Browse Items (1041 total)

Margaret tells of how one day the Landons' bulldog, Candy, took baby Kip's entire head in its mouth. Peggy had to drive her high-heeled shoe into Candy's belly to save the baby. Kip received first aid, but there was no serious damage. The event put…

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Kip recalls Kenneth's commenting on Peggy's boyfriends when she was in high school. Kenneth says she was very popular with the boys. He remembers her dating a young Italian boy whom her parents thought wasn't the boy for her. She decided not to date…

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As Donovan has been recently appointed to be the Ambassador to Thailand, Kenneth must brief him on what this might entail. As Kenneth spent several weeks with Donovan in Thailand, he explained Thailand's relation to other countries of South and…

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Upon being appointed to Thailand, William Donovan needs to meet with Walter Robertston. Kenneth phones his office and tricks him into having a meeting with Donovan, as he was in the office listening to the phone conversation. When the time seemed…

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In 1953, William Donovan became our ambassador to Thailand. A woman named Ruth, who headed the passport office, warned him that he needed to cultivate a relationship with the desk officer for Thailand if he wanted things to go well. She was an old…

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Around the time he turned fifty, Kenneth started making a list of all the things he wanted to do in his life. On this list, he had that he wanted to write short stories. he finally got his chance and got them published in the Saturday Evening Post in…

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The cowboy evangelist tried to seduce Mrs. Ousley, who had become a Christian at his meetings. She had many problems in her marriage and was considering divorce. Margaret was shocked when Mrs. Ousley, who was a friend of hers, told her about the…

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Mary Martin was a more "broad-minded" person than Gertrude Lawrence. She also wanted the role of Anna, but she wouldn't have been right for it. She met Margaret, and the two had a lovely time. By her suggestion, Yul Brynner was eventually chosen as…

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One night, Will purchased tickets to a play, Anne of a Thousand Days, starring Rex Harrison and Lili Palmer, and took his boss from the Department of Commerce in Washington to see it. After the play, Will took his card—a formal calling card Margaret…

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While Margaret was staying with Miss Cole to learn about her experiences in Siam, Kenneth wrote to tell her that he had met with the son of a close friend of Anna Leonowens, Mrs. Moore, in Chicago. He arranged to meet Mrs. Moore. Anna's…

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Kenneth tells of the security at airbases which were prepped to bomb the Ho Chi Minh trail. He says that their security was extremely lax, and he thought that it would be quite easy for the Vietnamese to come in and sabotage the planes. 

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Kenneth tells of his advice to William Donovan. He explains that the northeastern plateau was very arid. If he could redirect the Mekong River, it might provide power and irrigate the arid plateau, raising the level of agriculture greatly. Donovan…

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Kenneth gives a detailed description of the golf game he arranged for the Prime Minister and the President of the United States. Originally planned as simply a lunch, Kenneth decided that, because they were both interested in golf, he would set up a…

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Kenneth describes the role of religion within the political realm. He was the first to present a paper on the role of Buddhism in Southeast Asia--this event occured in the 1950's. Kenneth says it was because of him that a religious advisor was…

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Kenneth, after receiving his job with area studies, traveled around to study other programs. He says he "was well-informed, probably as well-informed as anybody in the United States in academia on all these different kinds of area studies programs." …

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Kenneth, after being removed from his job leading insurgency seminars, was able to travel some. He had received the position of Dean of Area Studies, and wanted to set up the program correctly. He studied the area studies programs at some of the…

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General Brute Krulak found Kenneth to be going about the seminar in a way he didn't see fit. While Kenneth taught how to "rebuild the house", Krulak saw the house as on fire, and that the fire must be put out before they could start rebuilding--i.e.…

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Kenneth discusses later seminar classes. After his first class, he was informed that the insurgency seminars were now to cover the entirety of the world. With this additional work, he had to make some changes to the seminar--a constant work in…

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Kenneth's first class in the seminar had sixty officers, thirty going to Southeast Asia and thirty going to Latin America--a twist Kenneth had to deal with right before the start of the class. Kenneth had decided to give quite a bit of material to…

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Kenneth received a call from Walt Rostow in January of 1962. Walt had a job that was of interest to Kenneth. This job was to establish a seminar to fight communist insurgency. The seminar was under the highest presidential directive and would be for…

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Kenneth, now not having work because his position had been abolished, looked to solve his situation. He found Walt Rostow's office to be of interest, and did some work for him without anyone's knowing, as technically it wasn't allowed under mandate.

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Kenneth tells of his elimination from the Operations Coordinating Board. McGeorge Bundy called a large group together to make the announcement. The entire group was to be abolished, as they weren't able to technically be fired. The members would…

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Kenneth explains how the OCB worked, emphasizing the two different sides--that of policy and that of operations. He goes on to indicate that he was on the operations side and goes into how exactly that played out with his time on the OCB. 

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Kenneth tells of the time he was to brief McGeorge Bundy and Walt Rostow on Laos, as he was just returning from there. This briefing was right after John F. Kennedy was elected president. He found that McGeorge Bundy was quite the knowledgeable man,…

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Kenneth recounts Pote Sarisin's interaction with John Dulles. Dulles had been quite gruff, and Sarisin simply didn't know how to respond. Finally they worked it out, but not before many an awkward moment.

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