Officials compiling history of volunteers

EMA officials are compiling a history of the agency, which began as Civil Defense in 1942.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- During World War II, Mahoning Valley Civil Defense volunteers stood guard on the rooftops of downtown Youngstown, scanning the skies for enemy aircraft.
Walter Duzzny, director of the Mahoning County Emergency Management and Communications Agency, believes many area people served as Civil Defense volunteers beginning in 1942.
He wants to hear those stories and is leading an effort to collect photographs and other memorabilia about Civil Defense in the Mahoning Valley.
Duzzny said the emergency management agency began in 1942 as Civil Defense in response to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
Duzzny became EMA director in 1982, and his primary duty was to convert the agency from national-defense-related civil defense efforts to disaster preparedness.
Duzzny wants to create a history of Civil Defense and EMA to show how the agency has progressed from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War to the EMA's dual mission of disaster preparedness for both natural disasters and man-made ones caused by domestic or international terrorists.
Full circle
Duzzny said since the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001, the emergency management agency has come full circle. Although the focus of EMA efforts in the Mahoning Valley -- and nationwide -- is still disaster preparedness, EMA officials must meld those efforts with those of Homeland Security, he said.
Although his agency has received Homeland Security grants for vehicles and equipment that are designed for local response to terrorism events, Duzzny said when applying for such funding he must also show how those items would be used in response to natural disasters such as a tornado or flood.
If the dual purpose is not proved, Homeland Security officials will not award the grant, he said.
Anyone willing to share family stories of Civil Defense service or who has photographs or other memorabilia may contact Duzzny at (330) 740-2200.
tullis@vindy.com