Funk, Sherman M

The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project SHERMAN M. FUNK Interviewed by: Charles Stuart Kennedy Initial interview date: July 14, 1994 Copyright 201 ADST TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Born and raised in Ne York US Army, WWII Army Specialized Training Program Wounded Prisoner of War Teacher, Fort Yukon, Alaska Harvard University Classmates Finances )p.7, Columbia University Work in father.s toy manufacturing business Marriage 0arly professional career Catskill, Ne York1 Teacher University of Arizona1 Teacher of 2overnment Arizona history class Student body Faculty Sputnik Washington, DC1 United States Air Force 145871470 Management Intern Program 09amination 2overnment7 ide Operations State Department Logistic War Plans Ballistic Missile Program Money aste President Johnson.s Cost Reduction Program 1 President Ni9on Black Capitalism Program Washington, DC1 The White House; Office of Minority Business, 147071481 Assistant Director for Planning and 0valuation Operations Minority franchises Congressional interest Black caucus FBI Inspector 2eneral Act, 1478 Background Billie Sol 0stes Department of Agriculture White House objections D2 appointment by President Function, po ers and authority Inspector 2eneral of the Department of Commerce 148171487 Appointment Operations Justice Department International Narcotics Census Bureau Administration change Foreign Commercial Service Audit Intervie s at State Department Trade and diplomatic activity Personal relations ith White House Claiborne Pell AS0AN country inspections Mac Baldridge National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration )NOAA, 0conomic Development Administration Congressional interest Fraud Al 2ore Strom Thurman Inspection procedures Billie Sol 0stes Jack Brooks Director 2eneral of the Foreign Commercial Service Auditors Inspector 2eneral of the Department of State 148771444 Corps of Consulate Inspectors 2 Consul 2enerals at Large Rogers Act of 1422 Far7flung Consular Corps Senator Jesse Helms Diplomatic Assistance Act, 1486 State Inspector 2eneral created State Department intervie s Appointment process 2eorge Shultz support Melissa Wells Choosing staff Personnel Bill Harrop Congressman 2us Savage State Relations ith Congress State.s care of employees Tbilisi, 2eorgia personnel problems Problems ith unhelpful regulations State lack of compassion Bending the rules intelligently Congressional inAuiries Mosco inspection Property management Ambassador Jack Matlock Problems Management changes Staff changes Diplomatic Security program deficiencies Administration deficiencies Foreign Service Nationals )FSNs, Warehouse management Waste and fraud Tokyo embassy oil scam Colombia embassy drug program scam Paris embassy fraud Problems in African posts Ambassador 0d Dejarnette Training and pay for FSNs Mali theft Israeli visa ring Tel Aviv embassy passport and visa fraud Cape Berde Manila Social Security fraud Corea fraud Immigration Nationality Act of 1440 3 Immigration and Naturalization Service )INS, Sheikh Omar Abdel7Rahman visa case Terrorist organization members Bureau of Consular Affairs Betty Tamposi Pan Am 103 bombing President Bill Clinton passport record case Alleged Erenouncing citizenshipF letter Telephone call monitoring Ross Perot 0lection frenzy Press frenzy Investigation No White House involvement Betty Tamposi Former Soviet Union countries trip Responsibility for State.s security oversight 2eorge Shultz International Narcotics Matters )INM, Larry 0agleburger Warren Christopher Inspector 2eneral staff Women and gays Foreign Service Manual regulations deficiencies Changing regulations Counseling function of inspectors Importance of personnel training 0nvironmental, Science and Technology )0CT, Inspector 0valuation Reports )I0R, 0fficiency 0valuation Report )00R, Foreign Service A ard system Class Action suits Political ambassadors Ambassadorial Seminar Special embassy post Deputy Chiefs of Mission Shirley Temple Black Minorities in the Foreign Service Recruitment from top academic schools 0d Perkins Female officers Mid7level entries Inspector; Duties and responsibilities Inspector 2eneral1 Duties and responsibilities 2eorge Best 4 Roz Ridge ay State Department Bureaus Tom Pickering INTERVIEW GNote1 This transcript as not edited by Mr. Funk.H $: Today is Bastille Day, July 14, 1994. This is an interview with Sherman M. Funk on behalf of the Association for Diplomatic Studies. I-m Charles Stuart Kennedy. Sherman, could you tell me first about your background, when and where were you born, and about your family. FUNC1 I as born in Ne York City, 1425. My father as second generation. His father had come here as an immigrant in the 1880.s. My mother as literally born on the ship coming over here. Her mother had come here