Roger Hilsman
Encyclopedia
Roger Hilsman is an author
and political scientist. He served as an American soldier in Merrill's Marauders
and then the Office of Strategic Services
in China-Burma-India Theater of World War II during World War II
and as an aide and adviser to President John F. Kennedy
. He left government in 1964 to teach at Columbia University.
Hilsman attended the United States Military Academy
and graduated in June 1943. He served with the Detachment 101 of the OSS and in August 1945, went on an OSS mission into Manchuria
to liberate American prisoners of war held in a Mukden Japanese POW camp and there found his father.
During the Kennedy Administration Hilsman became director of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), and in 1963 became the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs. He resigned in March 1964 in a disagreement with President Johnson's Vietnam policy and was replaced at the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs by William Bundy
. Hilsman has been professor of government and international politics at Columbia University
since 1964. Now retired, Hilsman serves as a professor emeritus.
He has since written at least 11 books about 20th Century American foreign policy. They include:
Hilsman is married to the former Eleanor Hoyt.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and political scientist. He served as an American soldier in Merrill's Marauders
Merrill's Marauders
Merrill’s Marauders or Unit Galahad, officially named the 5307th Composite Unit , was a United States Army long range penetration special operations unit in the South-East Asian Theater of World War II which fought in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, or CBI...
and then the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
in China-Burma-India Theater of World War II during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and as an aide and adviser to President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. He left government in 1964 to teach at Columbia University.
Hilsman attended the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
and graduated in June 1943. He served with the Detachment 101 of the OSS and in August 1945, went on an OSS mission into Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
to liberate American prisoners of war held in a Mukden Japanese POW camp and there found his father.
During the Kennedy Administration Hilsman became director of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), and in 1963 became the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs. He resigned in March 1964 in a disagreement with President Johnson's Vietnam policy and was replaced at the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs by William Bundy
William Bundy
William Putnam "Bill" Bundy was a member of the CIA and foreign affairs advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He had a key role in planning the Vietnam War. After leaving government service he became a historian.-Early years:Raised in Boston, Massachusetts he came from a...
. Hilsman has been professor of government and international politics at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
since 1964. Now retired, Hilsman serves as a professor emeritus.
He has since written at least 11 books about 20th Century American foreign policy. They include:
- Foreign policy in the sixties: The issues and the instruments (1965)
- To Move a Nation: The Politics of Foreign Policy in the Administration of John F. Kennedy (1967)
- Politics Of Policy Making In Defense and Foreign Affairs: Conceptual Models and Bureaucratic Politics (1971)
- The crouching future: International politics and U.S. foreign policy - a forecast (1975)
- To Govern America (1979)
- Strategic Intelligence and National Decisions (1981)
- The Politics of Governing America (1985)
- George Bush Vs. Saddam Hussein: Military Success! Political Failure? (1992)
- The Cuban Missile Crisis: The Struggle Over Policy (1996)
- From Nuclear Military Strategy to a World Without War (1999)
- American Guerrilla: My War Behind Japanese Lines (2005)
Hilsman is married to the former Eleanor Hoyt.