military, Mason became the agency's senior civilian. As a result of the war, civil BEB 

 functions were greatly decreased. The question then was whether the BEB would become 

 essentially dormant or whether there was some contribution it could make to the war effort. 

 The latter course was taken, and the BEB began the phase of its history which was to make 

 it an asset unique to the United States during World War 11. 



It was speculated, by Mason and others, that the BEB staff, with its knowledge of various 

 shore processes, might be able to supply useful information regarding foreign beaches, 

 especially those slated for amphibious landings of troops, tanks, and other military 

 equipment. Brig. Gen. John J. Kingman, who had become Senior Member of the Board and 

 Resident Member of the BEB staff in December 1941,^" also saw the potential value of 

 such data. A preliminary investigation was begun on the coast most likely to be used as a 

 beachhead for such a landing— the coast of the English Channel. Then in June 1942, a 

 conference was held to discuss the BEB's possible role in beach intelligence. Among those 

 attending this meeting were Lt. Col. Joseph E. McCaffrey and Mark P. Connaughton of the 

 Strategic Intelligence Branch, Mihtary Intelligence Division of the Office of the Chief of 

 Engineers, together with Gen. Kingman, Martin Mason, and Morrough O'Brien of the BEB. 

 As a result of this conference and by order of the Chief of Engineers, the BEB completed in 

 July 1942 its first intelligence study, "Landing Area Report: Cherbourg to Dunkirk."^ ^ 

 The report came to the attention of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and they, along with their 

 European counterparts, quickly appreciated the enormous military value of such 

 information. The study was promptly classified and security restrictions applied to the 

 entire staff and to all ensuing beach intelligence work of the BEB during the remainder of 

 the war. 



The road to action— a road which was to entirely transform the BEB— was now open. 

 Gen. Kingman and Martin Mason, with the assistance of several of the Board members, set 

 out to bring skilled scientists and other personnel to augment their depleted staff and to 

 advance the agency's vital military program. They were successful in this endeavor. Among 

 those recruited were Garbis H. Keulegan, specialist in wave mechanics, who came on a loan 

 basis from the National Bureau of Standards in 1942 and assisted the Board's staff until 

 1946, and William C. Krumbein, noted geologist then of the University of Chicago, who 

 joined the BEB in July 1942 and stayed until mid-1945.^ ^ ^ These four men— Kingman, 

 Mason, Keulegan, and Krumbein— plus Jay HaU, who had worked for the BEB since it was 

 established, formed tlie nucleus of the agency's staff during the war. They were supported 

 by several engineers, geologists, and draftsmen, plus maintenance personnel and a secretarial 

 staff, the latter headed by Josephine Rowzie. Throughout the course of the war and for 

 varying lengths of time, talented people trained in fields associated with beach and wave 

 phenomena, and military personnel from the Allied Forces frequented the unpretentious 

 facility on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., and provided additional expertise and 

 knowledge, as well as problems to be solved. 



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