Thomas F. Johnson
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The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project THOMAS F. JOHNSON Interviewed by: Charles Stuart Kennedy Initial interview date: March 18, 2003 Copyri ht 2006 ADST TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Born in llinois; raised in the Mid-west and New York state. (nion College; Free (niversity of Berlin nternational Brigade volunteer, Yugoslavia Berlin environment ,ntered the Foreign Service -(S A. in 1901 Asuncion, Paraguay; 2otation Officer3Student Affairs Officer 1908-1911 (SA D ,ducational Programs ,nvironment Family Stroessner Drugs 5overnment Media Peace Corps Security Heidelberg, 5ermany; Director of nformation Center 1911-1917 Amerika Haus Bader-Meinhof ,nvironment Protest movements (S military (niversities Media Politics Operations Monrovia, 8iberia; Asst. Public Affairs3 nformation Officer 1917-1911 Fulbright Program ,nvironment (S interests 1 President :illiam Tolbert Peace Corps Media :ife;s activities Soviets Social life ,conomy Corruption :ashington, DC; (S A, nspector 1911-1919 Foreign Service Nationals :orldwide Post inspections Families of employees :ashington, DC; (S A, Deputy Director of Acquisitions 1919-1981 Films and literature acquisitions Mexico City, Mexico; Assistant nformation Officer 1981-1984 ,nvironment ,conomy Ambassador 5avin Media 2elations Nationalism Social structure Political Parties Corruption Visas ,x-patriot Americans Drug trafficking Charles Heston Consular issues spokesperson Security Media Anti-Americanism Nationalism Central America Police corruption American Protection cases Privacy Act complications Health problems Prisons Smugglers TDY @ Central America ,l Salvador Cuba 2 Frankfurt, 5ermany; Consul3Branch Public Affairs Officer 1984-1988 ,nvironment (S Military PB bombing Middle ,ast hostages (S Missiles Media Anti-Americanism (S A programs President 2eagan Bitburg visit C,uro-snobismD ,ast3:est 5erman relations :ashington, DC; (S A; Area Personnel Officer for ,urope 1988-1992 Charles and Mary Ann :ick Assignment process :omen in the Foreign Service (S A and the 1980 FS 2eform Act 5erman (nification Operations Center :ashington, DC; (S A Operations Center 199A Duties Singapore; Public Affairs Director of AP,C 199A-1994 Asia Pacific ,conomic Cooperation -AP,C. Trade barrier reduction Membership Secretariat Media relations and protocol ,nvironment nformation sharing Media Singapore;s strict laws China3Taiwan Colleague relations Non-member interest 2etirement 1994 Post 2etirement career 1994- Pacific ,conomic Cooperation Council China visit A 5lobal Affairs Officer in 2egional Security Policy -,ast Asia and Pacific Affairs Bureau. Anti-Corruption Various C:hen Actually ,mployedD Assignments INTERVIEW %: When and where were you born' FOHNSON: was born in 5alesburg, llinois in 1940. had my first contact with foreigners when was four. 5erman prisoners of war were working at a local military hospital. My older brother and sometimes went with our father to the hospital Sunday afternoons to watch the PO:s play soccer. The 5erman PO:s worked in the laundry and as grounds keepers. The prisoners, mostly Afrikakorps veterans, led an existence of opulence compared to their comrades who were fighting in 2ussia and taly. Had a professor at the American (niversity in Beirut not delayed his retirement for a year, might have born in 8ebanon. n the mid-A0s my father was offered a job at A(B but the incumbent decided to teach for another year or so and by the time he called it quits, war clouds were looming over ,urope and my parents decided to stay in this country. sometimes wonder what a different life might have had, had grown up in the Middle ,ast. %: First, could you tell me a little bit about your father and his family back round' FOHNSON: My father was a professor of classics at Hnox College. He used to relax reading the works of the great 5reek and 2oman philosophers in the original. He was raised in the South of intellectual, but modest circumstances. He did his undergraduate work at the (niversity of Michigan and his Masters and PhD at the (niversity of Chicago. My mother was from a solidly middle class rish Catholic family that lost everything in the depression because my grandfather made some bad investments. My mother was from the northern peninsula of Michigan. My parents met at tryouts for a Shakespeare play. They had a wonderful union which lasted more than 70 years. My mother, a high school teacher, supported my father while he was doing his PhD. n about 1928 they moved to Asheville, North Carolina, where dad taught classics the elite Asheville prep school. My mother worked in the administration office until the birth of my older brother in 19A1, then they moved to 5alesburg in 19A8. %: What do you know about your father and the Johnsons' FOHNSON: