Evening star., 1952-04-25
Commanding General
Airport Lauds Civilian
Record as Superb ;.
SpseiaI Disposeh 10 The Stos

SAN FRANCISCO. April 25.-
The commanding general of the
San Francisco Port of Embarka-
ton. which ships the military
personnel. weapons and supplies
to Korea. praises Federal workers
for their tremendous contribu-
tions" to the defense effort.
While Mai. Gen. James A. Les
ter was speaking mainly about the
civilian workers under his imme-
diate command. he made it clear
that civilian employees in the mill
tary units have done an outstand-
ing job.
Take our port" he said. about
80 per cent of our personnel is
civilian. and they have the enor-
NOUS responsibility of seeing to it
that the weapons and materials
d are sent to Korea. And their
record has been superb"
Although the volume handled
4,518.000 tons a years. almost
double the volume handled prior
to the Korean war, this is being
done with only a small increase
in the number of civilian workers.
Total Only About 5000.
AS matter of fact, total mill
tary and civilian personnel num-
ber only about 5000, which is ac-
tually less than the combined total
0f cnvoro1 voorc ooo ca - nov, k>a
seen that adding civilians to re-
place military personnel resulted
in an increased output at less cost
to the Government.
1t. Col. Walter Donahue, chief
Of the ports administrative and
personnel staff. says experience
shows that civilian generally can|
take the place of two military
personnel.
Col. Donahue explained that this
Is because military personnel are
always subject to training and
educational courses and other de-
mands on their time and services.
that take them away from their
jobs for considerable period of
time. Col. Donahue said its the
ports policy to use civilians wher-
ever military experience is not
essential OF the job.
The ports civilian workers take
a quiet pride in their jobs. It's
their duty to see to it that the
supplies and weapons are properly
Grated. delivered and placed
aboard ship. They keep the rec
ords and supervise the loading
At the ports branch in Oakland
more supplies and weapons are
shipped.
From Joy to Sorrow.
The employees are happiestI
when a shipload of GIs, singing
and cheering. pulls into the dock
after the long voyage home from
Korea.
Their grimmest job is in han
ding the return of the GIs who
weren't so lucky-those killed in
action. The huge mortuary ware
house is filed with caskets which
are sorted and then placed on
trains for the last ride home.
Gen., Lester is UNDERSTANDABLE
proud of the ports record and theI
achievements Of its civilian en-
ployes. And he also feels that
similarly good records are being
compiled by many others of the
100000 Federal workers in the
San Francisco Bay region.
Things at the port aren't quite
as hectic now as they were in the
first weeks after the outbreak of
the Korean war. Supplies and
equipment were needed badly and
the port, as the largest embarka-
tion station in the country, rose
to the occasion. Civilian em-I
ployes together with the mill
tary worked day and night and
on Saturdays and Sunday, most
OF the time disregarding the over
time involved.
Gen. Lester likes to remind
critics about that when thew
charge that Federal employees are
shiftless and lazy.