Presidential Emergency Facility Site 1 - "Cactus” (1965 to 1967)-revised

 

Camp David at Catoctin Mountain, Md.
Catoctin Mountain site of Camp David with Cactus Tower in the background
Elevation	1,900 ft. (579.1 m)
Location
Location	Frederick County, Maryland, USA
Range	Appalachian Mountains
Coordinates	+39.648333N -77.466667 W

17 Nov 65 started work at Cactus

Camp David was originally built as a camp for federal government agencies and their families, by the WPA, starting in 1935, opening in 1938. Winter at Camp David

In March 1942 President Roosevelt directed the National Park Service to investigate locations reasonably close to the Washington area for use as a Presidential retreat. After studying several locations, the National Park Service selected three tentative sites: One in Shenandoah National Park, in Virginia, and the other two in the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area, in Maryland. The President chose Camp Number Three or Camp Hi- Catoctin, by using the existing buildings that were there; the retreat could be completed in the shortest possible time and at minimum cost. The camp also occupied a perfect location, atop Catoctin Mountain at an altitude of about 1,900 feet above sea level; this location experienced a consistently lower temperature than Washington DC; and was only about 70 miles, or a 2-hour drive, from the White House.

Tower History and Purpose

Cactus was built on the Presidential Retreat at Camp David Md. The White House Communications Agency (WHCA) was responsible for the installation and maintenance of all of the communications equipment at the facility. The staff at this facility was assigned to The Defense Communications Support Unit (DCSU) and they were permanently stationed at Camp David.

Facility Map of the presidential Retreat at Camp David

The Cactus facility consisted of a cylindrical tower and a two-level bunker.  The construction of the tower and bunker was completed during the mid to late 50’s.  It was one of the first Presidential Emergency Facilities to be completed. 

Cactus was part of a microwave network designed to provide emergency communications to the President of the United States, Secret Service and visiting dignitaries while at Camp David. This microwave route connected Camp David, the Pentagon (Site R) and Mt. Weather directly to the President or White House.

When Nikita Khrushchev visited Camp David as a guest of President Eisenhower there was an attempt to disguise the true purpose of the Cactus Facility and  a sign was placed on the wooden fence that surrounded the facility It read WATER WORKS.  I don’t know if  Khrushchev ever found out the real use of the water tower.

There was also an Underground Bomb Shelter built near Aspen Lodge. This facility was designed to provide emergency shelter for not only the President and First Family, but also for select members of the White House staff and the Secret Service in the event of a nuclear attack.

The WHCA Communications Center in the provided all secure voice and TTY. WHCA provided all non-emergency communications to all visitors that stayed at the facility, including all of the non-secure telephones terminating on a three-position manual switchboard both located in the Cactus Facility.

There was a Major upgrade to the old board, and the relocation of the switchboard room in the tower which  occurred in 1971. The cords were gone, and buttons replaced all of the cords, they debuted the space-age headsets.

Also there was a big upgrade to all of the cabins including turning Laurel into big conference meeting room (Richard Nixon made 26 weekend visits to Camp David in 71). WHCA also provided and repaired all of the television sets and stereo equipment installed in all of the guest cabins as well as Aspen Lodge.  

Aspen Lodge

The Secret Service and the White House Staff used two-way FM radios to communicate with each other. Communications to Marine One was accomplished by using a two-way UHF radio system.  There was also a surface to air radio link for direct voice communications known as Echo Fox the AF1 Presidential Communications Network. This nationwide system was maintained by AT&T.

WHCA maintained the electronic fence surrounding Camp David as well as providing the Marine Guard phones at the main gate and various guard posts around the perimeter of the entire facility. All of these phones terminated on a one-position manual switchboard located on the lower level of the Cactus Facility.  

We would joke about the various "Class of Service" for various phones within the confines of the perimeter. A guard post phone for the USSS or Marines could only call the Command Post or other guard phones and not access outside lines without assistance from the WHCA operator. More than once the President would pick up one of those phones and ask for something. It was difficult to find some of these "tree phones" for call backs! I am sure with the advent of wireless, most of those phones are gone.

WHCA personnel from Camp David were also responsible for the communications equipment installed on the Presidential Train’s communications car “Crate” located just outside Harrisburg Pa. Our primary responsibility was to maintain the Comm. Equipment and the generators.  

Old Camp David stories (1955-1960)                                                                                                   by Roger  Zabkie                                                                                

Learning to type the Army way.

When Rodgr Zabkie arrived at David as a PFC (E3) the whole of the radio equipment complement was in a wooden shed-type building. There were three upright Motorola base stations, for the Able, Baker, and Charlie nets; two TRC-29 MW terminals; and an HF radio setup complete with TTY console.

Roger was assigned to turn on the BC-610 HF transmitter every hour and attempt to communicate with the WH, plus keep a log of how it went. So on the hour I fired up, tuned the HF receiver, and there it was: CACTUS DE CROWN INT QRK. (Fortunately someone had thoughtfully left a copy of the Q codes lying around.)

But I couldn't type! Spending several long minutes, I managed to peck out CROWN DE CACTUS QRK 55 INT QRK and make a log entry. This exchange continued until after nightfall when the propagation on that band turned to crap.

