John W. Morris
work was initiated promptly thanks to General Heiberg's good work, and that of the Deputy
Chief of Engineers-Major General James Johnson.
The main thing about the emergency program, in my judgment, is that the Corps has a great
capability to respond because of the quality and geographical setup of the organization. When
the Corps' men and women, even retired individuals, know the Corps is on the firing line,
they'll respond.
The only other emergency-we've already talked about it-is military emergency. The Corps,
along with the rest of the Army, needs to keep current on what to do in case there is a
mobilization or a major military conflict.
Q ..
You mentioned before we started today that you recently ran into a friend who had an impact
on your career.
A
Yes-[Brigadier] General Arch Hamblen, retired. People who have been important in your
life are too often forgotten. Hamblen was a classmate assigned to West Point when I was
being considered for assignment there. He personally went to see the commandant and
suggested that they accept me. That ultimately happened.
Later, he was transferred to the Pentagon just before I was ordered to the Army Legislative
Liaison office. Arch, a very religious man, was in charge of the general officers prayer
breakfast. All the members of the prayer breakfast were generals except for Colonel Hamblen,
who took care of the administrative arrangements.
Another colonel joined-Elizabeth Hoisington, soon to became the first woman general in the
Army. Arch convinced them that he needed some help, and so I was brought into this as his
alternate and the number two colonel. I've forgotten the details, but I managed the breakfasts
during a period when we studied the book of Mark. If the general who was supposed to have
the subject on a particular day didn't come, then the colonel had to do it. Well, we had a lot
of generals that didn't want to talk about Mark, I guess, because I recall I gave many of the
sessions.
Later, the promotion board that selected me for brigadier general was comprised of several
generals from that prayer breakfast. Apparently my dissertations on Mark made a favorable
impression, and I can -thank Arch Hamblen for his role in my getting promoted to general.
Saint Mark probably had a lot to do with it too.
Q ..
Who was your driver when you were Chief?
A
When I was director of Civil Works I had a driver named James Boswell. Boswell was very
natty and devoted to his boss. It didn't matter if it was Morris or Koisch or whoever had the
job. James was probably the best driver the Corps had. He always dressed properly and wore
a cap and he was always available.
When I moved up to be the deputy I brought James with me. Then, when I became Chief, we
had a real problem because the Chief's driver was "Jeff' [John Jeffries]. Jeff's a wonderful
man, really, but James had been with me too long to abandon him, so Jeff had to move aside.
I noticed in 1977 that James was becoming less alert and his driving more erratic as time went
on. So in the summer of 1978 I asked him if he didn't think it was time to retire. He didn't.
So I asked James to see a doctor. He did, and we learned he had terminal cancer.
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