EVEN DEAD HEROES ARE SECRET BEHIND AGENCY S PRISTINE WALLS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000300030034-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 15, 2007
• Sequence Number: 34
• Publication Date: October 9, 1977
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2007/10/19: CIA-RDP99-00498ROO0300030034-2
THE PHILADELPHIA BULLETIN
9 October 1977
O 1971
O CT
Even- Dead=;Heroes Are Secret
Behind. Agncyts Pristine Wails:'
Langleyi Va. -L'he headquarters of
the Central IntelligencetAgency, at
firs~-glance"'"'d rpstenous?
or
It is eight'ystories. tzl~,moderm-itk,
glass and concrete;.: apparently much
like any ' other office building;. set on }
140- acres tranqut enoug)v to be a colq
By JOSEPH R. DAUGHEN'=
A visitor with an appointment has}
no difficulty getting past, the main
gate, and a taxicab, is-permitted to
travel ~unchallenged:.:` to the main t
entrance, where, the glass' doors are
unattended, ; .
`,-Once inside the $46 million complex,
:just eight miles.fronitheWhite House,
there are telltale signs- of the unusual
.,'nature of the business conducted from
here
grim reminders of a danger-,
tinged twilight world=
Strands of barbed wire atop theft
chain link fence: Notices banning fire-
-smiicm-
m, amunton, +eras and._re,
cording devices-'fronf'the premises.,'
Thirty-five stars'-,chiseled , into : the
'marble wall just inside:the front door:,
Beneath the stars. is; a small;-glass
'
case?contaunng: edgei. The ledger
"also is = inscribe&witl>k36,stars?in erl: ;
'tries datng bako 29dfl. Each star!
- Only lr of the star "however ' have
names. listed next{to tliem:'Although
the < identities: `of'.the'-other A are:"
death,, for unspecified'-secairity' rea *,
Just past-?the stars anct the CI~4seal;
set into, the floor is:a,.guard who in_.
spects bags and briefcases ? To the'`
guard's` left are four lanes providing-
entry to offices. The lanes are elec-.
tronically controlled. CIA employes.
must. insert identification passes
complete with photos- into scanning
devices. The device "reads" the pass,
then raises a
striped.wobden
a
miniature version of 'the' am- rs
found in'parking garages' to permit
access..
To the right:is.a large, pastel-col-
ored lobby decorated with modern art and a reception desk. Off to one side is
a small sitting room served by a key
operated elevator. The elevator lifts
visitors to the seventh floor offices of
the director of central intelligence,
Adm. Stansfield Turner:
Turner.,, a multi-colored
cardigan sweater, works out of-a,
beige-carpeted'-and paneled office. It.,
is not large by Washington standards..
At one end of the room, a-tan writing:
board flanks a mahogany Chippendale:
table, here Turner receives visitors.
Around the table are six. armchairs'
upholstered in blue velvet:
A door opens and a waiter wearing a
j~
yellow-and-baack? jacket wheels in a
cart' Iaden with silver coffee and tea
services. The beverages are served in
cups bearing the CIA seal. The agency
has its own china ("It's called Formo.
sa," one man said).
Not many outsiders' make it up to
Turner's' offices. But the super-secret
spy agency is planning to open part of
its antiseptic gray honeycomb to tour-
ists to help improve the CIA's tarn-
ished image.
The tours have `not begun yet though
,they were announced' in the spring.
/The 'delay' is'; blamed., on opposition.
from agents-who fear they may be
recognized by neighbors or:acquain-:ry
tances who presently do not know th
work for the CIA.
There is little chance when the tours
do start, tourists will. see'anything
more than a carefully-selected portion
of the nation's-espionage nerve center.
Indeed, vast ,reaches; of the head-
quarters will.continue to be. off limits
even to many, CIA employes. While all
workers -. including Turner's waiter
and the'=agency's charwomen - have
secret clearances,, these are. not, high
enough to,-gain access to`the store-
rooms of secrets.
"I think the whole ethos of this place' is more security-minded than any
? where I've ever been," said Turner.-`--
The "security minded atmosphere-"
is evident everywhere. In the per.:..a~' -
notices posted on blackboards offering j
items for sale and sigaed only with
first names and telephone 'extension
numbers: In the security check sheets
attached to doors of offices. In the:
agency telephone book;' which is itself `
a "classified" document.. And'in they,
service -medals locked in safes. These''
have been earned by agents who canes'
not take them out of the- building for
security reasons, -
Still, win _ tourists will see should,
provide mild titillation
Approved For Release 2007/10/19: CIA-RDP99-00498ROO0300030034-2