When MSGT Shorten came in the next morning he indicated that I did a not-so-bad job for a green Soldier whose MOS was Microwave Radio Repair, and I headed for my bunk determined to pick up a new skill: typing. The thing is that MOS then and there meant very little -- we all cross-trained in several fields, picking up a variety of skills along the way. It was a great prep for the real world.

About Trout Dinners

Any evening when one of us from the WHASA Camp David group might be returning up the hill in an official vehicle (which was painted black and sported DC plates), we would call on Able radio channel to see if anyone needed anything from Thurmont. Often the reply would be “Two trout dinners.”

Now, each of us had a personal callsign that began with the letter T, and since there was a guy there, an E-6, whose call was Trout and who was a serious beer aficionado, a “Trout dinner” naturally translated to “a six-pack of beer.” This went on for years although Camp David was as officially dry as a Navy ship.

One day when our ranking Soldier, a warrant officer, made a visit to Raven Rock he was asked what the hell was this trout dinner they heard about so frequently on the radio. Of course he didn’t know, which was just fine with us enlisted types.

The beer tasted really good on boring evenings when the PRESUS was not at camp.

The Chief and the Skunk

In the late1950s the only permanently assigned at Camp David in the beginning were Navy Steward’s Mates, who were all Filipinos billeted alone in a lodge near Aspen, the President’s quarters. Their sole job, as far as I knew, was to cook for and serve the President and his guests during visits to the facility.

The stewards’ leader was a round, pleasant Chief Petty Officer known to us only as Bob Goony. Chief Goony was a career man with about thirty years in service. He drove a big Cadillac luxuriously equipped with all the latest gadgets such as self-dimming headlights and mirror, a radio that sought out stations, and I don’t remember what else. It was pretty advanced for a time when transistor technology was only beginning to replace vibrators and vacuum tubes in passenger cars 

Bob would bring his Caddy around to our shop whenever he thought there was a malfunction in his radio or whatever and we were happy to tinker with his toys because of their novelty and also because Bob was a really likeable character.

One night one of the younger stewards tried to pet a skunk that showed up in the woods outside their lodge -- with predictable results. Needless to say, he was quarantined for some time until repeated showers reduced the odor enough that the rest of the crew could stand him. When another steward explained to Chief Goony that since there are no skunks in the Philippines the victim didn’t know to avoid the animal, Chief Bob’s response became a classic at camp: “Now he know.”

Tragically, Chief Bob Goony met an untimely death when his Cadillac was hit by a train one night as he was returning to camp from a late poker game down the hill. Word was that he fell asleep on the railroad tracks and never knew what hit him. His was one of only two traffic fatalities, both Sailors, that happened during my tenure. Thank goodness.

The Case of the Talking Antenna

One night in the late ‘50s we were testing a new portable antenna which we placed on the lawn next to Aspen. The antenna consisted of a fiberglass rod around which was wrapped in a spiral of wire, and a flat stand with ground plane wires stretched out on the grass. It was maybe six feet tall.

When I came outside – probably for a smoke – the Marine sentry told me that the antenna was talking to him. I thought he was crazy until he repeated certain words, like “Cactus” and “Crown.” Still skeptical, I went and asked my fellow Soldiers to give a test count while I traveled back up to the antenna location. There it was: a small fireball where the wire ended on the tip of the antenna, modulated by the SSB signal, eerily speaking English.

Lessons learned: the Marine wasn’t drunk and there’s a reason why most antennas have a corona ball on their tip.

The Case of the Holy Cable:

One day in 1959 or 1960 another sergeant and I were ringing out a newly installed lead-shielded cable. Since it was not color-coded the technique was to terminate one end on a frame then ring out the other end pair by pair. About halfway through the procedure we began getting strange results, so he and I started walking along the cable’s path from the water tower down to the switchboard room, where the main distribution frame was located, eyeballing it to see what the problem could be.

The cable was laced down on a Western Electric tray from the mainframe to where it disappeared into a passageway on its way to the tower. The tray was almost as high as the concrete ceiling, behind the switchboard operating position, and there, right smack in the middle of one of the tray’s crossmembers, was a hole.

That’s a bullet hole, says my E-7 partner. Can’t be, says I. But he, being a veteran of WWII and Korea, knew a bullet hole when he saw it. How could a bullet hole have penetrated a steel cable tray and a lead-shielded cable there in one of the most secure pieces of real estate in the country?

Well there was that loaded M2 carbine mounted on the wall next to the switchboard, ready to defend the facility from who knows what.

As the story eventually came out, a bored young switchboard operator was killing time on a slow Sunday afternoon by fondling the carbine. When the board lit up, he set the butt down on the floor and the gun fired maybe three rounds into the ceiling and our cable. He tried to hide the event and might have gotten away with it except for the defective cable, as well as that he was overheard talking about it in his sleep a week or two after our discovery.

He was of course shipped out. And the carbine was subsequently relocated to the crypto room with the other firearms. All in all, yet another chapter in the Camp David story. I helped install the Raytheon equipment there before the end of my 2nd hitch. The new tower & all was the last change I was involved in.

                                                     Google Earth view of Cactus Tower and bunker (1988) see shadow in foreground,                                                    the building shaped like an F is the Barracks and Mess Hall, the Staff swimming pool is right below the Tower

Don Cammel remembers back when he was a shift worker at our DCSU Detachment 3 at Site R, his OIC was Frank Sisco. It was when CWO Ray Horst the OIC at Camp David was sidelined for major stomach surgery and recovery, Frank was running both Detachments.

