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VOLUME 13
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 1970
NUMBER 14
A lot Of water has gone un
der the bridge since Colonel
Frank Knox, as Secretary of
the Navy, visited this coastal
section and put his blessing on
Cherry Point.
His approval, after viewing
the spot from the air and on the
ground, was a momentous
decision, since it resulted in
the establishment of a mam
moth Marine Corps base in
Craven County.
It fell our lot to be the only
New Bern reporter who made
the tour with Knox. Ibere was
no fanfare attached to his pres
ence in the vicinity. During a
single day he not only made a
careful survey of this immedi
ate area, but scrutinized On
slow County, where Camp Le-
jeune came into being.
A former newspaper man,
and all things a Republican
serving in the Cabinet of a
Democratic President, he had
the alertness of a hawk, the
nervous energy of a hound on
the trail. He moved swiftly
everywhere he went.
Perhaps no one except Knox
vlsuaUzed the immensity of
the military facility he had un
der conslderaitlon. Tothlsedl-\
tor, who remembered crabbing
on Cherry Point when he and
another boy were the two hum
ans around, the whole thing was
somewhat astounding.
Knox was not a man lnflated
with his own sense of impor
tance, but you got the impres
sion that by nature he never
did anything half way. If he
wasted time on trivialities on
this occasion we failed to de
tect it.
The story is told that once,
during World War Tho, he
was asked by an old friend
a casual question about the
movement of certain Navy ves
sels in the Atlantic. It was, of
course, thoughtless and highly
Improper.
Knox handled the situation
admirably. He leaned over
with an air of confidence, and
whispered, "Look here, can
you keep a secret?” Hie friend
eagerly assured him that he
could.
"Well,” said the Secretary,
"so can I.” Needless to add,
Knox didn’t find it necessary
to brush aside any more ques
tions, and the flrned gidned
even greater respect for a man
who served FCat and the nation
well.
"I believe with all my heart,”
Knox once said, "thatcultlva-
tlon has produced nothing finer,
than a man or woman who
thinks and practices true toler
ance. Someone has observed
that most of us don’t think,
we Just occasionally rearrange
our prejudices.
"And 1 suspect that even
today, with all the progress
we tove made in liberal thought,
the quality of true tolerance is
as rare as mercy. That men of
all creeds have fundamental
common objectives isafactone
must learn by process of edu
cation. How to work Jointly
toward these objectives must
be,learned by experience.’*
Knox, a man of considerable
compassion, never became
case hardened to the grim real
ities of war. They weighed
heavily on his shoulders. Ev
ery man who died on the high
seas broughi to him a sense of
personal loss, and no doubt
(Continued on page 8)
Walls cannot Imprison
The magic of each page.
For books will take you places
Regardless of your age.
To distant lands enchanting,
Beyond a world of care,
Where any girl’s a princess
In her castle in the air.
—Photo by Dr. Bruce Schlein.