earlier and had missed her parents desperately. So she ent back to 0urope, hich as not easy in those days. With very little money, you traveled steerage. And as soon as she reached her home, she realized that she as pregnant. $: .here was her home/ FUNC1 It as on hat e consider the Polish7Russian border no , and my father.s family came from 2ermany. She had to scrape up enough money to come back again. But by the time the money as raised, even though by current standards it asn.t very much, and she as able to get passage and ork her ay over to the port in 2ermany 77 usually left from Hamburg 77 she as ready to pop, and she popped. It as an American ship, of course, so she as born on an American ship. She as an American citizen. I ent to school in Ne York. I ent to the Army in 1443. $: .hat were you doing in the Army/ FUNC1 I as a grunt, dog7face, in the Rainbo division, the 42nd infantry division. $: .here... FUNC1 They fought in France, and I as ounded and captured. $: Can you tell a little about that, because I think this is interesting. 5 FUNC1 We came in through southern France, hich as a bit of a piece of cake. It as al ays a real high class ay to go to the ar zone. That lasted about a eek. Then my unit as the liaison bet een the First French Army and the 7th American Army, so e ere in the gap bet een the t o. We orked our ay up to Alsace7Lorraine, first to the mountains and then do n into the lo lands near the Rhine. On January 5th, 1445, the 2ermans counter7attacked in the south to ease the pressure on the Battle of the Bulge in the north. It as called Operation North Wind 77 Nor ind. We didn.t kno it at the time, but e ere attacking to the face of a complete 2erman division, the 21st Panzer Division. $: It was one of their elite. FUNC1 Yes, it as. They.d fought in North Africa, they ere the spearhead of Rommel in North Africa, real veterans, good troops. My unit as the lead unit of our attack hich saved my life. I as in the lead sAuad of the lead platoon of the lead company. So the artillery as so close to the 2ermans they had to fire in behind us. My company lost about 142 people bet een 5100 a.m. and 11100 a.m. What as left e formed into a combat foot patrol. T o days later e ere in the to n of Haltern, hich e.d occupied. The same 2erman division counter7attacked and I as ounded in the morning by somebody very close to me, no further than you are from me, in street fighting hich is a nasty business. I took refuge in the basement of a house ith t o other American ounded, and e stayed there for three days trying to evade 2ermans. On the third night the 2ermans took cover from shelling, and literally stumbled across us. It.s a funny story, but if you ant I.ll go into that later. I as taken to an aid station mostly full of French ounded, seriously ounded, ho ere being ignored. A 2erman doctor came out from behind literally a bed sheet; he as covered ith blood. He looked like a butcher. He looked at me, looked at my uniform, and he said, EI as in Chicago in 1432; it stunk.F That as my introduction to 2ermany. They took me to the University Hospital, Heidelberg, here they did a brilliant job of saving my arm, just a magnificent piece of surgery. That as made up for later by some very adverse, very poor treatment. From there I ent to a prison hospital. I as the first American in the hospital, and after that more Americans came in. We ere liberated the end of March. I came back to the States and spent the year in a hospital in the States. I ent to college, to Harvard. I majored in history and literature. After that I started my ork. $: At Harvard did you learn about Henry Kissinger at all/ FUNC1 He as in my class. Nobody kne him. I literally have found nobody ho ever kne Cissinger. He as in the class of I50 ith me. Jim Schlesinger as in my class. I kne Jim, old friends. I kne Bill Harrop ho as my predecessor as I2 )Inspector 2eneral,. He.s the last FSO I2. Bill as in my class. Freddie Chapin, ho as one of my team leaders hen I became I2. A hole bunch of people in my class or the preceding class of I44. 6 $: .hat attracted you towards history and literature/ FUNC1 I.ve al ays been a history buff, still am. I have a very large library, hich I.m no in the process of trying to do something ith. I.m moving to an apartment, and I.m in the throes of agony trying to...it.s like pulling my teeth to get rid of books and I have to get rid of several thousand. I.ve just been interested, particularly in American history, and particularly in early American history including pre7Columbian history. And I.ve found a home. Samuel 0liot Morison as one of my teachers, Crane Britain in intellectual history. Frederick Merck, history of the est. So I had some great teachers, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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