Cold War in Asia – Lesson. 48 – Whole Crusade – President Dwight D. Eisenhower On 03 November, 1959, laid the cornerstone of the CIA Headquarters Building in Langley, Virginia.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaims the “Call for Peace through Freedom” in December 1959

About the Original Headquarters Building Cornerstone

The Original Headquarters Building (OHB) reflects the vision of Allen Welsh Dulles, the 5th Director of CIA. CIA is the principle Intelligence and Counterintelligence agency of the US Government. It is organized as 1. The Intelligence Directorate, 2. The Directorate of Operations which includes espionage, 3. The Directorate of Science and Technology, and 4. The Directorate of Administration.

In May 1959, with the site under security surveillance and contractors wearing security badges, work began on the Original Headquarters Building. On November 3 of that year, President Eisenhower came to Langley to place the time capsule and to lay the cornerstone. But that November ceremony was largely symbolic. The box and cornerstone were later removed and held for safekeeping until they were permanently installed more than a year later. (The silver-engraved trowel the President used can be found in the CIA Museum Collection.)

When the press asked Dulles after the ceremony what was in the box, he smiled and said, “It’s a secret.” Despite the DCI’s joke, everything in the copper-covered steel box was unclassified. In addition to the items mentioned below, the National Security Medal, the Distinguished Intelligence Cross, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the Intelligence Star, and the Intelligence Medal of Merit were added to the box later.

Contents of the cornerstone box include:

Memorandum for President Franklin D. Roosevelt from Major General William J. Donovan, director of the Office of Strategic Services, dated November 18, 1944, regarding the establishment of a permanent centralized intelligence service; and Memorandum from President Roosevelt to General Donovan, dated April 5, 1945, directing that General Donovan discuss his plan with the appropriate officials of the Government.

President Harry S. Truman’s Executive Letter of January 22, 1946, establishing the National Intelligence Authority and the Central Intelligence Group.

Statement of General (then Lieutenant General) Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Director of Central Intelligence, before the Senate Committee on Armed Services, on April 29, 1947, in support of the sections of the proposed National Security Act of 1947 to establish the Central Intelligence Agency.

Text and Explanation of Statutes and Executive Orders relating specifically to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), including Enabling and Appropriations Acts for the construction of the new CIA building.

Reproduction of the CIA seal and its official description.

The official seal of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was approved by President Harry S. Truman on February 17, 1950, under Executive Order 10111.

Key Design Elements

American Bald Eagle (Crest): Symbolizes strength, alertness, and national vigilance.

Shield (Center): Features a 16-point red compass rose and represents intelligence as the nation’s primary line of defense.

16-Point Compass Rose: Represents the convergence of intelligence and data from all around the globe into a single central location.

Inscriptions: The blue circular field displays “Central Intelligence Agency” at the top and a red-lettered gold scroll reading “United States of America” at the bottom.

History of the US Central Intelligence Agency

Origin: The National Security Act of 1947 created the CIA without a seal, while the CIA Act of 1949 authorized an official seal for document legitimacy.

Design Process: After an internal employee design contest failed to produce a suitable option, the U.S. Army Heraldic Branch (now the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry) created the final design.

Iconic Display: A massive 16-foot-diameter inlaid granite version of the seal is embedded in the floor of the Original Headquarters Building lobby in Langley, Virginia.

“William J. Donovan and the National Security,” a speech by Allen W. Dulles, Director of Central Intelligence, to the Erie County Bar Association, Buffalo, New York, May 4, 1959.

An aerial photograph of the CIA building site.

Drawings of the CIA building as it would appear when completed.

Invitation to the Ceremony, the Program, a recording, and photographs of the Cornerstone Ceremony.

Microfilm copies of daily and weekly newspapers of 3 November 1959.

The Debrief: Behind the Artifact – Cornerstone

TRANSCRIPT

In 2021, we celebrate the 60th anniversary of CIA’s Original Headquarters Building.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower joined Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles here, to lay the cornerstone right where I’m standing. On November 3rd, 1959 President Dwight D. Eisenhower used this trowel to lay the cornerstone of our new headquarters building. Just 12 years old at the time, the CIA was one step closer to finally having a permanent headquarters.

CIA’s Original Headquarters Building was designed in the 1950s, the designers used the vision of Allen Dulles who really wanted officers to work in a college-like campus setting, but wanted us in a secluded and safe area as well, but the key was we needed to be by US policymakers. Construction was completed in 1961 and officers began moving in 1962.