He was attending an Annual Christmas Open House with LBJ on the 18 acres, and it lasted until around 10pm. Frank and his wife went somewhere with some other attendees, and eventually headed back to his home in Waynesboro PA.

At midnight, all the Towers had a roll call communications check on all the frequencies in order. Now, Frank had a Motorola radio unit installed in his car. A few seconds after all the Comm checks were completed, there was a very long loud belch over the ALPHA net. After a short pause, “CACTUS…CANNONBALL, READ YOU LOUD AND CLEAR”! Frank pulled off at the next pay phone and melted the phone line.

A Short timer at Cannonball, “Zippy” VanZandt was instructed to be in Frank’s office the next morning at 0800. Everyone was prepared to say farewell to Zippy, but all Frank did was look at him and say, that will not happen again. Yes, Sir! and the meeting was over. Van Zandt finished his tour and departed the Army in about 3 months.

I personally spent many days and nights at Cannonball with Mr Van Zant in the mid 60's. Two Microwave types stationed at CD went TDY for a week at a time to Cannonball, a microwave repeater tower which was located on a 2,600 ft peak (Cross Mountain) near Mercersburg Pa.

On Monday morning we would leave CD with enough groceries for a week’s stay in a concrete silo. There were no windows in the nine floor structure so unless you went down to the entrance and went outdoors you had no idea what the weather was like outside. there were two people permanently assigned to the facility and when they went home at night, we were left without transportation, so keeping yourself occupied could become a challenge. Nobody knew what went on during nights and weekend when the guys were left alone and to this day nobody has incremented themselves

l knew many people did hunt at Cannonball during deer season! We always wore bright colored clothing and made lots of noise when we went outside!! A hunt club owns property including the access road presently. I remember a Radio Tech at Det 3 that volunteered to go TDY up there a couple times so he could go hunting "after hours"? He always had venison in his freezer.

When I reported for duty in Nov 1965 and the only thing that hadn't changed from when Cactus was first built was that SGM Shorten was still there in DCSU HQ. The tower was completely finished with Switchboard, Comm Center and microwave systems up and operational Raytheon KTR 1000's had replaced the TRC-29.

Technology obsolescence of the microwave radio network was the primarily reason that the tower was closed and the advancement of communication technology especially satellite systems and fiber optic cable. I know that the tower at Camp David was taken down some time in the mid 90's. They also tore down the old U-shaped barracks, mess hall, DCSU Headquarters, Radio Shop and Garage. They still maintain part of the bunker, but I cannot verify that.

The new DCSU headquarters is a large office building with satellite downlink antennas out toward the back gate near where the old Log Periodic, HF antenna was located. You can clearly see the building on Google earth; you can also see a satellite dish behind the new mess hall. I cannot be 100% sure that it is not for cable TV. Also if you look closely at the last building it appears to have a flat roof with some kind of white radome, could this be the down link? Of course I do not know for sure, but all the speculation is that the bunker under Aspen Lodge has been expanded and manned full time.

Now that the "Water Tower" is gone and has been replaced with satellite terminals, internet, and cell phones. I often wonder what Camp David will look like in 50 years from now! Will it even still be there?

Presidential Emergency Facility Site 6 -“Cadre/Creed” -Revised

Raven Rock Mountain Complex near Blue Ridge Summit Pa.
Raven Rock, Site of Creed Tower a PEF
Elevation	1,516 feet (462.08m)
Location
Location	Adams County, Pa
Range	Blue Ridge Summit USGS quad
Coordinates	+39° 44' 2.40", -77° 25' 8.40"

The Raven Rock Mountain Complex (RRMC) is a United States government facility on Raven Rock, a mountain in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located about 14 km (8.7 miles) east of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, and 10 km (6.2 miles) north-northeast of Camp David, Maryland. It is also called the Raven Rock Military Complex, or simply Site R.   Colloquially, the facility is known as an "underground Pentagon” or ‘The Rock”.

Ravens Rock is also the site of a deactivated microwave terminal, which was used during the Cold War. The unit was encased in a mostly underground tower, and known as "Creed” site 6. The site was deactivated in 1977.  It was connected to Site R: but, access is still restricted.                

The Text Content on Page 1 of the Hagerstown Morning Herald, July25, 1977 is:

The Rock

Buried in the bowels of underground Pentagon a Mountain waits for war

By PAUL BERTORELLI Blue Ridge Summit Pa

If a nuclear war breaks out Joe Bowman may find out about it as quickly as the President of the United States.

Just a hundred yards from Bowman’s backyard at the base of Raven Rock Mountain lies a helicopter pad.  The landing pad would be the main arrival point for top government and military leaders who would staff the military command center buried inside the mountain. 

The secret facility known officially as the Alternate National Military Command Center (ANMCC) is commonly called The Underground Pentagon or more simply The Rock.  Located just off of Pennsylvania Route16 between Blue Ridge Summit and Gettysburg, The Rock is designed to be the nerve center for the US military if a similar center in the Pentagon is knocked out, it is well prepared to do the job Buried deep inside a mountain made of the hardest rock on the East Coast.

The Rock can support 3000 persons for a month it includes apartments for the President and top government officials, it has its own water electrical and air filtration systems it has communications facilities that permit military leaders to communicate with US forces across the globe as easily as if they were linked by telephone. 

