PERU COUNTRY READER TABLE OF CONTENTS John F. Melby 1941-1943 Peru/Ecuador Desk Officer Washington DC Dorothy Jester 1942-1945 Foreign Service Clerk Lima Clarence A. ,oonstra 1947-194. Agriculture Officer Lima Robert W. 0immermann 1947-1951 Political/Consular Officer Lima Stanley 2. 3rand 194.-1951 Press Attach4 5S2S Lima Laurin ,. Askew 194.-1954 Assistant Commercial Attach4 Lima Patrick F. Morris 1951-1953 Administrative Officer 2nstitute of 2nter- American Affairs Lima 7ictor Niemeyer 1955-1959 Director 5S2S Lima :enry Dearborn 1955-195. Political Officer Lima Patrick F. Morris 1955-195. Peru and Ecuador Affairs 2CA Washington DC John J. Crowley Jr. 1955-1959 Consular and Labor Officer Lima Louis P. 3oelz 1957-1959 Consular Officer Lima Robert M. Sayre 1957-1991 Political Counselor Lima Douglas :enderson 1991-1993 Economic Counselor Lima Jesse A. Friedman 1991-1993 A2FLD Representative Lima Robert L. Chatten 1991-1994 Student Affairs Officer 5S2S Lima David Lazar 1992-1994 Lawyer 5SA2D Lima Marshall D. ,rown 1992-1994 Peace Corps 7olunteer Tacna and Chiclayo Curtis C. Cutter 1992-1995 Political Officer Lima Ernest 7. Siracusa 1993-1999 Deputy Chief of Mission Lima John Wesley Jones 1993-1999 Ambassador Peru Thomas Mann 1995-1999 5nder Secretary for Economic Affairs Washington DC William P. Stedman Jr. 1999-199. Economic Officer and Deputy Mission Director 5SA2D Lima Peter P. Lord 1997-199. Principal Officer Arequipa 199.-1971 Political Officer Lima Alan :. Flanigan 1997-1999 Consular Officer Lima 1999-1971 State Department; Officer in Charge Peruvian Affairs Washington DC John T. Doherty 1997-1999 Labor Attach4 Lima J. Phillip McLean 199.-1999 Special/Staff Assistant Latin America (ARAA Washington DC Samuel D. Eaton 199.-1971 Director 5SA2D Lima 3eorge M. ,ennsky Jr. 199.-1972 Economic Counselor Lima 3eorge A. McFarland 199.-1973 Political Officer Lima Edward W. Clark 1999-1973 Deputy Chief of Mission Lima Willard ,. Devlin 1971-1974 Consular Officer Lima Aaron ,enBamin 1972-1974 :ousing and :uman Development Officer 5SA2D Lima Wade Matthews 1973-1974 Political-Labor Officer Lima Fernando E. Rondon 1973-1975 Principal Officer Lima David N. 3reenlee 1974-1979 Rotation Officer Lima :arry W. Shlaudeman 1979-1979 Ambassador Peru Robert S. Steven 1977-1979 Chile Desk Officer Washington DC Cecil S. Richardson 19.1-19.3 Chief Consular Officer Lima William Lenderking 19.1-19.3 Public Affairs Officer 5S2S Lima Paul E. White 19.1-19.2 Office of Education :ealth and 8utrition 5SA2D Lima John D. Caswell 19.2-19.4 8arcotics Control Deputy Director Lima Edward L. Lee 22 19.2-19.5 Regional Security Officer Panama City Louis F. Licht 222 19.3-19.5 Labor Attach4 Lima Richard Ogden 19.3-19.5 Deputy Chief of Mission Lima J. Phillip McLean 19.4-19.7 Director Office of Andean Affairs Washington DC Richard T. McCormack 19.5-19.9 5.S Ambassador to the Organization of American States Washington DC 3eorge A. McFarland 19.5-1997 Retired Annuitant Lima Donor M. Lion 19.9-19.9 Mission Director 5SA2D Lima AleCander F. Watson 19.9-19.9 Ambassador Peru ,arbara Merello 19.7 Cultural Attach4 5S2S Lima Anthony Duainton 19.9-1992 Ambassador Peru J. Phillip McLean 1991-1993 Deputy Assistant Secretary to South America 7irginia Carson-Eoung 1991-1992 Consular Officer Lima James F. Mack 1994-1997 Deputy Chief of Mission Lima JOHN F. MELBY Peru/Ecuador Desk Off cer Wash ngton, DC (1941-194,- John F. Melby was born in Portland, Oregon, July 1, 1913. He did his graduate work at the University o Chicago in International Relations. He took the Foreign Service Exam in 1937. He was a member o the first class o the Foreign Service. He served overseas in Mexico City, Caracas, Moscow, and China. In 1953, he was dismissed from the Foreign Service because o an a air he had with Lillian Hellman, an alleged communist. He taught at the University o Pennsylvania and then at the University o ,uelph. He retired in 197.. He died in Ontario on December 1., 1990. He was interviewed by Charles Stuart Kennedy in 19.9. MEL,E: And after that 2 was married by this time my wife came back to El Paso -- she was an El Paso girl -- for the birth of our second child. So 2 followed a little later. When 2 got to Washington 2 wanted an assignment in the Department and 2 conned my way into being assigned to the American Republics Division. 