The Foreign Service Journal, May 2008

8 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 0 8 L E T T E R S comfort,” she seems to emphasize fine distinctions, lost on me, as to whether the attacks are personal. In the grocery check-out line, for in- stance, she does not even respond to the man who gratuitously tells her: “You have blood on your hands.” Nor does she register a peep when some expatriate singer castigates the U.S. as the source of all ills. Shea admits that she might have at least walked out of the concert, but she did not want “to cheat myself of the music” or to appear unsympathetic to the entertainer’s right to free speech. Maybe part of Shea’s problem is her blithe acceptance of the view that “We all know that U.S. foreign policy is not very popular these days.” Back in the old days, no U.S. diplomat worth his salt would permit an insult to his country to go unanswered. To borrow the title from David Jones’ article in the same FSJ issue, “Taking the King’s Shilling,” it appears that this is all that Shea does, at least in the two unfortunate cases she cites. Would that she had written a more instructive and positive article, telling us of times she defended the United States and describing how she did so. Such an article, not the one the Journal printed, would be a credit to our Service. Richard W. Hoover FSO, retired Front Royal, Va. Honor Early FSGB Chairs The AFSA News section of the March Journal included an article on the Foreign Service Grievance Board. From 1971 to 1976, I was the first (and only) executive secretary of the Interim Board and first executive sec- retary of the present statutory board in 1976. Although I have had no connection with the Foreign Service Grievance Board since then, I retain a sense of loyalty and friendship with my col- leagues from those early “pioneering” days, including the first two chairs of the FSGB: the late William Simkin, a past chairman of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and his successor on the FSGB, the late Alexander Porter, a distinguished nationally known arbitrator. I ad- mired both of them for their willing- ness to give of their time and wisdom in sorting out difficult problems. It was, therefore, with considerable sur- prise that I read this in the concluding paragraph about the incoming chair- man: “He follows in an honorable tra- dition of distinguished FSGB chairs — Bloch, Oldham, DiLauro and Reidy — that began in 1980.” As an FSO from 1960 to 1994, I was “present at the creation” of the FS grievance system and knew both Simkin and Porter well. I was also an eyewitness to the crisis and mass res- ignation of the board members, led by Simkin, provoked by USAID solicit- ing the General Accounting Office (now the Government Accountability Office) to rule that an FSGB decision was illegal — a development which led to the creation of the present sys- tem. I would like to believe that the ref- erence to the line of distinguished FSGB chairs beginning only in 1980 was a slip on the part of the author, and I trust that the Journal will find a way to set the record straight. John A. Warnock FSO, retired Editor’s note: A correction ran in the April Journal , p. 52. Remembering Don Leahy As the October FSJ article, “A Foreign Service Murder,” has gener- ated considerable interest, I hope my comments about the victim, Don Leahy, may present a more balanced picture of his professional career prior to the events in Santa Isabel. From 1965 to 1967, Mr. Leahy was a member of the administrative staff at Santo Domingo, which, like the rest of the mission, was stretched to capacity responding to the efforts of U.S. and Organization of American States to re-establish a democratic government in the Dominican Re- public. This work required that the mission coordinate the peacekeeping activities of a large U.S. military pres- ence — the 82nd Airborne, Special Forces and U.S. Navy — as well as 10 large armed military delegations from members of the OAS. Logistical coordination and support liaison for this vast effort fell to the embassy. Due to the fluid situation, all mis- sion personnel became adept in ful- filling additional duties. Leahy, for a time, was in charge of all embassy transportation, which included the motor pools at the embassy; the port of La Hanna, some 30 miles away; and the international airport, an additional 30 miles away. Having a good com- mand of Spanish, he acted as a coor- dinator between Dominican and U.S. armed forces and government enti- ties. For the many mission personnel stationed at the constituent posts, he was their strong link with embassy administration. He was involved in all planning for high-level visits, particu- larly the visit of Vice President Hu- bert Humphrey for President Balla- guer’s inauguration. Leahy was next assigned to Quito where, in addition to his embassy duties, he was active at the Ecuador- ian-American Cultural Institute, im- proving his Spanish and teaching English. He married one of the fac- ulty members there. Don Leahy was a quiet, unassum- ing individual who took great pride in