Even though it is a backup center the AMNCC is manned 24 hours a day seven days a week. Intelligence data from all over the world is funneled into the mountain and stored in a computer for safe keeping. But for all its sophistication The Rock isn’t invulnerable

When the military built it at the dawn of the nuclear age in the early 1950’s it was thought to be virtually bombproof Since then however improvements in the accuracy and power of Soviet nuclear weapons have made it unlikely that the facility would survive a direct attack against it.  Still military leaders say The Rock is and will remain a mainstay in the US defense network.  For without a command center capable of surviving at least the opening rounds of a nuclear exchange the US arsenal of bombers missiles and submarines would be turned into so many useless clay pigeons.

Going under

Even as the radioactive dust settled after the first nuclear blast over Hiroshima in 1945 American defense planners knew they would soon face a new reality The US mainland long protected from its enemies by oceans would be vulnerable to a quick and devastating attack with nuclear weapons. And Pentagon the main command center had become a sitting duck

So after World War II military leaders began looking for a place to bury a command center that could be made They settled on a 1100 acre site on Raven Rock Mountain It was located 60 miles from Washington far enough from the capital to escape the effects of an attack there but within quick flying range.  Raven Rock had another advantage it was only five miles from the US Army’s Ft Ritchie an installation that had been used during World War II for top secret training.  Since it was a relatively secluded base close by Ft Ritchie got the job of being The Rocks logistical and technical support base.

Main Gate

Parade Field

World War II Barracks

After the site was agreed on men and machines converged on the mountain in January 1951. The contractors toiled at a feverish pace.” We were real busy all right.  We worked 24 hours a day blasting and hauling rock out of there” recalls one worker who drove a truck at the site. Half mile long tunnels were drilled into the center of the mountain and were curved gently to reduce effects of a blast.

Inside the caverns at the end of the tunnels the military constructed five windowless buildings set in shock resistant foundations. According to a US Army Corps of Engineers report published at the time 500,000 cubic yards of stone were eventually hauled from the tunnels. As work inside the mountain drew to a close in 1953 a separate but related project began on a tract of government land near Sharpsburg, “A great field of giant poles 150 feet high has sprung up 10 miles south of this Western Maryland community” a1953 Washington Post report from Hagerstown said.

That project along with a similar one near Greencastle Pa was built as a communication system for The Rock. Known as Site B and Site A respectively both were abandoned in the 1960’s when communication improvements made the facilities obsolete. Today according to military sources The Rock can communicate with any part of the world without the use of antennas located anywhere near Raven Rock.

Site R on Raven Rock

The heart of The Rock

The heart of The Rock is right out of Dr. Strangelove. It is the Emergency Conference Room the place where a command to launch a nuclear attack might someday be given. Inside this room is a large rectangular conference table lined with chairs for the President and his top advisors. On the walls of room, six huge screens are available to display the latest intelligence information. Two on either side of the screens stand ready for officers who would give a description in “Huntley Brinkley” style according to a Pentagon source

Also inside The Rock is the Current Action Center a military intelligence unit that keeps a constant watch on all parts of the globe.  If trouble flares in a coastal South American country for example the CAC can warn American ships or planes in the area of possible danger. “The Current Action Center in the Pentagon acts as a trip wire. It alerts the Joint Chief of Staff and the Secretary of Defense of events in the world which may require the use of US forces” explains Anderson Atkinson the Air Force general who oversees The Rocks communications.  If the CAC signals a crisis of major importance Emergency Conference Room would be manned and orders would then be sent out over its extensive com network.

So far all of the nation’s major crises have been handled through a command center at the Pentagon which is identical to the one inside The Rock.

But on several occasions a rise in world tension has prompted the military to send senior officers to The Rock” to spread them around just in case” If the Pentagon were threatened or knocked out the President could quickly helicopter from the White House to Raven Rock Military sources won’t say how fast the President could get to The Rock but they say its “fast enough”. At any rate command can be swiftly shifted from Washington to Raven Rock “In less than a second we can push the button here and they have it command up there at the alternate” says Gen Atkinson.

The Rock is equipped with the same kind of computer and radio equipment that the Pentagon has and the steady stream of information gathered by military intelligence is sent to both centers. Briefings given frequently at the Pentagon center are broadcasted simultaneously to The Rock via closed circuit television. “They are nearly identical in operation. The only thing they don’t share is the coffee pot” says one Pentagon source.

From rock to rock pile

For all the efforts taken to protect it the Soviet Union is known to have bombs big enough and missiles accurate enough to wipe out The Rock.  A probe by the House Committee on Armed Services last year concluded that most military command centers and their communications networks would not survive a nuclear attack directed against them. The Rock was included in that finding.

The military apparently has foreseen that problem and acted to correct it.  In addition to building command centers at the Pentagon and inside The Rock it has equipped three Air Force 747s - “the so called doomsday planes” - to serve as airborne nerve centers.

 But Gen Atkinson says The Rock is by no means obsolete because there is no certainty it would be successfully attacked...  Some military strategist believes an enemy might spare command centers in a surprise attack.  With no command centers they reason the US would be unable to call back a massive retaliation strike.  Still the military has continuously devised schemes to improve The Rock Atkinson says he had seen a number of proposals to make underground command  post harder than it is.  He declines to discuss house plans are.

