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CHAPTER 15

Final Reflections

I

t has now been almost forty years since I first became acquainted with

Korea. Most of the people described in the preceding chapters have

gone on to other pursuits and activities. Some are still involved with

Korea or Asia in general; others are retired. Of the ambassadors and

senior military officers with whom I served, all were faced with different

problems and events. Each reacted with professionalism, and each per-

formed a valuable service to his country. Americans and Koreans alike owe

them a debt of gratitude.

In the decade of the s, Ambassadors Philip Habib and Richard

Sneider, both of whom are now deceased, were instrumental in thwarting

a South Korean program to develop nuclear weapons. Gen. Richard Stilwell,

a mentor and friend who provided critical leadership during Operation Paul

Bunyan, was instrumental in policy formulation in Asia for several years

after his retirement. He died a few months after our return from the North

Korea trip. Ambassador William Gleysteen faced perhaps the toughest is-

sues of any ambassador under whom I served; after leaving government

service, he went on to become president of the Japan Society in New York

for several years. I saw him two years ago at an academic conference, and

we relived the old days of a presidential assassination, a military coup and

various intrigue, and the Kwangju massacre. Gen. John Wickham went on

to eventually become chief of staff of the U.S. Army; he is now retired in

Arizona. Bob Brewster, the U.S. Embassy’s senior intelligence official and my

collaborator during the events of –, died of cancer in .

In the s Ambassador Richard “Dixie” Walker served with distinc-

tion for almost six years during a turbulent period; his quiet diplomacy and

pleasing personality were important factors in reestablishing harmonious

relations between the government of Chun Doo Hwan and the Reagan ad-

ministration following the stormy period of the Carter years. He remains

active in Korean affairs as ambassador-in-residence at the University of

South Carolina’s Walker Institute of International Studies, and I still see him

often. Ambassador James Lilley’s strong leadership in – headed off