The Foreign Service Journal, February 2006

Digging into History in France When I retired from USIA, after tours in South Africa, Tanzania, Slo- venia and Switzerland, and two post- ings to Paris, my wife and I could not agree on a place to settle in the U.S. But because we both liked France, that became our obvious choice. After 13 years, we have no regrets. My writing and editing experience and FS media and international orga- nization contacts were a definite help in landing post-retirement consultan- cy jobs at the International Herald Tribune , the International Energy Agency and MBA-Exchange.com. As acting president of the French Association CSS Alabama and on behalf of the U.S. Naval Historical Center, I organized the summer 2005 dives to the wreck of the notorious Confederate raider sunk by the USS Kearsarge off Cherbourg, France, in 1864. It was the last great sailing ship gunnery duel in history and the only Civil War battle outside U.S. territory (see “A Captain, a Ship and a Final Battle: The Saga of the CSS Ala- bama ,” FSJ , May 1994). My interest in this story began when I discovered the “Alabama Room” in the Geneva City Hall, site of the first international arbitration tribunal in history. Later, as cultural attaché in Paris, I served as liaison between the U.S. government and the government of France in negotia- tions over ownership of the wreck and its artifacts. I have also started piano lessons as a beginner! Christopher Henze Neuilly, France Part-time Work, Full-time Retirement I have been on the WAE rolls for over a year but haven’t had an assign- ment. Living outside Washington is a F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 51