 Rep Bob Daniel of Virginia a member of the investigations committee agrees with military planners who argue that even though The Rock isn’t bomb proof it would be unwise to rely solely on the aircraft for command. “I wouldn’t recommend its destruction now” Daniel says.

The military has reviewed the House report and is expected In September to present its own recommendations to the Congress for better command and control.  Military officials refuse to say if improvements to The Rock will be among those recommendations.

 Whether improvements are suggested or not may be irrelevant when it comes to the future of The Rock.  The military so far hasn’t come up with anything to beat the Raven Rock Mountain installation. And until it does The Rock is liable to stay put. Says Atkinson” I feel very comfortable with the system I’m convinced we can direct our forces and I live with every day”.

Joe Bowman lives with it every day too although worries about how The Rock might survive a nuclear attack are the farthest thing from his mind.’ Well there isn’t much use to worry about it.  Once it happens there won’t be much left here anyhow” says Bowman.

Tower History and Purpose

"Site-R" is the location designator for a major US military bunker located inside Raven Rock Mountain, next to the community of Fountain Dale, near Blue Ridge Summit in Adams County Pennsylvania. The complex is also known as "the underground Pentagon," and affectionately to its personnel as "the Rock" or "the Hole" but the official name is the Alternate Joint Communications Center (AJCC).

Planning for the site began in 1948.  After the Soviet Union detonated its first nuclear weapon in 1949, a high priority was established for the Joint Command Post to be placed in a protected location near Washington, D.C. for swift relocation of the National Command Authorities and the Joint Communications Service.  The selected site is near Camp David (then known as "Shangri-La"). In 1950, President Harry S Truman approved making Raven Rock part of Camp Albert Ritchie, Maryland. This new site was named the Alternate Joint Communications Center (AJCC) Site R. Construction of the facility began in 1951, and in 1953 it became operational  Ft Richie is now Abandoned and is owned by a private developer.

Construction of Creed tower and the Cadre facility was completed during the mid-50 and early 60’s.  The cylindrical tower was named Creed has nine floors underground with only the two floors that contained the microwave parabolic reflectors and other antennas above ground.  The site that was named Cadre was built as part of the Site R underground complex.  Cadre facility consisted of the WHCA switchboard and the communications center.  During this period of time, WHCA personnel from this location also maintained the communications installed at the Eisenhower farm in Gettysburg Pa.

The interior of Site R consists of five, three story buildings: A, B, C, D, E. Cadre was located on the 2nd floor of building C, along with the Presidential quarters.  To visit Cadre you would enter the tunnel, all vehicles were searched at a station outside.  The vehicle was parked above a submerged area like an old gas station repair facility, so the inspectors could see clearly underneath the car.  Inside Site R were two blast doors: one for the pedestrian traffic and a much larger one to let in vehicles.

Map of Site R including Cadre/Creed

The cylindrical tower was named Creed has nine floors underground with only the two floors that contained the microwave parabolic reflectors and other antennas above ground.  The tower could only be accessed via a road leading to the base of the tower and park in a designated area outside the blast doors.  Entrance into the tower was through the outer blast door and down an access tunnel to the inner blast door then into the tower. 

             Entrance to Creed Tower and Parking Lot Exposed Portion of Creed Tower 

Note: The tower today is abandoned and without any electricity to power the sump pumps the tower has flooded.

The Creed tower was part of a microwave network designed to provide reliable communications to the President of the United States and also emergency communications in the event of a nuclear attack. The Microwave route connected Camp David, Site R, Mt. Weather and other key bodies of government directly to the White House.

The WHCA Shop in Georgetown (1965 to 1976)-revised

The WHCA Shop in Georgetown
3248 M St entrance today
Type Of Activity	WHCA Operations
Location
Location	3248 M St NW Georgetown
Date of Activity	1965 to 1976
Coordinates	38°54′18.37″N 77°03′51.60″W

A little history of The “WHCA Shop” in Georgetown:

For over a decade from 1965 to 1976, the WHCA base of operations resided at 3248 M St NW in Georgetown. A plain unmarked building it contained all of the logistical elements necessary to support the President and Vice President providing communications for all domestic and international  travel.

Parts of the structure located on M Street predate 1838 when it was used as a tobacco warehouse that opened up directly onto the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. In the 1850s, the building was purchased by John E. Reeside and Gilbert Vanderwerken and converted into stables for their omnibus line. The building continued to be used as stables for the first horse car line, the Washington and Georgetown Railroad. It was later converted into a machine shop for streetcars. The parts of the building that face the canal and the facade of the M Street entrance remain from those earlier periods. After the demise of Washington's streetcars in 1962, the building served as the United States Defense Communications Annex E before being converted to WHCA’s base of operations in 1964.

I received my orders after I graduated from the Microwave repair school at Ft Monmouth to report to a street address in Washington D.C. in Nov 1965. I loaded my family in the car and headed to my new assignment in WHCA. When I arrived in Washington, I tried to locate the address, not knowing the city. I made several wrong turns and ended up in VA several times, so we decided to stop and get something to eat. Luckily, I had a contact number for MSG Joe Terrian, I called him, and he informed me that WHCA had moved to a new location in Georgetown, and Ft Monmouth gave me the wrong address. The old building had been razed and all that was left was a hole in the ground. Now I had passed that hole in the ground at least a half a dozen times that morning. 

