Working at Fort Detrick after returning from Nam back in the 1960s was a unique experience...long story, so hold on tight. Big building in a secluded area of the Fort, with no windows. First thing was I had a Top Secret clearance and wasn’t allowed in parts of the building without an escort...based on a need to know. They didn’t know what to do with me because I was promoted out of my MOS (job classification)...or so I told them, actually I just left out the part about what I did in civilian life before being drafted. They put me in an office ALL BY MYSELF. From April until September my main job was destroying reels of outdated classified communications...by burning them. Two things...they left an Army Viet Nam Veteran (me) unattended all day. My primary function was making out duty rosters, which I left myself off of; including morning formation where I hung out in my one man office in a deserted wing of a large brick and block building without windows. The work was transferred to Texas a couple of decades ago and a few month later I drove out to look at the buildings...knowing where they were, I knew how to look without going inside the gate and without being obvious. No buildings, even the two story brick billets were gone. The only evidence remaining was the large ground level plates where necessary wires were likely stored.
"We don't have any law here. Just a graveyard." LL from TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Short story...while at Detrick my mother asked me a question once. I thought about it for a few seconds and said, “I can’t tell you that.” She paused before saying, “That’s taking things too far.” But it wasn’t.
"We don't have any law here. Just a graveyard." LL from TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Thanks for posting. I wasn’t familiar with the facility, so I just got a little history lesson via google. I think I understand who you are a bit better, now.
Wonder what kind of fumes were put off by burning that stuff. Must have been some pretty important stuff for a guy with Top Secret clearance to need to be escorted. Leaving yourself off the duty rosters must have been nice.
To give you a small look...we knew not only where Russian troops were deployed...we knew what they had for breakfast. And this was fifty plus years ago.
"We don't have any law here. Just a graveyard." LL from TREASURE MOUNTAIN
