PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO AND THE NEFARIOUS PRESIDIO TRUST (12/24/06)

The Presidio of San Francisco is now under the jurisdiction of the Presidio Trust a nefarious quasi-Federal agency that does not have an affinity for the Army, its history going to the days of the Ohlone and institutional memory from a little before 1776 but is fixated more to commercialize the Presidio of San Francisco for mundane purposes. Where once stood the Letterman Army Medical Center (LAMC) and the Letterman Army Institute of Research (LAIR) stands the ugly Letterman Lucas Digital Center. George Lucas built it with the cooperation of James Meadows the first Director of the Presidio Trust who was fired for corruption and stealing and wasting millions of dollars. By the 15th Avenue Gate where once stood the Public Health Hospital the Presidio Trust is busy trying to build hundreds of market rate units for the filthy rich on National Park Land. The Forest Hill developers are busy trying to figure out how best to invest some money and make tons of it in the future. They are the same developers that built the West Field expansion where once stood the Emporium on Market Street in down town San Francisco. For those that may not have known the Presidio of San Francisco is now a National Park. The land bordering the Bay is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service (NPS) the land better known to most of us, Presidians - as the Presidio Main Post is under the jurisdiction of the nefarious Presidio Trust. By the Lombard Gate for those of us that visited the homes of folks at Simmonds Circle and are familiar with the wooden structures that are linked to the Buffalo Soldiers buildings 572 and 563 two of many are now used for commercial purposes - one is a Spa and the other a restaurant. Times have changed and the past history and contribution of hard work and sincere Presidians have been thrown to the winds. In its place a new wave of thinking more in keeping with vain materialism and far from ethical principles is taking root ­ everywhere. The National Park Service (NPS) at one time tried their best to demolish these buildings by letting them fall into disrepair. The Presidio Trust under watchful eye of the advocates have fixed the former Buffalo Soldier wooden buildings and turned them into commercial enterprises. Such buildings according to the mandates of the NPS should be preserved and protected so that the story of the Buffalo Soldiers is told. The Buffalo Soldier were all Black soldiers from the 9th and 10th Calvary and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments - they all served at the Presidio of San Francisco. Over five hundred Buffalo Soldiers are buried at the Presidio Cemetery that comes under the jurisdiction of the Veteran Administration. Thank God. As far as I know no Buffalo Soldiers were involved in the Spa or Restaurant business for private or commercial gain. There are other buildings that played an important part in the history of this Nation. Some may not be aware but the Presidio of San Francisco was established in 1776. The National Park Service was established in 1916 and the Presidio Trust came to be in 1995. One such building that is linked to the Buffalo Soldier building 682. The Presidio Trust has chosen to use it as a Charter School ­ knowing fully well that is could be used to inform other more about the Buffalo Soldiers and the history of Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco. The Buffalo Soldiers wrote the first Standard Operating Procedures how to maintain and operate Federal Lands later know as National Parks. The NPS was formed in 1916 but before that the Buffalo Soldiers reigned supreme. Today the role of the Buffalo Soldiers and their connection with the early NPS has been forgotten on purpose and this is plain wrong. Not one street or road has been named for the Buffalo Soldiers. Not one building and there has been no monument to commemorate the contributions of the Buffalo Soldiers. On some occasion I go to Sacred places and with some Abalone Shells and lit sage pay homage to those that respected Mother Earth. Such ceremonies are very private and revealed to some of us that paid our dues. As the wind blows you hear the voices that calm the soul. Aho Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco played an important role in World War II. I have tried to post some of the history on this web site. For a long time I served as the last Congressional Liaison of Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco and have fond memories of men such as Colonel Crocetti and General Mallory and General Harrison. That was another time a better time when ethics, morality, and standards counted. Today the Presidio Trust is ripe with corruption and the Presidio Trust are bent with the help of Congressperson Nancy Pelosi who was instrumental in creating this quasi-Federal Agency to help some cronies in the inner circle make huge sums of money. There are big wigs behind the scene much like a well organized Mafia creating opportunities where a few leach on the many innocent and all this Federal property. For thousands of years the Ohlone the First People lived on the Presidio of San Francisco. Some mention is made at El Pollins Spring about the First People. The spring was kept pristine by the Army but now dogs and other filth abound. There seems to be a carefully planned blue print to erase any memory of the history of the Army and the First People. The same mentality is fostered to erase the memory of the Buffalo Soldiers. Time will tell. I have been trying to awake and challenge the crooks and remind them that the Army kept the Presidio Post pristine and that it ought to be kept clean and well groomed. My pleas have been falling on deaf ears some but now and then it is a pleasure to kick ass. The Presidio and the Army has had a long history and contributed well to the welfare of San Francisco, the Bay Area, California, and the Nation. The rather novice and turbulent NPS knows little about standards for sure and the NPS have worked hand in glove to put down many First People towards being recognized as a tribe. The NPS made wild promises in its draft General Management Plan favoring the Ohlone and as time went by chose to erase the defined language and left the Ohlone holding the bag. Karma has a lasting memory and time will tell. The Presidio Trust must remember that the Muwekma Ohlone exercised its Right of First Refusal and claimed the Presidio of San Francisco. I did what I could trying to bring the Muwekma Ohlone and the first Director of the Presidio Trust James Meadows to first acknowledge the fact and then accept the process linked to First Refusal. The Presidio Trust has remained defiant and chosen to confront what is right and deny what is rightfully theirs to the Muwekma Ohlone. Nancy Pelosi and others behind the scenes made sure that the Muwekma Ohlone were kept at Bay