The old location was located at 26th and D Street NW. This is where WHCA had occupied a building that was near the Olde Heurich Brewering Company in Foggy Bottom. The brewery buildings were razed to make room for the new Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts which occupies that space  today, the shop moved from 26th St in May 1965. It had been DC transits streetcar repair shop, located on Mst, a monstrous old facility. GSA rented it from O. Roy Chalk, gutted it and remodeled it. 

 

The new location  fronted on M St with two entrances one was WHCA personnel and the second was a nonaffiliated DCA office that had had no access to the rest of the building. MSG Joe Terrian gave me WHCA's official address which was 3248 M Street NW. It was an unmarked white front building with no columns but having a few steps that went up to a black door. Behind that door was an iron security gate. Since I was in uniform, they told me to go to a motel and come back in the morning wearing a suit. The next morning I was told I was assigned to Camp David in Thurmont Md. Go to the Cozy Inn, and someone would meet me there to show me the way. I still had a few days to try and find an apartment before I had to report. I found an apartment next to the PO in Blue Ridge Summit Pa. It took about three months and I moved into quarters at Camp David.

Dan Mirabelli tells the story “It was a beautiful Sept morning in 1966, I knocked on the door of 3248 M street. I was a terrified 19year old, I did not know what laid ahead for me. I sat in a chair till 2pm. They asked if I ate, I replied no so they told me to go out, get something and come back in an hour. 

When I came back, I sat waiting until 6pm. When they finally took me to see Col Rubley. He told me they were very busy and could not process me. he gave me a voucher for a plane ticket and a 10 day leave!! and sent me home.” 

Mike Fincher remembers that he had an interesting initial assignment experience. After going to the “mysterious” locked door at 3248 “M” Street, in May 1971, I was told that they were expecting Vietnam War protests all over the City that week and that they couldn’t process me because they were preparing to shelter in-place if necessary. 

I was sent to stay temporarily with a couple of other Swbd. Trainees who lived in the legendary Shirley Duke apartments in Alexandria. As soon as I got there, I received a call that an Uncle that I was very close to (like a grandfather) had died in Atlanta. Knowing I wouldn’t be processing in for a few days, the guys called the WHCA Duty Officer (I think it was Marty Capps) to see if I could go on leave to the funeral. He said no problem and asked how I intended to get there. I said I guess I’d fly commercial. He said don’t do anything until he got back to me. He called back a few minutes later and said to be at Andrews VIP lounge the next morning at 0430 and there would be a flight to Chattanooga which was perfect because that was where my wife was at the time. I showed up in my class A’s with my PFC stripes and the VIP desk Sgt. said my flight would be ready to leave in few minutes. There were no other passengers in the lounge. A few minutes later this Col. and Major came in and one of them grabs my bag and asks me if I was ready to go and we got in a car and drove out to this silver and blue Jetstar. This was one of the JetStar’s that the VP used, and they were dead heading to Chattanooga for some reason I never learned. I was the only passenger. I settled into the big VIP chair and a steward brought me coffee. After we got airborne, the Col. came back and said he was going to take a nap. I thought he just wanted the big chair, so I got up and he said why didn’t I go on up front and keep the Major company. I sat up there in the cockpit in total awe. The Major asked me if my wife knew when to expect me and I said no that I would call when we landed. He asked me for the phone number at my in-laws and then used the radio to call some place called “Crown” and asked for a phone patch to the number. The next thing I know my wife is awakened by a call from the White House signal operator who advises her that the “call is on radio and provides no privacy” We are connected, and I tell her where I am and when to expect me the Chattanooga airport. 

We actually land before she could get there from about 45 miles away and the Colonel and Major took me into the coffee shop at the airport, bought me breakfast and then got back in the plane and took off, to where I don’t know. I was too afraid to ask questions, so I never really learned how all this came about, but it was certainly an impressive way to get introduced to Presidential Service. Obviously, that level of VIP treatment didn’t last very long but for a little while I thought I was really somebody special.

Tom Maier’s orders only said: “Report to 300 M Street, NW, Washington, DC”. My wife (June) and I were familiar with the DC area and easily made our way to Georgetown. We passed by the large white building that we figured *had to be* the right building but weren’t sure of the address. We went past and were able to park right around to corner(try doing THAT today!). June stayed in the car, and I walked up to the big front door and knocked…and knocked…and finally pounded on the door. 

I was just about to give up and go back to the car when the door opened a crack and a face appeared to ask what I wanted. When I said what I was up to, the face said only, “Go down to the corner, turn right and proceed on to the driveway. Walk up the driveway and SOMEONE WILL STOP YOU” and then the door slammed shut.

I walked back to the car and told June what had just transpired. Now, you have to understand that we had seen every single episode of Mission Impossible, so we were more than just a bit taken back by what had just happened.

 

With no small amount of trepidation I followed the mysterious instructions and as it turned out I had made more out of what was said than I should have. Perhaps that is just what the guys there did for yuks.

3248 M St NW entrance  2017

The windows on the left of the front door was the Drafting and Reproduction Branch. The windows to the right was DCAU commander's office. Both on the first floor.  Personnel was just inside the entrance way.  The indoor parking garage was behind Personnel and the Photo Lab was located to the rear of the indoor parking garage on the backside of the building closest to the C and O Canal side.