The Fohnsons landed in New Fersey in the late 1000s and settled in the South. One ancestor was :illiam :ard Burroughs, a South Carolinian, who was the first 4 Commandant of the Marine Corps. And he brought the Marines from Philadelphia, which was the capital at the time, to :ashington. He also established the Marine Corps Band. Another ancestor, 2ichard Fohnson, was vice president in the not very distinguished administration of Martin Van Buren. The family;s political fortunes have declined steadily since he left office. My great grandfather was a town elder in Culpepper. Before the C:ar Between the StatesD, he built the town hall and other major buildings. During the C:ar of Northern AggressionD he was a quartermaster for the Army of Northern Virginia- a civilian position. n 1807 his name was apparently on the (nion army arrest list, and so he and his family fled to Buckingham County- south of Charlottesville- where my grandfather was born as a war refugee on May A1st. A few weeks after, as my aunt @ a professional southerner @would say, C2obert ,. 8ee reunited the nationD, an interesting interpretation of history. My southern kin always referred to our sixteenth president as CMister 8incoln,D not President 8incoln. Although my father was raised in Hentucky, he was never a true southerner. %: And on your mother-s side, where did they come from' FOHNSON: Most were rish. Some came through Canada. The ones who came through Canada, the FitIpatricks, are hard to trace. The 5oodmans arrived in 180A @ two brothers and the mother who died and was buried at sea off the coast of 8ong sland. The film CThe 5angs of New YorkD is cogent to our family because as they arrived -- it was before ,llis sland -- and stepped off the boat, they were given two papers to sign: One was their immigration papers and the other was for enlistment in the (nion Army. They said they wanted no part of the war. And brother one went off to dig gold in Colorado and was never heard from again. My great grandfather, the other brother, made his way to northern Michigan to build the railroad during the Civil :ar. The railroad provided a steady supply of iron ore to the steel mills of ndiana and llinois when the 5reat 8akes were froIen. My maternal grandfather owned a lumber mill at 8ittle 8ake. %: Kno. Colle e, what sort of school was it' FOHNSON: t is a small liberal arts school in 5alesburg, llinois. Dad was called there by an Carter Davidson, an old friend of his from high school. :e lived there from 19A9 to 1948. During :orld :ar the college trained men for the Navy. After the war my father and his colleagues had the great pleasure of teaching the students who were in college on the 5 Bill. According to my father, these were the most serious students he ever had. %: Did any of his students join the Forei n Service' FOHNSON: One, Foe Sisco, who was one of our most senior officers. He made his career in :ashington. met him when was a junior officer and reminded him about the time he and his fraternity brothers at TH, placed a bucket of water over a door expecting a fellow student to enter the room. The next person through the door was Professor Norman Fohnson who was drenched. Suppressing his laughter, Sisco remembered the event all too well and asked me to tell my dad that he remained contrite. 7 %: When you were in 0alesbur , you were just startin school. Were you a reader from the be innin ' FOHNSON: Actually, remember when started reading the summer of about third grade. :e were in Frankfort, Michigan, and my mother took me to the town library. wasn;t much interested in reading, but the librarian asked, C:hat do you really likeJD said, C2accoons.D She said, C:ell, have a book on raccoons.D So she gave me a book called C2icky and 2ocky, the 2accoonsD and was enthralled. ;ve been an avid reader ever since. That kindly librarian enriched the lives of many local and summer residents. There is a tree dedicated to her outside the library. %: Did you have brothers and sisters' FOHNSON: had two brothers- one older Alan- one younger Bruce. %: What was your home life' Did you sit around the dinner table and hash over the events of the day' FOHNSON: :e had a different sort of dinner table from most families. My parents would read passages from the Old Testament or something else CenlighteningD. t often bored my brothers and me. My father insisted on good table manners and a crashing hand came out of nowhere for stuffing your mouth or making a disrespectful remark. He was very strict but he was also totally devoted to his family, particularly to the education of his three unruly sons. My mother was an ,nglish teacher and was easier to manipulate. She loved to read psychology and let us get away with a lot of stuff my father would not tolerate. %: What about reli ion' Was Kno. a reli ious school' FOHNSON: Not as recall.