Birth Defect Research for Children can continue the important work of the National Birth Defect Registry because of a generous endowment from Dorothy Casey Miller in honor of her husband, Major General Hugh Casey.

Casey was a top West Point graduate who served in both World Wars. In World War I Casey served as a company commander with the 219^th Engineers stationed in Virginia. Shortly after the war he served in Germany during the Occupation of the Rhineland from 1920-22. While in Germany he received his Doctorate in the German language.

Between WWI and WWII, Casey was involved with the Corp of Engineers where they helped stop floods in the Pittsburgh District on the Ohio River by creating the Deadman Island Lock and Dam (now called Dashields Lock and Dam). Later he won a John R. Freeman fellowship to study hydraulics and civil engineering in Germany. He also earned a second Doctorate in Engineering while in Germany. In 1935 Casey headed the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power project, a New Deal Works project. Next, he went to the Philippines to advise the government there on hydropower and flood control where he helped design the Caliraya Dam.

In the year prior to WWII, Casey returned to Washington, DC to become the Chief of the Design and Engineering Section in the Construction Division of the Quartermaster General. Casey helped revise the standard design for barracks, where comfort, safety, durability, and capacity were all improved. Next he was given the enormous task of helping oversee the creation of the building that would become the Pentagon. The Pentagon would be the largest office building in the world for over 80 years.

Douglas MacArthur requested Casey as chief engineer during several important battles against Japan,  most notably the Battle of Bataan. Casey supervised demolitions as MacArthur’s troops retreated and for this, he received the Distinguished Service Cross and Army Distinguished Service Medal. After this, he was stationed in Australia where he received a Silver Star for finding a suitable pass for US troops to cut off the Japanese in New Guinea. For the Battle of Leyte Casey commanded Army Support Command (ASCOM) which was responsible for all construction and logistics for the operation. He had 43,000 men under his command assigned to build an airport to help stop the Japanese from reinforcing the island. For his service in Leyte, he was awarded a Legion of Merit. And then was awarded a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster on his Distinguished Service Medal for his services as Chief Engineer in the US Army Forces Pacific.

After WWII Casey remained in the Army until his retirement in 1949. He served as Chairman of the New York City Transit Authority from 1953 to 1955. He worked in the private sector until his full retirement in 1965. Major General Casey passed away in 1981 at age 83.

The National Birth Defect Registry is supported by the Dorothy and Hugh Casey Endowment and generous donors like you.