[Congressional Record: October 18, 2007 (House)]
[Page H11759]
POST OFFICE BOX 1142 RESOLUTION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, from 1942 through the end of the
Second World War, a top secret military intelligence service operated
clandestinely on the shores of our own Potomac River. At Fort Hunt
Park, along the GW Parkway, a secret installation operated silently in
the shadows of our Nation's Capital.
Known only by its mailing address, P.O. Box 1142, the men and women
at this post provided the military intelligence that helped bring an
end to World War II and gave the United States an early advantage in
the Cold War.
P.O. Box 1142 was an interrogation center. Throughout the war and its
aftermath, the post processed and interrogated nearly 4,000 of the most
important German prisoners of war.
The men who performed the interrogations were drawn from across the
country. The shared attribute is that they all spoke fluent German to
be able to interact with their captives. Many were Jewish, to ensure
their loyalty to America's mission. And most had friends and family
battling on the front lines against Nazi Germany. To them, the war was
personal and would impact their lives forever.
Despite these circumstances, their interrogations never resorted to
torture, used violence, or implemented cruel tactics to obtain the
vital information required to support our Nation at war. Instead, their
most effective interrogation technique was to start a dialogue to
develop trust with their captives. They all talked with their captives,
played card games, took walks, discussed their lives, and ultimately
obtained the necessary information from their captives. Despite the
apparent simplicity of these methods, these interrogations resulted in
the discovery of most of Germany's secret weapons programs.
P.O. Box 1142 learned about research to develop the atomic bomb, the
jet engine and the V-2 rocket, all technologies that became essential
informational components in waging the Cold War. The detainment and
interrogation of high-ranking German officials, such as Reinhard
Gehlen, who ran the German intelligence operations, advanced our
military intelligence operations well beyond the Soviet Union's
capabilities.
In advancing the Nation's interests and uncovering vital secrets, the
interrogators at P.O. Box 1142 never resorted to tactics such as sleep
deprivation, electrical shock, or waterboarding. Their captives were
never sexually abused, humiliated, or tortured. They never resorted to
the methods that have recently branded our Nation so negatively. As a
result of the war on terror, I'm afraid that America is now haunted by
lasting images of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. The current
intelligence community can learn from the men of P.O. Box 1142. For all
our sake, I hope it's not too late.
Despite the vital work that the interrogators at P.O. Box 1142
performed, their activities remained closely held secrets by those who
worked at the post. Many of these men never told family or loved ones.
It wasn't until park rangers from the GW Memorial Parkway uncovered
declassified documents and met former officers of P.O. Box 1142 that
the operations that occurred at Fort Hunt Park during World War II
became known.
Under the encouragement of the National Park Service, these park
rangers identified veterans of P.O. Box 1142. They conducted
professional oral history interviews. The deeper the park rangers dug,
the more obvious it became they had discovered a remarkable story that
had remained unrecognized by the officers because of their oath of
secrecy.
After 2 years of work, the National Park Service decided it was time
for the men of P.O. Box 1142 to finally be acknowledged. On October 5
and 6, the National Park Service held the first-ever reunion of the
veterans of P.O. Box 1142 at Fort Hunt Park. The veterans raised the
American flag in the post's original flag pole setting and memorialized
the grounds.
Today, I'm proud to play a small part in giving justified credit for
the tremendous work performed at P.O. Box 1142. Along with my northern
Virginia colleagues, Congressmen Tom Davis and Frank Wolf, I'm
introducing a long, overdue resolution to honor the men of P.O. Box
1142.
Mr. Speaker, I extend my appreciation to these veterans. The Nation
owes a great debt to them for their sacrifice to our Nation during a
time of war for their pursuit of critical intelligence, while
maintaining the highest level of integrity and America's moral values,
and for their intrepid actions that have, until very recently, gone
unacknowledged.
____________________
HRES 753 IH
Mr. MORAN of Virginia (for himself, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, and Mr. WOLF) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
Whereas Fort Hunt Park along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Fairfax County, Virginia has a long and storied history in the preservation of our Nation's security and safety;
Whereas the coastal defenses and cannon batteries protecting Washington, D.C. were stationed at Fort Hunt until its gradual abandonment after World War I;
Whereas on May 15, 1942, Harry L. Stimson, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Secretary of War, obtained from the Department of the Interior a special use permit which gave the United States military virtually unlimited use of Fort Hunt for the duration of World War II, plus 1 additional year;
Whereas the military immediately initiated construction of facilities to transform Fort Hunt into one of the more vital posts for intelligence gathering during World War II;
Whereas over the ensuing 4 years, two elements of the top secret Military Intelligence Service (`MIS') operated clandestinely at Fort Hunt, the MIS-X program that communicated with captured American soldiers to coordinate their escape, and the larger MIS-Y program that carried out the interrogation of prisoners of war vital to American interests;
Whereas because of its top secret operations, the post remained unnamed known only to its soldiers that served there as Post Office Box 1142;
Whereas the Army hand-selected intelligence officers for their ability to speak fluent German, many of whom had friends and family perishing under the tyranny of Nazi Germany;
Whereas the intelligence officers conducted interrogations of nearly 4,000 enemy prisoners of war and scientists;
Whereas these interrogations resulted in the discovery of many of Germany's secret programs, including research to develop the atomic bomb, plans for the jet engine, blueprints of V-2 rockets, and secrets originally destined for Japan before the end of global hostilities;
Whereas the work at Fort Hunt not only contributed to the Allied victory during World War II, but also led to advances in military intelligence and scientific technology that directly influenced the Cold War and Space Race;
Whereas the detainment and interrogation of high-ranking German officials, such as Reinhard Gehlen, a prisoner who ran the German intelligence operations in the Soviet Union, proved instrumental at aiding the development of U.S. intelligence operations on the Soviets during the onset of the Cold War;
Whereas the more effective interrogation techniques included entering into discussions with the captives, building up trust and not threatening violence or torture;
Whereas the current intelligence community is interviewing former Post Office Box 1142 interrogators to learn which humane practices facilitated the best intelligence;
Whereas the intelligence activities at Post Office Box 1142 were only recently uncovered after Park Rangers from the George Washington Memorial Parkway came across former soldiers and reviewed declassified documents about the top secret facility;
Whereas the top secret nature of the activities at Post Office Box 1142 remained closely held secrets by the veterans of the post, many of whom never told their families, wives or loved ones about the invaluable service they provided this nation during World War II;
Whereas under the encouragement of the leadership of the National Park Service, these Park Rangers identified the veterans of Post Office Box 1142 and conducted professional oral history interviews with over half of living members;
Whereas after two years of research and planning, the National Park Service held the first ever reunion for the living veterans of Post Office Box 1142 on October 5 and 6, 2007; and
Whereas at exactly 11:42 a.m. on October 5, the National Park Service and the living veterans of Post Office Box 1142 raised an American flag in the post's original flagpole setting, and forever memorialized the grounds as the home of Post Office Box 1142: Now, therefore, be it
END