In preparation for the move into the headquarters building, the CIA gave officers a book entitled “Your New Headquarters Building” which laid out all of the new things that they were going to encounter once inside. It gave an idea of what the facility was like and the services within it. The publication emphasized the up-to-date nature of the new campus.

Words such as “new” and “modern” and “latest” appear repeatedly throughout the booklet in phrases such as “modern air conditioning and ventilation system”, “2 modern self-service cafeterias”, and “an automatic dial switchboard of the latest design”.

The military occupation of Tibet poses the greatest danger to Peace, Freedom, Democracy, and Human Rights in the world. The problem will not go away and the real solution for the military occupation of Tibet is  the Eviction of Military Occupier from the territories of Tibet.

The US Intelligence Gathering Mission in India:

On behalf of Special Frontier Force (#SpecialFrontierForce), Establishment-22 (#Establishment22), and Vikas Regiment I ask my readers to give special attention to some of the aspects of US-Tibet relations. These are:

1. From 1911 to 1950, for about 39-years, Tibet was an independent, sovereign nation. However, Tibet chose a political policy called ‘Isolationism’ and limited its interactions with foreign powers. Tibet had diplomatic relations with a few of its immediate neighbors like India, Nepal, and China. For Tibet had no formal diplomatic relationships with the United States, their relations always existed under the shadow of US-India relations. It should not be of any surprise for both India, and Tibet face a common external enemy.

2. People’s Republic of China as a national entity came into existence on October 01, 1949 following the Communist October Revolution that seized political power in China after defeating the nationalists or Kuomintang who fled mainland China to establish Republic of China popularly known as Taiwan.

3. The security threat posed by People’s Republic of China is the driving force that still shapes the US-India-Tibet relations. After Communist China’s illegal invasion and military occupation of Tibet since 1950s, the history of the US-India-Tibet relations is shaped entirely with the sole purpose of resisting China’s military occupation of Tibet.

4. During the long course of 77-years, the US-India-Tibet relations are primarily based on the principles on which the United States declared its independence from its rule by Great Britain. In the words used by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the US-India-Tibet relations represent a “Crusade for Peace through Freedom.”

5. I am a witness to the history of US-India-Tibet relations on account of my affiliation with a military organization called Special Frontier Force (#SpecialFrontierForce) or Establishment 22 (#Establishment22) or Vikas Regiment which supports the External Intelligence Gathering Mission of the US Central Intelligence Agency outside the United States. I have no particular need to cite any government documents to support my statements. However, I have to acknowledge the vastly superior intelligence capabilities of People’s Republic of China which gave it a clear insight about the US-India-Tibet relations. China expressed its displeasure by attacking India along its Himalayan Frontier during October-November 1962. The US-India-Tibet relations survived despite firm opposition from Communist China.

The Crusade for Peace through Freedom in Occupied Tibet:

I ask my readers to explore the history of the US-India-Tibet relations formulated on the principles of Freedom and Democracy from 1949 by 33rd US President Harry S Truman (1949-1952). Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th President of the US (1953-1961) continued President Truman’s foreign policy of containing Communism. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the US (1961-1963) and Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the US (1963-1969) continued to checkmate Communist Cold War strategy. To gain a correct historical perspective, I have to mention that Richard Milhous Nixon served as Vice President (1953-1956, & 1957-1960) under President Eisenhower and was intimately involved in implementing President Eisenhower’s policy of containing Communism in Southeast Asia.

I am pleased to share some of these photo images that help me to recapitulate the historical ties between the United States, India, and Tibet. Because of the silence and secrecy imposed by Cold War Era, the connections between these three nations are often misunderstood.

The History of The US-India-Tibet Relations: The US President Eisenhower with the US Secretary of State. The Crusade for Peace through Freedom in Occupied Tibet.

The Living Tibetan Spirits:

Rudra Narasimham. Rebbapragada,

Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.

Service Information:
Service Number: MS-8466/MR-03277K; Rank: Major; Branch: Army Medical Corps/Short Service Regular Commission/Direct Permanent Commission (1969-1984);
Medical Officer, South Column, Operation Eagle (1971-72),
Headquarters Establishment No. 22 C/O 56 APO (1971-74),
Directorate General of Security,
Office of Inspector General Special Frontier Force,
East Block V, Level IV, R. K. Puram,
New Delhi – 110 022