2 was put on the Peru-Ecuador desk. And 2 was there on that desk for two years. D: 2hat was our interest in Peru and Ecuador3 This was when3 MEL,E: This was July 1941. And 2 was there two years. The interest was not planned believe me but 2 still remember -- my wife had not joined me in Washington at this point 2 still had an apartment there before she came -- 2Gd been out to dinner with some friends on the evening of July Fourth. And when 2 got back to my apartment 2 turned on the radio. There was an announcement that Peruvian forces had invaded the Ecuadoran province of El Oro and just wiped it off the map pretty much. 8ot that there was anything there because there wasnGt not much. ,ut it was all the people there had. 2 figured the neCt morning 2Gd better get to the office early which 2 did. And when 2 walked into my office the phone was ringing and Sumner Welles was on the phone. And he said HJohn youGve heard the newsIH HEes sir.H HWell stop that warJH and he slammed the phone down. KLaughterL And thatGs what 2 did for two years was stop that war. D: 5ou6re a relatively junior o icer in the United States Department o State, and there6s a war between Ecuador and Peru. And you6re ordered to stop the war. May I ask the 9uestion: how does one go about this3 MEL,E: Well it would take all night to tell you that. 2tGs a question of getting the Peruvians to stop it. And buying off the Ecuadorans. Arranging for concessions to them. 2t was a very complicated problem actually. D: But you took this seriously -- MEL,E: Darn right. Welles wasnGt kidding. :e meant do whatever had to be done to stop the hostilities. D: And you were able to contact our embassies and try to work out -- I mean, we were playing the good neighbor in trying to stop two o our other neighbors from ripping the hell out o each other. MEL,E: And 2 worked with the Ecuadoran and Peruvian embassies in Washington. D: And you were involved in that rather famous boundary commission that came along and drew a line that kept -- MEL,E: 2 set it up. D: Because I6ve interviewed other ambassadors who always had trouble with that thing. MEL,E: Of course it turned out it went on forever. D: 5es. 2e6re talking about up into the 660s, anyway. MEL,E: When 2 was on it 2 was involved in the first one and we had the first aerial survey done of that boundary. ,ecause nobody knew where the boundary was. And 2 had to arrange with the Pentagon to get the American Air Force to go down there. The men who were involved actually ended up in the long run being good friends of mine. Paul Cullen was in command of them. And they photographed the whole boundary. The argument on the thing went on for years after that. D: I wanted to concentrate on another aspect o your career, but this is really a solid example o a time when the United States got involved in something and at least stopped the fighting. Maybe there6s no final solution to something like this, but at least you found a way to stop the fighting. MEL,E: And thereGs never been any fighting since. That one attack in 1941 was the last actual hostilities that have ever taken place. M8ote: :ostilities have broken out twice in the 1991Gs after this interview took placeN D: Every once in a while, I think Ecuadorans come up and throw stones at our embassy because o that. Other than that, I think that6s the ma7or hostility. MEL,E: See part of the settlement had to be that Peru wanted half of EcuadorGs territory the Amazonian part of it. This is what Welles had to deal with at the Rio conference in 1942 was to con the President of Ecuador into agreeing to this of giving up half of his territory. ,ecause Peru had the support of ,razil Argentina and Chile. And the blackmail that Manuel Prado Ky 5gartecheL the president of Peru was pulling on us was that if we didnGt somehow force the president of Ecuador to agree to those terms that Prado would keep Peru out of joining us in the war effort. And he would keep ,razil and Argentina out as well. So Welles just had to take the president of Ecuador aside at Rio and say HLook this is the terms. EouGve got to do it. This is your contribution to prosecution of the war against 3ermany.H And the president said HMr. Welles you know youGre asking me to commit political suicide.H Mr. Welles said H2 know. And 2Gm still asking.H The president agreed HAll right 2Gll do it.H And thatGs the way Peru got the additional part of the Ecuadoran Amazon. And they thought there was oil there which actually there was as it turned out. ,ut even Ecuador has some oil now too.