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The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR JULIUS W. WALKER, JR. Interviewed by: Charles Stuart Kennedy Initial interview date: April 2, 1992 Copyright 1998 ADS TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Born and raised in T VMI, Texas University, Baylor University Law School US Marine Corps Newspaper reporters ,ntered Foreign Service 19.6 Press Office, Dept. of State 19.6119.2 Congressional relations Vice President Nixon and wife visit Africa 3. Foster Dulles 4ueen ,li5abeth and Prince Phillip Valletta, Malta 19.211961 Consular officer Aftermath of Sue5 Dominic Mintoff US relations Bujumbura, Burundi 196111963 Political officer US visitors Tutsis and Hutus US interests Belgium interests 8. Mennen 9illiams African Bureau support 9orking in Africa Soviets ARA, Personnel 196311964 Latin American assignments 1 Assessment of ARA Females in Foreign Service ,UR/RPM 196411966 Isidor Isaac Rabi France withdraws from NATO forces North Atlantic council briefings NATO and Israel N>Djamena, Chad 196611969 Deputy chief of mission Peace Corps problems Living conditions Soviets in Chad President Tombalbaye Central African Republic>s Bokassa performs London, United Kingdom 196911972 Political officer, African affairs Biafra British foreign office Senator ,llender National 9ar College 197211973 AF, Regional Affairs 197311974 Henry Kissinger and Africa Aaire OAU International Organi5ations Bureau 19741197. International communications and transportation agencies NATO summit in 9ashington Monrovia, Liberia 197211921 Deputy chief of mission Riots of 1972 Plight of Lebanese OAU conference Visa problems Ambassador Beverley Carter ,mbassy local connections US policy President Tolbert Coup d>etat 2 Samuel Doe US MIL8ROUP helps civilians Fears of invasion via Ivory Coast Soviets Ouagadougou, Upper Volta (Burkina FasoC 192311924 Ambassador US interests AID Peace Corps USIS US accused of coup d>etat Omar 4addafi Department of State 192411929 Selection boards and Senior Inspector Diplomat in Residence INTERVIEW Q: oday is April 2, 1992. his is an interview with Ambassador Julius W. Walker, Jr. I am doing this on behalf of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and I am Charles Stuart Kennedy. I wonder if we could start with a little bit about your background--when were you born, where did you grow up, where educated, etc.* 9ALK,RD I was born February 21, 1927 in Plainview, Texas. I was educated in the school system in Plainview. I was in the first class in that city to graduate from 12 grades rather than 11. This was in 99II. My parents decided I needed some toughening before going into the military so they sent me to Virginia Military Institute. I was there for a year and then enlisted in the Marine Corps. The only reason I enlisted was because the Marines said they would let me finish the semester and neither the Army nor the Navy would. Then I went through Marine boot at Paris Island. I must say after a year in the VMI Erat line,E Marine Corps boot camp was like a paid vacation. At the end of boot camp the war was over. I was given the option of going to Officer Candidate School but that would have meant staying in the Marines four more years so I decided to get out. I went to 9est Texas State College (now a universityC for a year and a half and then transferred to Texas University. At Texas U. I majored in drama and graduated in 19.0. I then went back home and worked for a while. Then I went to Law School at Baylor University. I finished two years there broken by a short period when I campaigned 3 unsuccessfully for a seat in the Texas Legislature. I came in second, but they didnGt give pri5es for Eclose.E After two years at Baylor Law I wasnGt getting the kind of grades I thought I should be getting for the work I was putting in, so I decided law wasnGt for me. I had been working as an insurance claims adjuster to support myself. About that time company ownership changed and I didnGt like the new people to so I started trying to get a job at the newspaper. I went to the newspaper at 10D00 a.m. Monday and was told they had no openings. I said, E9ell IGll come back and try again.E So the next Monday at 10D00 I went in and there still was nothing. The next Monday at 10D00 I went back and there was nothing. ,very Monday at 10 oGclock I was in to see the city editor. The eighth Monday I walked in. He looked up at me and said, EDamn you, I am going to hire you to get rid of you.E I worked for the newspaper and also worked for a television station in a nearby town of Temple11the paper was in 9aco11in order to make enough money to live. One day I did a rewrite on a press release about Foreign Service officers coming to 9aco to talk to students at Baylor about jobs in the Foreign Service. I thought they might make a good story. I checked with the City ,ditor and he said, EHeah, go see them.E I went to talk to them. I asked how hard it was to get in the Foreign Service and they told me if I wouldnGt print their answer they would tell me. I promised I wouldnGt. They told me the percentages of those who pass both exams. I thought, E9ell, what the hell. If itGs that hard I think IGll try.E I did and I got in. Now this is not to say that I didnGt have an interest in foreign affairs. I had, all my life. I edited the high school year book and the theme was Pan Americanism. I had traveled a good bit in Mexico and some in Cuba, and I enjoyed it very much. I followed foreign affairs in the news, but I had no idea about how one went about getting into the Foreign Service. Actually, The idea of the FS never really occurred to me as I knew nothing about it. Obviously, I was lucky to pass the exam. The night before the oral a very large story broke in 9aco and I was the only one in the office at the time. I took charge by calling people and giving them assignments. I ended up writing a great deal of the story myself. It ran on the Associated Press wire with my byline. 9e closed the paper about 2D00 in the morning. I drove the hundred miles to Dallas. 8ot there about 4 oGclock, checked into a motel, got a few hours of sleep and showed up for the oral at 10 AM. I took the hour and half exam before a panel of three examiners. One examiner seemed to like me, one was rather neutral and one was definitely antagonistic. After a while the antagonistic one looked at me and said, E9ell, Mr. 9alker, it says here you work for a newspaper. Is that correctIE EHes, sir, that is correct.E E9hat do you do, sell adsIE ENo, I donGt. I write for it11and I think I am rather good.E He said, E9ell, then can you explain how it was that when you were at Texas University you got a D in ,nglishIE I roared with laughter and said, E9ell, you set me up perfectly. I can explain it. I was an idiot and I deserved it. I was in a junior course in world drama and the professor consistently looked 4 on drama as literature. I said, GIt is not, it is theater, it has to be alive, performed. Hou can look at the texts but that is not really what the man wrote because there is a great deal more in it.G I argued with the professor consistently, argued on all the papers and on the exams and I deserved the D. I was stupid. I shouldnGt have argued. I should have accepted what he said or gotten out.E Then I added, EBut if you are interested in how I write, you have a copy of the Dallas Morning News in front of you. That lead article in it, if you will notice, has my byline.E It was the only time I had a byline in the Dallas Morning News. There was a lot of luck in that. Q: You came into the Foreign Service when* 9ALK,RD I came in at the end of April 19.6. Q: Did you have a basic officer-s course* 9ALK,RD I took half of the basic course. The half that included consular affairs. The course was in two six week segments, half to prepare for overseas and half to prepare for a 9ashington assignment. They gave us the overseas part first. Then they decided to assign me to News Division in the Department of State. 9ell, they didnGt decide that alone, I nudged them a little bit. Hou see, I came to 9ashington and the first or second day I was here I did what I thought any intelligent person would do. I called on my congressman. He had an absolutely stunning young woman in charge of his office. She was from the congressmanGs district and grew up near where I did. I got very, very interested in her immediately. After a few days it became clear to me that I didnGt want to go off and leave her. I wanted to get to know her better. So I decided to try for a job in 9ashington. There were two fellows in my A1100 course, Dick Boehm and Robert P.