Evening star., 1954-10-31
Peurifoy:: Diplomatic SwoshbuckIer
By james {. Roper


A diplomat with sWashbuckle.
He can pack "a pistol or wear
a pair of striped pants. He
prefers the pistol.
On his newest assignment,
Mr.. Peurifoy may need the
pistol more than the pants. He
is on his way across the Pa
cific to become the United
States Ambassador to Thai
land.
Thailand may be the Com
munists' next big target in
South Asia. Already, the Reds
have a Chinese minority in
Thailand as a possible fifth
column. The Communists are
inf1ltrating propagandists and
gunmen into Thailand. The
Thai government is none too
strong. Red pressure is mount
ing.
In these circumstances,
President Eisenhower and the
State Department called on
Jack Peurifoy to represent the
United States in the impend-.
ing brawl for Bangkok. The
situation clearly demands the
best-and Mr.. Peurifoy has a
perfect record of trouble
shooting in areas where Com
munists are ready to fire.
AS Ambassador to Greece,
Mr.. Peurifoy bucked up the
Athens government, MASTER
fully directed the American
aid program and helped end
the possibility that the Com
munists could take over all of
the Greek peninsula.
AS Ambassador to Guate-
mala, he helped unseat the
pro-Communist government of
Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. With
a pistol strapped under his
arm, he persuaded anti-Com-
munist leaders to drop their
rivalries and install a pro-
American government in
Guatemala City.
Perennial Success
AS Ambassador to Thailand,
Mr.. Peurifoy expects to block
the Reds once more. And why
not? He has succeeded in al
most everything he has at
tempted since he entered the
State Department in 1888.
Now he Is rated as career
Foreign Service officer. He
doesn't act like one. He is
casual in his dress and casual
in his talk. Except in times
of crisis, he is beaming and
bouncy. He tells every one to
call him Jack" In turn, he
is likely to know your first
name, just as he knows those
OF 400 congressman.
He pronounces these names
in a rich voice favored with
remnants of a Southern accent
heritage of his birth in
Walterboro, S. c., At years ago.
His wardrobe does not in
clude homburg, the hallmark
OF a career diplomat. He often
wears a checked suit, and has
a small collection of fancy
colored vests. On weekends he
has been known to arrive at
the State Department dressed
in slacks and lumber jacket.
Mr.. Peurifoy is not handi-
capped by modesty. AS a child
he announced that his ambi-
ton was to become President
OF the United States. Time
may have moderated this goal,
but he still would like to be
Senator from South Carolina.
Between the time of his
youthful confidence and his
present mature confidence,
Mr.. Peurifoy suffered an agon-
izing period of houndering. It
was a period that would have
destroyed a lesser personality
especially so because it came
after a good start in life.
He was born to a family of
substantial means. Although
his mother died when he was
s years old, Mr.. Peurifoy Jared
well under the care of his
father, who was a lawyer and
district attorney. Through his
family connections he obtained
an appointment to West Point.
But his father developed
tuberculosis and died. Cadet
Peurifoy was fioored by pneu-
monia for % weeks. He had
to drop out of the Military
Academy.
The bewildered, orphaned
youth drifted West. He tried