WHCA’s Audio-Visual Branch stored all of their travel equipment at the shop on M Street. Everyone in the group had their own specific set of equipment... audio mixer, multiple for media feeds, tape recorders, mics and cables. Each individual was responsible to make sure everything was in working order in case of instant travel. The AV Group had their own maintenance shop at M Street where they maintained all the AV gear and stored all the trip packages there. 

WHCA’s Wisconsin Ave entrance in 1974

The Wisconsin St entrance was the main access for all vehicles. As you entered on the left was the Fabrication and Carpenter Shop in a separate building which sat between the Wisconsin Ave entrance and exit gates. The machine shop was adjacent in the main building there was an incinerator outside the carpenter shop for classified burns...that caused some outside interest on occasion, also along the entry drive was a big diesel generator for emergency Power.

As you entered the facility and the Parking garage you immediately saw the WHCA dispatcher who monitored all incoming traffic and access to the parking garage. The call sign for the M Street dispatcher was Checkmate. The Transportation Group also had motor pool was equipped with a lift and a car wash facility. Transportation was responsible for the maintenance of all the WHCA vehicles including the rented station wagons from a civilian contractor and WHCA own trucks and Van's, the rented Chevy Kingswood wagons were eventually replaced with GSA supplied Ford wagons.

On the right was the entrance to the Radio and TV shops. These two groups maintained and repaired all of the Motorola radio Equipment(base stations and  hand held units) HF /SSB radios as well as associated radio and paging consoles, all TV’s were also maintained in this area.

Material and Supply and was located between the Electronics Shop and Budget/Accounting who had a small office located between supply and WHCA Dispatch.

The Comm Center or 13a group had a secure office and crypto vault  on the first floor, behind Transportation.

Crown Radio was located at the "M" street shop on the Second floor above the radio shop and wood shop.  Access to the second floor was by using an outside stairway to the right of the driveway off Wisconsin Ave.

Crown Radio had two consoles one was the DC FM network. The other one was for the  Nationwide System (E/F), and secure voice All of WHCA and USSS FM locations in the Washington DC area terminated there, as well as the Echo/Fox Nationwide air-to-ground Communications for AF1. That was the old E/F console built by Mario Lilla. It was operated from there until Crown Radio moved to the OEOB shortly after the new WECO 608 was cut into service there.

In the basement there was an underground storage vault below the radio shop which belonged to 13A. One nice feature at M Street was the basement barroom where we had our Friday afternoon off-duty beer call -- the most recently promoted guys bought the beer, there were many attitudes adjusted there. The Technical Library was also located in the  basement behind the Keg.

In the five years that I was assigned to Camp David I was sent on roughly forty trips where I left from the shop. All of the equipment needed for every trip was staged at the shop, loaded on box trucks if needed or in the back of station wagon on smaller trips and all personnel would be provided transportation to the various D.C. Airports for departure. Upon the return from all trips and from all groups the equipment would be sent to the shop to test and or repair would be staged for the next trip.

The current store that occupies that spot where the door was located is "H & M". It cannot be verified if the white trim around the doorway of H & M is a reproduction or a real artifact of the facade of the entryway to The M Street door of WHCA. I do not know who had it before them, and maybe it was "Victoria's Secret". Part of the movie "True Lies" with Arnold Schwarzenegger and "No Way Out" with Kevin Costner were filmed in parts of the mall. Arnold may have crashed through the window of Victoria's Secret in the movie.

The Keg: A WHCA Tradition

One of the fondest memories of the M Street shop is undoubtedly "The Keg," our cherished Friday night gathering spot for beer, hot dogs, and Leonard Dry's legendary popcorn. Leonard, who once served as a driver for General Eisenhower during World War II and later for the First Lady during Eisenhower's presidency, was the heart of this tradition. We affectionately named the space the "The Dry Keg" in his honor.

Leonard’s story is as unforgettable as his popcorn. When asked by General Eisenhower why he wanted the job, Leonard replied, “Because I am all ears and no mouth.” That straightforward answer sealed the deal. His popcorn was equally iconic, flavored with his secret recipe: Leonard would chop up jalapeños at home and bring them in a jar every few weeks. When making popcorn, he’d use vegetable oil and about a quarter cup of the jalapeños—juice and all—creating a uniquely spicy, savory treat.

The Keg space itself was officially dedicated to Leonard thanks to Terry Anderson from PASD, who convinced CSM Mix to approve the idea. A sign reading “The Leonard Dry Keg” was crafted and proudly displayed over the door in the McNally Building.

Leonard would arrive every Friday afternoon around 1 PM to start the popcorn and prepare for the festivities. The Keg crew included Andy Jurcak, who worked the event for years alongside Henry Chimeno, Richard Hathaway, and Leonard himself. Leonard’s hot dipping sauces were unmatched, and his stories always captivated the crowd. It was, as Andy described, the best WHCA job he ever held.

Henry Chimeno and Mike Baggot were responsible for keeping the beer kegs stocked, often hauling them from a distributor in Northeast DC to the fourth floor. Richard Starr frequently helped with transportation, and the distributor always offered a generous discount. Back then, a keg cost about $45—a bargain for the good times it fueled.

