Dean Rusk (Rhodes 1931)
Kappa Alpha Order Sigma Chapter. Scabbard and Blade. Phi Beta Kappa. Rhodes Scholar. Gridiron Club;
Ceded strategy for Vietnam to Robert McNamara at the Pentagon and continued to support policies aimed at a victory for South Vietnam.
11 Nov 1967, The Gridiron Club gave the first formal dinner in its history outside of Washington. It was at Williamsburg, Virginia. President Johnson, Chief Justice Warren and Secretary of State Dean Rusk were all in attendance…[4,p725]
Vietnam War - 21 Jan 1961 to 20 Jan 1969 - 54th United States Secretary of State by President John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
Preceded by Christian Herter. Succeeded by William P. Rogers.
From 1952 - Became President of the Rockefeller Foundation.
29 Mar 1950 to 9 Dec 1951 - 2nd Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs by President Harry S. Truman (Freemason)
Preceded by William Walton Butterworth (Rhodes 1924). Succeeded by John Moore Allison (U.S. Consul during Nanjing Massacre).
8 Feb 1949 to 26 May 1949 - 1st Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs by President Harry S. Truman (Freemason)
Preceded by Dean Acheson (S&K 1915) - Congressional Relations and International Conferences.
Succeeded by John D. Hickerson.
During the war, Rusk had authorized an air drop of arms to the Viet Minh guerrillas in Vietnam commanded by his future enemy Ho Chi Minh.[3]
By Sept 1945 Ho Chi Minh’s August Revolution was complete. In huge rallies, the people hailed Vietnam’s independence with a rejoicing that was peaceful everywhere but in Saigon. There, the Vietminh did not have the same hold over the population that Ho exercised in Hanoi, and shooting broke out during a demonstration. The ensuing riot left a score of Vietnamese and Frenchmen dead. Ten days later, the first British and French troops arrived to enfore France’s claim to the chaotic south.[3,p59]…
.. In the North, however, Ho [Chi Minh] Began an eloquent victory speech by invoking America’s revolution of 1776. “All men are created equal,” Ho said, quoting from the Declaration of Independence. “They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” At that moment, Ho’s supporters were claiming that his victory had been won with little bloodshed, although soon afterward numbers of his anti-Communist rivals were rounded up and executed [3,p59]…
… As Ho [Chi Minh] set about building his nation, he counted on friendships he had forged within the OSS. He wrote to one OSS agent: “The war is finished. It is good for everybody. I feel only sorry that all our American friends have to leave us so soon.”[3,p59] …
… Dean Rusk [Rhodes 1931] had never met Ho Chi Minh, but he had been one the Americans to aid Ho against the Japanese. As a deputy to General Joseph Stilwell in the China-Burma-India theater, Rusk authorised an air drop of U.S. arms and cigarretes to Ho’s guerrillas. At the time Rusk [Rhodes 1931] didn’t care whether Ho was a nationalist of Communist so long as he was trying to kill Japanese. And OSS agents like Patti were reporting enthusiastically about the Vietminh.**[3,p60]
WW2 - Colonel, United States Army.
1934 to 1949 (except during Military Service) - Taught at Mills College.
1931 to 1933, Rhodes Scholar, St. John’s College, Oxford University. Received Cecil Peace Prize.
Died 20 Dec 1994, from Not Known. Age 85.
[0] - Rhodes Scholarship Database
[3] - Book - Our Vietnam : the war, 1954-1975 by Langguth, A. J., 1933-2014
[4] - FYI - Wiki - Archimedes Patti, OSS
[5] - FYI - Wiki - Dean Rusk (Rhodes 1931)
[6] - FYI - Wiki - Gridiron Society
[8] - Spartacus-educational.com - Dean Rusk (Rhodes 1931)
[9] - georgiaencyclopedia.org - Dean Rusk (Rhodes 1931)
[10] - Davidson.edu - Dean Rusk (Rhodes 1931)
[11] - Millercenter.org - Dean Rusk (Rhodes 1931)
[13] - The Rockefeller Foundation - Dean Rusk (Rhodes 1931)
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