John O’Donnell

John was the quintessential quiet American, not the distorted American of Graham Green’s imagination, but the true quiet American – soft spoken, with a relaxed and informal manner about him that put Asians at ease. I first greeted John as his new boss when he arrived in Saigon in October 1962, now over forty years ago. We had started an office called Rural Affairs, turning the then highly centralized American AID Mission in Saigon upside down by sending volunteers out to the Provinces to work directly with the people. John was one of the first of these volunteers to arrive.

When I was appointed to head up Rural Affairs office in September 1962, I turned to friends with whom I had served earlier in Laos and Vietnam for suggestions about whom I might recruit to work with me in Vietnam. Prior experience in AID was not a requirement, an ability to work with Asians and strong motivation to help people were what  I looked for. An old friend, Hank Miller, recommended John.

John was 26 years old at the time but when I first saw him on his arrival in Saigon he looked about 18. I had no idea of his capabilities and wondered how the Vietnamese, most of whom were Colonels and Majors, would take to him. I first took him with me on a round of visits to provinces in the Delta to work up some assistance agreements with  the Province Chiefs. John was a quick learner. He impressed me so much I decided he could take on as AID’s provincial representative, not one but six provinces in the Delta. My instructions were simple: work with the Province Chiefs to get the Strategic Hamlet program going and then come back and tell us what we need to do to support you. A pretty broad order, short on details, but with no hesitation John took it on.

I asked John to pay particular attention to a very tough province, Kien Hoa, where Colonel Tran Ngoc Chau was doing exciting and imaginative things to make the program work. I had met Chau and found him to be a brilliant but somewhat prickly soul who was not going to take to having an American advisor easily. Later, he told me that at first he wondered why I had sent such a young and inexperienced American to work with him. However, John’s unobtrusiveness, obvious sincerity and quiet effectiveness quickly won him over. He and Chau became lifelong friends. By the end of 1963, I would count John as probably the single most effective provincial representative we had.

Since that time, as some of you know, John had an outstanding career in AID, spending much of his subsequent time in Latin America. Around 1981, I learned accidentally from others that he was the only American in the AID Mission to have ever won an award from the Peruvian government for economic assistance work. That was so characteristic.

John, your love and dedication to your family was beyond measure. For us your friends we will always remember your devotion to the welfare of others in foreign lands much less fortunate than we. You were an inspiration to all of us who believe, as you did, that freedom is indivisible; that we as Americans are called to a duty higher than ourselves - that the best guarantee of our freedom is the spread of freedom everywhere. You gave us a great example. We will always be grateful. You will always be remembered.

Rufus Phillips,  December 5, 2003