Bill Rose, reported to "M" St. on a Friday. After being told to shave my mustache, (by SGM Owen), an official photograph, finding a place to stay for the weekend, and still in a suit. He got hauled away by Henry and Randy Lucas in the back of one of the old, green, Dodge vans. No seats in the back, so I was sitting on an empty keg and flying around the back.

We managed to get back before 4:00pm and tap the keg. I was starting to wonder what kind of a group I had fallen into. By 6:00pm the place was in full party mode. I still didn't know how to get to my "temp" quarters, but decided I could always sleep in the car, parked down on Water St. This was just the start of a truly unique and very strange weekend, as well as the start of a 19 year WHCA tour of duty.        

The Keg also marked the beginning of the annual "Shrimp Feast." Admiral Berkeley, one of LBJ’s physicians, a Navy Admiral and friend of WHCA, would bring 40 pounds of steamed shrimp once a month. Over the years, the Keg became a social hub, hosting as many as 250 attendees rotating in and out during their shifts. Even President Carter's brother, Billy Carter, made a memorable appearance.

The camaraderie extended beyond the drinks and food. The Keg was the place where any E7 or above that was promoted was required to have a shrimp fest and to "pay up" if you got ever caught on camera in an embarrassing situation. One troop, who ended up on the cover of Time Magazine, faced a fine doubled, of course.

When WHCA moved from M Street to Building 94, some questioned whether the tradition should continue. Fortunately, the Keg survived, finding a new home in the day room on the fourth floor, complete with a bar, tables, and entertainment like a pool table, ping-pong table, and L.T. Moore’s 1970s jukebox. Singing after a few drinks became an unofficial part of the experience.

Richard Starr managed the Keg during its transition to the McNally Building and ensured the new space included a dedicated area for it. The Keg was eventually relocated to the back of the Theater but remained a cherished tradition. The keg and shrimp fests were such good times. 

Despite occasional attempts to shut it down, such as Col. Nichols’ accusation of "glorifying alcohol consumption," leaders like SGM Jenkins and SGM Moore defended and preserved the Keg. The Friday gatherings continued until the mid-1990s, when the tradition finally came to an end.

Bill Rose was also one of the last persons at "M" St. and he pulled the decorative light fixture by the front door and preyed the 3248 off the door. He recalls, Pete Strack refurbished the light, for the keg, and the address numbers were on a wooden plaque behind the bar. I expect they are long gone! I hope the 3248 still exists somewhere.

I feel sorry for newer WHCA recruits not having that experience walking up and down M St. looking at that door with those numbers and thinking...this can't be right.

 Leonard Dry passed away and was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, but his legacy lives on. Though the official Keg parties are a thing of the past, the spirit endures as we carry on the tradition of creating our own happy hours every Friday.

CIA HQ

I remember the stories of the WHCA shop as being a secret CIA HQ where it was found out by a local Georgetown rag in the late 60s-early 70s.

The people that worked in Riggs Bank was saying that our paychecks were coming from different parts of the country which was true. Air Force had paychecks from Randolph AFB in Texas, Army checks were coming from Indianapolis, and Navy was from another place. They saw license plates of our POV's from states around the country going into the shop through one gate and then coming out in government cars from the other gate with radio antennas on them. They saw all the antennas fencing on the roof of the building and cameras and speakers down on the street level at all the buildings entrances/exits. WHCA personnel going into a warehouse type of building with suits and ties seemed out of place for this Georgetown location.

CIA building on M St

Folks put all this together and came up with the caption for the article in the local paper saying, "Why is the CIA in Georgetown?" Little did they know that the real CIA was occupying a building in Georgetown, but that was at the end of M Street near Key Bridge in another building called The Car Barn {the building with the clock tower} that was also a trolley car warehouse which was right next door to the stairs used in the film The Exorcist!!! The red building on the right was occupied by the CIA.

The Exorcist Stairs

The WHCA  building and the one the CIA had were leased to the government by the same firm. 

In the early 1970’s the decision was made to move the shop to a more secure location in  Anacostia.  Over a period of time a phased move was coordinated to relocate all Groups and Departments to their new location. When WHCA vacated the location that was the “shop” in Georgetown the building was totally remodeled and was turned into a a very upscale mall, the Georgetown Park Mall now occupies the space on M St.

Georgetown Park Mall M St Entrance 

This is the inside of Georgetown Park today, on the same level which all the cars parked, the WHCA dispatcher, besides some of the offices at the WHCA facility at 3248 M Street.

First floor interior of the Georgetown Park Mall

Wisconsin Ave Entrance Today

The shop was a drab place in the late sixties, unlike today's décor. It was in a good spot, though -- right across from Blues Alley and just down the street from Mister Henry's, the Cellar Door and other late-night fun spots. Henry Kissinger used to take his movie-star girlfriends for dinner at the Rive Gauche restaurant next door. Here is a picture of the inside of Rive Gauche where President Ford also ate a couple of times. 

Rive Gauche Restaurant

The shop in Georgetown was the center of operations for all scheduled trips both domestic and overseas, all of the equipment necessary to support the communications necessary to support the President was maintained, staged, and shipped came from the “Shop”. When we were assigned to travel, we only had to show up with a suitcase without worrying if the equipment would be ready to go.  My hats off to the staff who worked there to make sure the teams had everything we needed to successfully complete our mission.