Lynne Joiner's Remarks at the 2010 American Academy of Diplomacy Annual Awards Luncheon, November 30, 2010 Thank you …I am profoundly grateful to the American Academy of Diplomacy for this award. I’m humbled by my selection from such a distinguished group of authors –and very honored to be the first woman to win. I must begin by thanking the U.S. Naval Institue Press for taking a chance on a freelance broadcast journalist without a track record as an author. I also must thank my former college roommate, an editor extraordinaire, whom I hired to help me trim the hefty draft down into a manageable size. Clare Wolfowitz is probably not unfamiliar to many of you in this hallowed hall: Clare, thanks for your help—and for giving me a bed in your home that last hectic month before the manuscript deadline. I am honored that one of Jack and Caroline Service’s three children is here today: he’s also someone many in Academy know: Ambassador Robert Service and his wife, Karol thanks to you both and all in the family for support. I called Bob after he was confirmed by the Senate as an ambassador to ask for his help in convincing his father to let me do the book . His mother always feared dredging up the tumultuous past might have a negative impact on Bob’s career ….so only after her passing—with Bob’s urging, did Jack agree to let me begin in-depth interviews—and I began researching his life in Mao’s China and McCarthy’s America. By 1998, many documents were finally being declassified-- and I used Freedom of Information Act petitions to get access to others---including a gold mine of material from the State Department. After waiting 3 or 4 years, I got to review 25 legal–size boxes of John Service’s security file that no one knew existed. Ten boxes contained an annotated “summary & analysis” of his long loyalty case—and 15 boxes contained the carefully compiled original source materials annotated in the summary--including secret FBI documents which had been heavily redacted when I received them from the Bureau…and translations of secret 1950 Nationalist intelligence reports smearing John Service and other “old China hands” which FBI Director Hoover and anti-Communist politicians relied upon as Gospel truth… I regret Jack & Caroline are not here today…but nearly 37 years ago in this very same dining room, on January 30, 1973, Service--and other China hands-- were finally honored by the State Department. In his speech, Jack gently reminded his audience of the value of forthright Foreign Service political reporting —and I think his words (noted in my book’s prologue) are worth repeating today in this new era of Wiki-Leaks: The measure of the need for such reporting is not popular sentiment in the United States as reflected in some segments of the press, or by some Congressional committees not charges with foreign relations….The legacy of Sen. Joe McCarthy still needs, in some respects, to be shed.” Only last month, the N.Y. Times headlined a story “CHINA EMERGES AS A SCAPEGOAT IN CAMPAIGN ADVERTISEMENTS.” It reported at least 29 candidates (from both parties) produced TV ads painting their opponents as being “too sympathetic to China and as a result, Americans have suffered.” And so it would appear the legacy of McCarthy still needs to be shed in the 21st century—and that the legacy of the HONORABLE SURVIVOR remains relevant in today’s troubled world…I’m proud and honored that you think my telling his cautionary tale is worthy of the 2010 Dillon Book Award.
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