FALLS CHURCH, Va.,
June 19, 2017
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A ceremony was held in
Washington, D.C., on Friday, June 16, 2017, to commemorate the
75th anniversary of the Office of Strategic Services'
(OSS) founding. OSS was the World War II predecessor to CIA, the US
Special Operations Command, and the Department of State's Bureau of
Intelligence and Research. It was created on June 13, 1942, by President Franklin Roosevelt.
OSS was led by Maj. Gen. William
Donovan, a World War I Medal of Honor recipient who is
considered the founding father of the US intelligence and special
operations communities. The ceremony was held on Navy Hill in
Washington, D.C., which was the
site of the OSS and first CIA headquarters. This site was recently
added to the National Register of Historic Places. Several OSS
veterans attended the ceremony.
Representatives of three agencies that trace their lineage
to the OSS spoke at the ceremony: The Hon. Mike Pompeo, Director of the Central
Intelligence Agency; Amb. Daniel
Smith, Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and
Research; and Lt. Gen. Thomas Trask,
USAF, Vice Commander of the US Special Operations
Command.
Director Pompeo said that "in drawing up
plans for a central intelligence agency, [Donovan] envisioned a
service that would help prevent another world war, and that would
contribute directly to the security of our citizens.
At CIA, we are all under General Donovan's watch. We seek to
do justice to his vision every day. We will always endeavor to live
up to the magnificent example he set, and to be worthy successors
to the men and women of OSS that he so ably led."
Amb. Daniel Smith saluted
"the sacrifices and contributions made by our predecessors in the
OSS in defense of our nation. This history and tradition continues
to inspire and motivate us to provide the best possible policy
support to our decision makers."
Gen. Trask said that "we at SOCOM feel a sense of pride in
having carried on the traditions and the mantle of responsibility
that our forebears in the OSS so gallantly bore."
Charles Pinck, The OSS
Society's present, said the OSS' most lasting legacy was best
expressed by General Donovan in his 1945 farewell address to OSS
personnel: "Only by decisions of national policy based upon
accurate information do we have a chance of a peace that will
endure."
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/75th-anniversary-of-the-office-of-strategic-services-predecessor-to-the-cia-and-socom-300475785.html
SOURCE The OSS Society, Inc.