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Dr. Charles Cohen and Lt. Richard Malmstrom represent all that the Dahlgren Navy base has been, and continues to be Date published: 10/21/2009 By Ed Jones I REMEMBER the elephant tusks mounted on a wall in the bungalow down the street. To a toddler like me, back in the 1950s, they looked like exotic souvenirs from some faraway world. Dr. Charles J. Cohen retrieved those tusks on one of his journeys through Africa as a mining geologist in the 1930s. Only much later did I learn that his world was a lot more exotic, and important, than elephants. Cohen, who died last week at the age of 98, played a pivotal role in establishing the Dahlgren Navy base as an internationally recognized center of national defense research. More than any other figure from the halcyon days of my boyhood on the King George County base, Cohen represented to me the kind of stunning intelligence and high moral character that Dahlgren scientists brought to their work. Directly and indirectly, their efforts continue to impact Americans, from sophisticated missile defenses to GPS devices in our cars. As a dependent on the base during the Cold War years, I had no idea that all those top-secret projects were going on behind the fences of the restricted area. Though some of our neighbors were working on atomic bomb tests and missile guidance systems, I knew them as the folks down the street. They were members of a tightknit community on the banks of the Potomac River who liked to water ski down Machodoc Creek and climb Old Rag Mountain. Cohen and my dad were civilian scientists. But Dahlgren wouldn't be Dahlgren, with a mission that continues to grow today, were it not for the men and women in uniform. They're the ones who take the technology, the weapons and more to the front lines. Perhaps that's why I've been so impressed by the contributions of people like Navy Lt. Richard Malmstrom, the current chaplain on the base. He has reached out to war fighters in ways that scientists and engineers cannot. Malmstrom will address a forum at St. George's Episcopal Church Sunday morning on the topic of "Spirituality on the Front Lines." What's it like when a Marine sniper unit asks for a blessing before heading out on assignment? How do you spread the "Good News" to a battalion decimated by casualties? At first glance, there may seem to be little in common between Charles Cohen, 98, who began his career at Dahlgren in the 1940s, and Richard Malmstrom, 42, who arrived on base last year. But to me, they represent all that Dahlgren has been, and continues to be--selfless public servants who provide America's armed forces with the technology and the moral support to get the job done. Ed Jones: 540/374-5401
Date published: 10/21/2009
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