About the Donovan’s Statue
A statue of Maj. Gen. William J. Donovan stands in solemn watch next to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Memorial. Donovan was the head of the OSS and is the “Father of Modern American Intelligence Gathering.” Donovan is responsible for developing the five principles of the CIA:
Be an independent agency,
Be able to do overt and covert action,
Set the tone for how intelligence would be gathered in the community,
Coordinate all the Intelligence community, and
Have no police powers.
The Donovan statue was dedicated on Oct. 26, 1988, and was commissioned by the late Director of Central Intelligence William J. Casey.
The complete OSS Memorial – with its single star and the OSS Book of Honor – was dedicated on June 12, 1992 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Office of Strategic Services.
