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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1964 Keynote Speech by Col. Homer Garrison, Jr. Speech of Colonel Homer Garrison, Jr. Director, Texas Department of Public Safety State Coordinator of Civil Defense and Disaster Relief Thirteenth Annual Conference State Women's Advisory Council for Civil Defense Texas A&M University College Station, Texas June 9, 1964 9:15 A. M. It gives me great pleasure and is indeed a privilege for me to be a part of your Annual Conference again. This is the 13th Annual event ...a number which might be considered unlucky. But, we hold no superstitions and look upon this 13th gathering as another big step on the ladder of success. Your presence here is reassuring and reemphasizes my high esteem for the ladies of our land who assume more than their share of responsibility in public affairs. We realize it is difficult for you to break away from your homes, your families, your daily obligations to spend a few hours listening to speakers, studying situations and seeking solutions to the common problems we face in this nuclear age. But, today, women are taking on more and more responsibilities...not that they have time...but women just seem to find or make time for these things which are important to their families, as well as their fellowman. Woman is known as the tower of strength, a well- deserved title she inherited and has rightfully held for centuries. Her first big step into the man's world came when she gained her right to vote. Since that time she has, step -by -step, gained acceptance and strength in other fields. Today we have women doctors, lawyers, church leaders, business tycoons, and government officials. A woman is serving as Deputy Director of the Office of Civil Defense, appointed only recently by President Johnson. Now, woman is taking the big step into the field of politics. Personally, I find it difficult to comprehend how you women manage to find the time. Since boyhood I recall the cliche "Man's work is from sun to sun, but woman's work is never done." Needless to say, you have found a method to put a few more minutes or hours into the average day to include the very important things that come your way. Because of this strength women have shown through the years, you have become an effective part of the overall Civil Defense Program. And, that is the very reason why you are here today. Because you are an important link in the chain of Civil Defense...you desire to learn more about the subject, to pass on this information and influence others in your respective communities. Your program theme... "Training and Education- - Foundation for Survival "... strikes a note of sincerity. Only through training and education and a better understanding can we perfect and maintain a strong and secure Civil Defense Program that will be beneficial to all Texans and all Americans. - 2 - A weak Civil Defense...a lack of adequate preparation ag- i.1st the possibility of thermonuclear attack...could prove a fetal flaw in our total defense program. It might well serve as an invitation to enemy attack which would hit at such weak spots. With all the forces and conditions that exist in the world today, a nuclear attack on the United States...either deliberate or accidental...is well within the .r•arge of possibility. This is not my own intuitive opinion. It is considered the judgment of the Defense Department and the United States Government, and I believe every true American must concur in it. I personally believe that if our potential enemies should ever come to believe they could knook us out before we had a chance to retaliate, or even decide they could win a war of survival forces, we might well be deliberately attacked. However, as long as we can build an adequate defense program...civil and mil.itary...it can well be the deterrant to a nuclear war which might otherwise destroy our entire civilization. More than ever before, Civil defense is an integral part of our total National Defense and it plays a very important role in the planning of our Nation's military defenses. As you know, the Office of Civil Defense has been transferred from the Department of Defense to the Secretary of the Army. We have been advised from sources in Washington that this is definitely not a step tolmrd militarization of the civil forces. Let me explain further. The transfer was not to the military (The Department of the Army) as the laymen might suspect, but to the Office of Stephen Ailes, a civilian, who is Secretary of the Army. The transfer was effected in an effort to attain better coordination between the civil and military aspects. After all, in the total defence plan, the two go hand -in -hand. Too, it is in no way indicative of decreased Federal emphasis on Civil Defense. An effective Civil Defense System...supported and backed by the military... might make the difference between National Survival and National Annihilation. With public fallout shelters as its keystone, an adequate and potent Civil Defense Program could save tens of millions of American Lives. We know for a fact th -.t people can survive a nuclear attack and we are now waging a constant campaign armed with information to provide the people with the knowledge and training they must have in order to survive. This is the basis for my previous statement that "Civil Defense might well be a deterrant to nuclear war." We sincerely believe that survival...the saving of lives...will permit us to recover as a Nation. Any potential enemy, realizing that our citizens survive and rebuild, might easily be discous ^ed from any planned attack. It is an economic fact that the total national values added up together are equal to approximately three years of production. It is an amazingl ct, but it is a fact. Our civilization is not in steel and stone...it is in our minds and our hearts, and our knowledge how to work and to cooperate with each other and how to govern nature. If we listen to those who wrongly state that a next war will necessarily be lost, we might easily end up living on our knees and perhaps later dying in a war -3 that others fight over our impotent bodies. One thing is most important...we must bring into this Country a clear realization that freedom, based on our form of Government, is something to live for, something we have to defend. Switzerland, a Nation that has remained neutral throughout most European conflicts is not standing still during the cold war. Swiss Government Officials passed a y450 million shelter bill for the protection of citizens. In their Democratic way, the bill lay dormant for three months to give citizens an opportunity to protest if they so desired. There were no protests. A Swiss Government Official explained, and I quote, "Current measures are not being taken due to any aggravation of the world situation. We do not yet have peace on this Earth, and as long as this East -West situation exists, it is our duty to be vigilant and prudent so that we can face the future with calm and confidence." The Swiss evidently realize that radiation knows no boundaries. Even though they may not be directly involved in the