"lir 

••• REF ID:A690w 

Colonel U. Preston Cottc.'\ercan 

Continenta·l Base 

U.S. Forces,, European Thc£tro 

G-1 Section 

APO 007,, c/o Postcaster 

New York,, Neu York 

Dear Red.: • 

You!' letter of 5 February.is a source of considerable pleasure 

to ne,, and vas very &lad to find that 1ou atte still thinking about 

· us in Washington. 

The Fttiedoan faoily 1& canacing to survive the ordeals of 

sellins the hone on Military Road,, ::.i.oving into· the t0\·7n house at 

1823 Que Street,, and also into the country place at F~nwick,, 

Maryland. Everythin3 turned out ver~ nicely,, hovever,, and we 

atte all extreaely happy about the country place. The view is 

ch.arcing and every aspect of the eetablishnent is pleasing. When 

we go down thero for a weekend,, we hate to coce back. As soon as 

the weather pero1ts,, I. think I ac goine to travel back and forth 

every day ~ despite.the tact that tho distance between Arlington . 

Hall and t.RIMMI: is just a little under 30 Diles. The road is 

excellent,, 

"' 

however,, and~I 

~ should ... ~~ 

be able to make the ~ourney in· 

an hour. 

The place in town is turn1ns out siztgat all risht,, althou5h ~- for weeks I despaired of ever getting~ thinB'Ssettlcd. You 

" can ir.iagine that it was very expensive; ... we ppt ta a lot ~ore 

. ~ 

~oney into the place than I badAanticipated. But people who knov 

tell·cc it is a nighty fine 1nvestaent an~ I should be able to 

do well with it. They have started work on the underpass at 

@'pproved for Release by NSA on 03-24-2014 pursuantto E.O. 1352a 

• 
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. 

Du Pont Circle which is but a step troo our house~ and right 

across the street fron us tbcj are a.bout to put up a very ritzy 

apartcent hotel. 

I vas vey glad to get the details about the Corde~n racily 

and think that you all are going to treasure for·a long tine the 

many interesting phases of your lite in Gercany during these 

hectic yoars. I ao very glad to note that you expect to get back 

on Signal Corp~ duties l7hen CB~ is_~nactiva~ed and hope that this 

will actually take place~ With the cbane;es to be expected fro3 

the new regino in the Si~l Corps, I should think th.at -with your \ 

backsro\Uld and record you should certainly be selected for cxtrecely 

important-workA~~t~.b whatever reorganization that . . 

takes place. Ge~cral Aiken's appointment naturally did not coae 

as a surprise Cnd everybody is looking forward to a rev!talization 

of the .corps. 'Whether· there will be an:· change in the' status of 

ASA or 1'1.nt on &CCO\Ult of this chane;e in leadership in the Signal . . Corps, ... 1s not. clear at the mor.:i.ent.;' but I, tor one, doubt that 

a change in ~tatus would be br~ught"about nerely on that account. 

On the other hand, ~ change in st~tus rna.7 re.sult froa whatever 

final decision is cade about the organization or the arced forces. 

I should think that the ASA would becone part of a coapletely 

-integrated joint organization reporting on a very high level. 

As a separate outfit, this would probably be the only way to 

resolve in a satisfactory :::ia;nner certain praQtica~ difficulties 

with which you·are taa1liar. or late these difficulties have 
• ... 

• REF ID: A69\jl0 

., 

increased. and I regret to note eobe deterioration in our caretul]J 

established good relations with the Annex. This is the result or 

difficulties i~ points of view.as to interpretations to be ?:Jade 

rron the.wordinc or the basic docuc.ents gover~ing our relations. 

As you know. in another non~h there will be a change in Coordinators 

and vbat will happen is not clear at the nonent. 

You will be intorested to know tbat 7esterda7 the Legion of 

Merit was awarded to Colo°:el Kuhn, now Mr. KuhnJ who is still with 

us. I understand. too. that the Board rester~y approv~d the 

award to Brigadier Tiltr.JB.nJwho is expec~ed sooe tine in April for 

a visit. Henly Prier. got out of the Arr:tJ: and stayed out only . ..... ,._I ...... .-&e...h..."~ ~ Ai""""'""'l """ ...._.. ~ ...... u:t-· three or four weeks. *--be .. e no+ •een h1 m t:O.--&eeaiJle-431 . 

~ UJ~ 6 .,. ... _...., ~ \AAA. .....,,. Jl .. =..,,ft' A''"~ I ~ wJl.Q .. 

~ 

new, li''M I aa1• ha Ala •eaalta•••··--+-4c, wlret:!pt he will ae111 

..... ~-ti- T' ~ ... __..,.., .,;;) 1Hd. I...:_ J.o.,:t--

. !i""· ai~""4.o ~ -.At.o ~, ~ ~ -~. ~ ""OJ.J ~. We have bad cany of our forcer' officers join up as civilians 

and naturally it bas been a good thing for the ASA for continuity. 

It appears that the work appeals to :ciost of the people who have 

been in it duriJJ:g the war and that the terns of employnent are 

just as good.and possibly a bit better than in industry. For 

exa~ple. in Kuhn's case, he was willing to give up his senioritJ~ 

rights . andA t9=;:: .;;;; ~ •'rzf ••r··~ J SM of over 15 7ears 1 as;: a service 

with the A.T.&T. in order to star with us. 

You will be inte1•ested to know that after cany atteapts_.. 

Mr. Shia~finally got his financial award for his suggestions and. 

that a larger award from the superior board will probably be fortbconing also •. You will also be interested to know that ay 25-yoar 
REF ID:A69060 

probationary period has terminated, and the Civil Service Cocmission 

finds rae worthy of being considered to be a permanent empioyee . 

• 

I should have thrown a party to celebrate the occasion but cy 

financial manipulations with the houses dictated a cautious 

approac~ to :mark: the milestone. It took the Civil Service Commissi~:m only a year and a half to study the :cia.tter~ ~ o.J-. & •·=a~. 

I am very sorry to have to tell you that George had to go 

tack to the hospital for a second o~eration which is soon to take 

place. Naturally this was quite a blow to hi!:.1., Mary, and all of 

us. The doctors assure hi~ that there is no cause for serious 

concern •. I expect to see hi:n in a few G.ays~~ <A~ h:l ~ ~­In a very rece4t letter fro~ our frienc;.,,,Eoris Hagelil}I' comes 

the news that be ex~ects to leave Sweden for gocd anG beco~e an 

A~er~can citizen. Apparently he is keenly d~sappointed in the 

political trend toward the left in his country and wants to oa.ke 

a c.ecided chance. 

I have maGe this letter longe~ then I had intendec =ut hope 

:-c'.1 ··:i.11 find it of interest. Please give my ver~r best greetir:gs 

to ~~rginia and our warmest regards from both Elizabeth and me 

to t:oth of you. 

Sincerely _1'ours, ------