The Foreign Service Journal, September 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2013 27 who were in displaced per- son camps all over Austria, to find scientists and other people of national interest to the United States. I left the Army in March 1947, but stayed in the Reserve and was pro- moted to full colonel in 1969. I finally retired from reserve status in 1974, while I was in Paraguay. FSJ: Where did you take the Foreign Service exam for the first time? GWL: I took the written test at the U.S. embassy in Vienna in 1946. I no longer recall any of the questions, and I never heard anything about whether I passed. When I went back to ask, the officer who had given me the exam said “Yes, you passed. Con- gratulations! In fact, I have it right here.” Surprised, I asked why he hadn’t sent the results to Washington, and he said: “Because you haven’t been a citizen for 15 years, as regulations require.” (As you’ll recall, I was naturalized in 1943.) Then he told me, “Not to worry, because I [will] forward the results to the department; in 12 years you can pick it up from there.” You can imagine my disappointment. After leaving active duty, I returned to New York and joined a shipping and freight forwarding company, where I was in charge of South American operations. In the mid- 1950s, I was offered a lucrative contract by one of our custom- ers and we moved to Cali, Colombia. Still, I kept thinking about the Foreign Service and what had happened to my application. So in 1956, before renew- ing my contract, I decided to travel to Washington. There was no record of my ever having taken the exam, but at a meeting in the department I learned that President Dwight Eisenhower had autho- rized State to hire up to 30 reserve officers as com- mercial attachés. However, the selection was to be made by the Department of Commerce. (This was in response to complaints that the business community did not get adequate assistance from our embassies.) I applied immediately, appeared before a board at Commerce and was accepted. In March 1957, I was assigned at the R-4 level for a five-year, non-renewable appointment as the com- mercial attaché in Uruguay. FSJ: Was that first post a good introduction to Foreign Service life? GWL: It was love at first sight. I was accustomed to dealing with American expatriates, having been one myself, and the business com- munity in Montevideo was very helpful to me. Through them, I met a number of senior Uruguayan officials, including the president. The ambassador, Robert F. Woodward, appreci- ated my work and contacts and recommended me to replace the economic counselor after his tour ended. The depart- ment reluctantly went along. The assignment also brought a promotion to R-3. Though my original appointment was limited to five years, like any federal employee I was eligible to apply for lateral entry into the Foreign Service after three years. In 1960 I passed the written and oral lateral entry exams and became a full-fledged Foreign Service officer at the O-3 level. George W. Landau as a young GI during World War II. Photo courtesy of G.W. Landau “As a little boy in Vienna I once saw a documentary: ‘America, the Land of Unlimited Possibilities.’ It impressedme greatly, and turned out to be absolutely accurate.”