event of war, exact steps are being taken for shelter and protection of the Swiss population. As a leading world power involved in two world wars fought on European soil and in Asian conflicts surely, we in the United States can do no less. Adequate shelter is our primary means of survival. Another point that must be understood is the fact that Civil Defense is not a program and an organization separate and apart from government. It is an integral part and an essential function of our Governmental Units...Federal, State and Local. Since other speakers on the program will discuss other phases of Civil Defense Training and Education in detail, let me dwell for just a moment on the State's responsibility. We will begin with the Constitution of the United States where Article II, Section B, gives Congress the express power to "Provide for the Common Defense and welfare of the United States." The Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, commonly referred to as Public Law 920, vested the powers of enforcement jointly in the several governments and describes a plan of Civil Defense for our Nation by directing that "the states be given the necessary aid and assistance in accordance with approved state plans." The Federal authority was further expounded in Texas when the State Legislature passed the Texas Civil Protection Act of 1951. Executive Order No. 2, issued by the Governor on July 19, 1951, recognized mayors and county judges as chairmen for their respective communities, and final responsibility for all phases of Civil Defense rests ultimately with the Executive Heads of Local Government. Our concept, from the State's viewpoint, is that in an emergency situation, local areas will help themselves to the maximum limit of their resources. When the local authority must have help from outside he contacts the District Highway Patrol Officer and help is provided through mutual aid arrangements within the district. If it cannot be accomplished at this level, the State comes into the picture and, through coordination with all counties and state agencies, aid can be furnished from anywhere within the State, or if necessary, from Federal sources through the mutual aid compact. -4 Our State Control Center at the Department of Public Safety in Austin is a well secured facility, staffed by representatives of all participating agencies and with Federal liaison personnel. Here, in an emergency situation of any kind, assistance can be provided quickly and efficiently. Here we maintain a 24 -hour communications link to every city in Texas, providing us with unlimited capabilities for Civil Defense and Disaster Relief as well as our daily routine law enforcement procedures. If you will, imagine a chain from your Mayor to the Governor to the President of the United States with each link representing a phase in the overall Civil Defense Program. Each link then provides its individual supporting power, but let one link be broken and its total strength becomes impaired. We at the Department of Public Safety have no desire to direct or command. This is completely foreign to our concept. We are there to aid, assist, and help... to promote safety and to make our tabulations available when and if an emergency exists. We are humble in the contemplation of the area and broad scope of responsibility that is placed upon us. The protection of life and property is our business...our primary objective...our daily routine...and this is accomplished through law enforcement, warning and communications, and aid and assistance to local governments. We offer many ways to help in Civil Defense and, as 1 mentioned previously, even the statutes are available for a legal background. Yet the choice of preparing an adequate Civil Defense rests squarely upon the shoulders of local governmental subdivisions. They can either have it...or they can be without it. In Russia the program on Civil Defense is quite different. In the first place Russia makes Civil Defense compulsory. Secondly, it involves training of an estimated 50 to 100 million Soviet Citizens. Russia has put forth a major effort since 1955 to develop a large Civil Defense. Khruschev has stated that 12 million persons are serving in Civil Defense. Beyond this, the leadership insists on the desirability of training the whole adult population in Civil Defense. While the Russian program may seem efficient, we cannot agree with the compulsory manner in which it is forced upon the people. Regardless of the merits or demerits of our own system, one outstanding and sustaining fact remains...the Plan in Texas has been tried and proven. Hurricane Carla in 1961, Hurricane Cindy and the Medina Base Explosion in 1963, and the Wichita Falls tornado only last April are four of the better -known instances. Each one has provided a lesson, and the knowledge we gained has been incorporated into the curriculum of preparedness. While we are concerned with the possibility of nuclear attack and nuclear accident, we must also consider that natural disasters are a common threat to the people of Texas. It is our job to help in these situations, and our duty to fellow Texans to provide them with the support and protection they need in times of peril. Finally, your personal understanding of Civil Defense and its values, plus your own efforts and support, will help to make possible a Civil Defense System in Texas that would provide maximum protection to the people of this State and would enable Texas and a great many of its citizens to survive a disaster and recover from it. -5 Vitally important to the total effort in Civil Defense, however, is the individual person who must know something of the techniques in first aid, medical self -help, firefighting, rescue, mass feeding, nursing, shelter and all the skills which can mean the difference between life and death...only then can the total effort be effective. This is why it is so gratifying for me to be a part of this group. You are here to participate...to learn...to gain a better understanding of Civil Defense. And, it is in this area where you can be most helpful in the total effort. Upon your return to your communities, to your homes, I know you will pass on this valuable information to your friends and neighbors. In these times of public apathy, it is difficult to break through the barrier of serenity. Too many people have forgotten about Cuba...too many refuse to be worried about the future...too many are confused because of misrepresentation and misinformation...too many believe that we who advocate Civil Defense are Alarmists... too many take the "Let George Do It attitude. But, then, there are those of us who can easily recall the Cuban Crisis and the sustaining fear that engulfed the Nation less than two years ago. And there are those of us who cannot forget the devastation resulting from Hurricanes Carla and Cindy, nor the black cloud of death and destruction which lashed through Wichita Falls. We must be realists...face the situation with courage and confidence, without faltering or failure. We must update our methods, guard against the possible, prepare for the inevitable, and unite our knowledge with Faith in God.