prompted all the more by the NPS that worked hard to give no recognition to the Muwekma Ohlone and to the key archeological factors that the NPS should monitor and respect but does not to this day. At Crissy Field were several Shell Mounds - Sacred Burial Grounds - I helped save one by the Marian Gate. Sacred remained and other artifacts were found but burnt in a fire and in a garage in which the artifacts were stored. Leo Barker knows more about this fact the NPS archeologists who will carry the memories of this sad deed to his grave. The directives laid down by the Secretary of the Interior are well known linked to Historical Buildings, Landmarks, and related issues archeological, but when it comes closer home to the First People, the Muwekma Ohlone, the all Black soldiers, the Buffalo Soldiers, the NPS, the Department of Interior, and the quasi-Federal agency the Presidio Trust look the other way and pretend that these mandates do not exists. When the Army was in command Crissy Field and other designated areas were governed by certain sane and humane laws and regulations. Today, the NPS has chosen to take on the dog lovers who have taken the NPS to court and won hands down. Reading the briefs one is astounded at the lies perpetrated by the NPS under the jurisdiction of Superintendent Brian O'Neill the aging and lying man who speaks from both sides of his mouth. Brian O'Neill has been aided by Susan Hurst, Mai-Lis Bartling, and a few others that still continue to hook wink the public and work for the NPS, earn tons of money without doing their jobs and fleecing the tax payers Some will remember with fondness the Pet Cemetery right by the Horse Stables. I go to the cemetery from time to time and I am happy to report that the Pet Cemetery is well kept. Next door the Stables now come under the control of the United States Park Police and since they have some horses the stables serve a good purpose - I am talking horses. Fort Scott still has many of the key buildings boarded up and this has been the situation since the late nineties. It will cost millions of dollars to repairs these historic buildings and then millions more to maintain them. Those that were at the Presidio for a long time will remember the Educational Center buildings 1216 and 1217. The infamous detention center - famous for its ghosts and strange noises - building 1213 where many were detained and some died. The Log Cabin has been fixed and is used but not as we did when the Army reigned supreme. These guys attempt to put on a party but cannot come close to the Army. Some will remember the fond parties at the Officers Club Building 50. The Non-Commissioned Club is now called the Golden Gate Club and raking in millions and run by the National Park Service. The 100 Series Buildings are mostly closed. Building 103 is taken over by the Real Estate Office linked to the Presidio Trust and building 106 once occupied by the Central Investigation Department is now an office building occupied by the Arnold Palmer Golf Course. Building 102 the former Finance Center was given to the NPS. It wasted millions destroying the interior of the building. It was set aside to be a Tourist Information Center. It stares at the world on the Main Post but it awaits the day where it can be well served and used by the Public at Large. The Bowling Center is doing well and has a small café and restaurant. As more folks live on the Presidio - children and others have a safe haven and use the Bowling Center a lot. The Presidio Theater building is now used by the folks that occupy Building 39 the Actor Robert Redford has invested in both buildings and has used his clout and millions, just as has George Lucas with the former LAMC complex by the Lombard Gate for ulterior purposes. The Museum Building on Funston Avenue is still closed. The wooden shacks behind this former Army Museum Building are there and linked to the Big One that struck San Francisco in 1906. Visitors in the know ask about the Building 2 the Museum but there is no one to tell them the real truth. NPS Rangers are few and the NPS looks forward to out sourcing every thing and using the Rangers to do a multitude of jobs with more work and less pay. The Red Cross Building is there but used for other purposes. The lone small Dynamite Adobe Storage building is still there on the Main Post not far way from the Eucalyptus Tree planted by the Storekeeper that once provided a host of amenities to the soldiers and the families in the 1880s. I often go the Presidio of San Francisco and take the Shuttle Bus that takes you all over the Presidio to various destinations. There are various Shuttle Buses all free of charge with different routes and pretty good timings. If I am on a bus I will give a tour and entertain the tourists - point to some building here, some landmark there, and offering some facts and explanations that are not mentioned in books. I keep monitoring the Presidio of San Francisco since I continue to live in San Francisco. Wikipedia has chosen to add some facts and give my web site some publicity. Some former Presidians have chosen to contact me and I hope I have been helpful providing what little information I can share. It is always a pleasure keeping the Presidian family together. I often meet people former employees and on many occasions when I testify before some organizations and bodies such as the San Francisco Board Of Supervisors try to paint the Presidio of San Francisco in a true, sound and better light and as best as I can. I participated in Desert Storm and Desert Shield. I saw it all even though this war was short lived but it still adversely impacted thousands of young women and men our beloved Service women and men. Since for the first time Reservists were sent in the thousands to Desert Storm and Desert Shield - the Presidio of San Francisco as the Training Center for the twelve Western Nations played an important role. The Iraq War is an ugly war and I have detested this war from day one. We went to Iraq to seek oil and we went to Afghanistan to fulfill a mission. We left our mission and messed out initial objective. Sixty U.S. Army was born of war and fulfilled its mission is a big way especially in the Pacific Rim. I feel this Nation made a great mistake deactiving Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco. I walk alone all over the Presidio of San Francisco and shed a tear many a times - what I see now I do not like. The standards, the ethics, the mandates steaming from fortitude and sincerity have fallen by the way side. Once great women and men marched and walked on the ground that is the Presidio but they were part of the Army - the one and only Great and Noble Sixth Army and Presidio of San Francisco. God bless you all.

www.nps.gov/prsf

Building 1016 - former LAMC.

The Fire House.

The 100 Series Buildings.

Buildings 85, 86, and 87.

The Main Post and Aloha Festival.


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