Attache Extraordinaire: Vernon A. Walters and Brazil
Abstract
Vernon Anthony Walters was born in New York on January 3, 1917, during World War I. In that same year the Russian Revolution occurred, paving the way for the implementation of the ideology of Communism, which Walters opposed throughout his entire professional career. In 1941, a few months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Walters entered the Army and saw action in World War II. During his career, he also participated in the Korean and Vietnam Wars and witnessed conflicts in Greece, Paraguay, Chad, and Colombia.2 He was the Ambassador to Germany in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell; and in 1991 when he left public service, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was complete. When Walters died in February 2002, the world was only beginning to recover from the shock caused by the terrorist attacks of September 11 and to put the 20th century Cold War behind it. That was the context for Vernon Walters' professional life: real or potential international conflicts, ideologies in confrontation and a bipolarity that dominated the second half of the century. In this environment, he acted sometimes as privileged observer, and at other times as a central character in events. He knew how to take advantage of the singular opportunities that emerged from World War II and from the confrontational ideological system that it produced.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA512890
Entities
People
- Frank M. De Oliveira
Organizations
- National Intelligence University