The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project FRANK N. BURNET Interviewed by: Charles Stuart Kennedy Initial interview date: February 22, 1990 Copyright 1998 ADST TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Youth in New York Service in WW II Investment work in New York Foreign Service Exam Diplomatic courier Manila 1951-195, Consular and political officer Philippines in early 195.s Ambassador Spruance American influence in the Philippines Chinese language course Importance of language training Bangkok 1950-1959 Political officer Chinese community in Thailand Chinese role in Thailand Stability of Thai government Syngman 1hee Far East Bureau 1921-1923 Staff assistant to 4overnor Harriman Impressions of 5ennedy transition Impressions of Harriman Harriman6s mandate from 5ennedy Importance of 7aos 8iew of the Sino-Soviet axis 8ientiane 1923-1922 International Control Commission officer 1 egotiations over 7aos Impression of international delegations Canadian role 1esult of negotiations 8iew of American buildup in 8ietnam Communist activity in 7aos 1elations with 9.S. military State/Military rivalry Instructions from Washington Impression of war 1922 1elations with CIA CI CPSC 1922-1920 Deputy Political Advisor Impression of military command network Effectiveness of air war 1elations between DOD and State Ben Hoa, 8ietnam 1920-1929 Experience during Tet offensive 8ietnam after Tet Province senor advisor ature of the war 8C attacks Impression of 8ietnam in 1929 Impression of John 8ann Pressure to show progress 7aos Desk 190.-1901 Bombing of 7aos Feeling about 7aos in Washington 1eason for transfer I 1 S.E. Asia Chief 1901-1905 1estrictions on intelligence Heavy demand for information Impression of war form I 1 1902 visit to 8ietnam Taipei 1905-1908 Political Counselor Impressions of embassy Chinese officials on Taiwan Chinese reaction to fall of Saigon Taiwan in 1905 2 Carter human rights emphasis Conclusion 4reatest satisfaction The Foreign Service as a career INTERVIEW Q: Frank, I wonder if you could give me a little of your background before we get into your career. )here did you come from* )ho are you* B91 ET: I hail originally from New York State. Q: Upstate* B91 ET: Pretty much downstate. A little town called New 1ochelle, New York, which gave rise to that old song. Stayed there my early years until I went off to college. Q: )here did you go to college* B91 ET: Earlham College in 1ichmond, Indiana. This of course was 1939. I was able to finish up by virtue of joining the Enlisted 1eserve and skipping my last semester and graduated, actually, in June 19,3. By that time I was already in the military and off to World War II. Q: )hat were you doing in the military* B91 ET: I was an enlisted man in the Air Corps. Had six months in the 9S, training, and then went off to Italy for two years. There I joined one of the two American Army Air Corps fighter groups which flew the British Spitfire. I joined the 31st Fighter group in aples, Italy in October 19,3 and stayed with it through the 8olturno and AnAio campaigns. Eventually we switched over to different aircraft, the American-made P-51 Mustang, and moved to the Adriatic coast to provide long range bomber escort. I was lucky when the war ended. We were being transferred from the European theater to the Pacific. The war ended in August, B,5, and at that point we were about to land in Boston, so I was discharged almost immediately. I worked for a couple of years in New York City for an investment advisory company CMoodyBs Investors ServiceD. IBd always had in the back of my mind the Foreign Service, so eventually I took the exam in B,8. Passed it and passed the oral. The Department didnBt have any money for a while, and I had to wait a couple of years before I was commissioned, but the Department offered me an assignment as a Diplomatic Courier 3 and for a year I traveled all over 7atin America, Europe and Africa. I was finally sworn into the Foreign Service in December, 195.. Q: Did you get any training when you came into the Foreign Service* )ere you in a group, or did they sort of throw you out* B91 ET: I had the usual basic officerBs training course, a three-month course. Q: Could you give me an idea of who these people were who came into the Foreign Service in that group, characteri,e them* B91 ET: I think in general they were pretty much my age, maybe running a little bit younger, two or three years. Q: So you were about what, twenty-...* B91 ET: It started in 195., so I was 29. Most of them, I would say, had been in World War II. Many of whom had spent the years after they had done their military service getting a graduate degree. Most seemed to have had an interest in the Foreign Service, and like I did took the exam and passed it. I remember the day I took my oral examination, I was number two on the list that day which was the first day for orals in 19,8. I guess BEE had called us alphabetically because Harry Barnes was before me, and he did very well. Q: Harry Barnes later was Director 0eneral of the Foreign Service and Ambassador to India. B91 ET: ThatBs right. We were an eager bunch of guys. Q: )hat were your motivations* )as this a job* )as this a mission* B91 ET: You mean my feelings about being...F Q: 2es, your feelings, and perhaps what you think the other ones3 were. How did they feel about being Foreign Service officers* B91 ET: You know, I think there was a very healthy feeling of competition, that everybody wanted to do as well as he could do. And we realiAed what we were up against: we were going to go 4od-knows-where, anywhere in the world and we were going to have to put up with some difficult times and places, and who knew what demands would be made of usF But we were proud and ready for the challenge. So I think we were anxious to learn as much as we could about Foreign Service in this course. And I think it was a very stimulating experience for me and for everybody. 8ery 4 well run in those days, too, even though the old FSI used to be in what was formerly an old brick apartment house on C Street where New State now is. So it was pretty grim surroundings but that didnBt make any difference, really. It was the spirit of the group. Q: 2our first posting was to Manila. 2ou went there in 351 until 354. B91 ET: March of B51 until February B5,. Q: )hat were you doing* B91 ET: Well, this was a routine kind of basic training assignment for me. It started out in the consular section. And what could be more basic, working on citiAenship matters. Q: Particularly in the Philippines, and particularly in those days when we were sort of cleaning up. B91 ET: It was still physically kind of beat up and was to remain so for some time. And of course we had all of the legacies of an American presence in the Philippines since the Spanish-American War, 1898-99. And not only did you have American soldiery who had been there, but you had the great influx into the Philippines at the turn of the century of American teachers of English. They were recruited largely from the Midwest. Many of those people who came, particularly the men, stayed there, married Cand some did notD, and raised families, which produced all kinds of complicated citiAenship problems. It was not easy, but applying our citiAenship laws was a challenge for a new FSO. I enjoyed it. Q: So your contact was a positive one as far as how you felt. B91 ET: 8ery positive, I think, and I enjoyed making friends with a good many Filipinos. Q: Did you have any contact at all with Ambassador Spruance* B91 ET: Yes, yes I did. He was one of my first Ambassadors. Q: He was an Admiral, of course, during )orld )ar II, a famous one. B91 ET: ThatBs right. Q: He was the victor of Midway, wasn3t he* B91 ET: Yes. He was a joy to work for. We had a very hard-charging Ambassador before him. Q: )ho was that* 5 B91 ET: I canBt think of him at the moment. Spruance was really a wonderful guy to work for. I will never forget... Q: Myron Cowen. B91 ET: Cowen, yesG he was a political appointee. Anyway, as a junior officer Cand I couldnBt have been more juniorD I didnBt see much of himG he was in another world completely. But Spruance was totally different. Here was someone who had already made his career and he was still working for the 9S, trying to be helpful as an Ambassador to the Philippines. 7ater on, when I got out of the consular section and was in the political section for a year, I did have some direct contacts with him. I remember when I had to go down to his office with a piece of paper or something, I would go down there and inform the secretary that I had to see him on such and such, and she would let him know that Frank Burnet was here to see him. And I could see through a little window that was in his office, he said, HOh yes.H He nodded his head.