.
The 60 Minutes process was interesting. Mr. Safer was very courteous as was everyone else
while asking a lot of questions. As time went by, we became much more comfortable with
each other, at least I did, and at the very end they made some comment about the Corps'
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