Browse Items (92 total)

  • Tags: Kenneth Landon at the State Department 1939-1988

Kenneth describes in detail the Executive Office Building. He goes on about a certain office or two, mentioning Rockefeller's office and open fireplace. He talks about the grandeur of the building, with large rooms, large doors, large…

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Kenneth tells of his transition between offices in his job with the Operations Coordinating Board. In the process, his beloved avocado tree got a chill and died. He had various offices in different buildings.

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Kenneth tells of how many Presidents he has met (of the U.S.). He tells of the times he has met them, including encounters with Roosevelt, Truman, Nixon, Eisenhower (perhaps), and Kennedy. He also comments on the various likes or dislikes he has for…

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Kenneth describes the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem. He clarifies, once again, that he was never involved. He first describes his relationship with Diem, and then expounds on the results of the assassination.

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Kenneth tells of Seni Pramoj. Pramoj greatly disliked Kenneth, yet when he filed a complaint with the State Department, Kenneth was the one able to respond to him. Later, Pamoj became Prime Minister of Thailand. 

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Also on Kenneth's list of things to do before he dies was to learn to play the piano. He found a teacher, a woman by the name of Mabes Imhoff, and became her only adult pupil. He skipped playing scales, going directly to more challenging pieces. He…

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Kenneth tells of GS rankings in the government. He tells how even at the very top of GS-16, he made nearly the same pay as a GS-18. He described how theese were really "supergrades", as the regular grades only went up to GS-15.

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Kenneth tells of becoming a member of the Congressional Golf Club. He had been trying for quite some time, and finally, through Larry, the husband of his piano teacher, was able to get on as a member. The price was drastically cheaper back then,…

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Kenneth had a regular ritual at State when coffee break time came. He had learned early on that the most important people to him were the messengers and the secretaries. They were helpful to him in many ways. Every day, Kenneth made a point of having…

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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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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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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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