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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-05
In this interview Komer discusses working with McGeorge Bundy; the “inner circle” of the Bundy State Department; Komer’s major contacts; the intelligence system; the power and responsibilities of the State Department; how Bundy screened what President John F. Kennedy [JFK] would see; relations with other key officials; Robert F. Kennedy and foreign policy issues; the Bundy State Department and White House staff; the “little State Department” in the White House; the bureaucratic role of the State Department; U.S. foreign policy in Asia; relations with key U.S. Ambassadors; handling Arab-Israeli issues; domestic pressures of American-Jewish community on JFK; Arabists in the Kennedy Administration; working with Myer Feldman on Israeli issues; the United States, Saudi Arabia, and oil; filling the power vacuum left by the British; dealing with Congress on foreign aid matters; counterinsurgency; and looking back at programs during the Kennedy Administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-04
In this interview Komer discusses President John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] interest in Indonesia and Iran; U.S.-Indonesian relations; the Indian Ocean and Iran task forces; JFK’s contact with the Iranian Shah; Pakistani-Afghani disputes; U.S. aid to Afghanistan; Komer’s attempt to revamp the military aid program; McGeorge Bundy and Walt W. Rostow as President JFK’s advisers; and JFK’s direct contact with a select few National Security staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-01
In this interview Komer discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] stance on U.S. foreign policy during his presidency; JFK’s affinity for preventive diplomacy; comparisons between JFK and previous Presidents on foreign policy focus; JFK’s intellectual curiosity and “flair for detail,” and his willingness to make the unpopular decision, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JCT-01
In this interview, he discusses Chester Bowles’ political style, the unconventional selections of ambassadorial positions, and the nation’s role in the world, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MRP-01
This interview focuses on Pahlavi’s personal and professional relationship with John F. Kennedy [JFK], his impression of JFK’s leadership style, and international relations, particularly with Iran, during the Kennedy administration, among other topics.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2008-026-002
Judith (Judy) Brown (nee Detrich) served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from September 1966 to June 1968 as an English teacher. She trained at Reed College in Oregon. During her first year, she worked at the University of Tehran, where a student strike began in March 1967. Following her May 1967 marriage to another Peace Corps volunteer, she taught in the town where he was stationed, Behbahan, for a short time. Afterwards the couple moved to the town of Shushtar where Brown worked at a girls school. Her time in southern Iran contrasted strongly with her experience in the capital city of Tehran. Brown taught large classes with up to 80 students, and did not get to know her students as much as she did her adult neighbors. In the interview, she compares her own marriage and that of a Muslim couple, and discusses how Iranian culture challenged her personal beliefs and caused her to re-examine her assumptions. Brown also describes how her Peace Corps experience led her to a career in public service, and how she has reconnected with Iran through her recent experience tutoring an Iranian woman. Interviewed and recorded by Susan Luccini, February 2, 2008. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2008-003
Pamella Cavanna served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1969 to 1971 on health and education projects. She had worked as a nurse prior to joining. She and her husband applied to the Peace Corps for humanitarian reasons. They trained in Fresno, California, for three months while living in a trailer. Cavanna felt well trained in the Farsi language and well prepared for the cultural differences. In Iran, her first project was establishing a women's clinic in Rezaiyeh. At the end of her first year, however, she and her husband separated and the Peace Corps administration would not allow her to return to Rezaiyeh as a single woman. Cavanna completed her term as an English teacher in Tehran. The interview also contains her observations about sisterhood among Muslim women. Interviewed and recorded by Susan Luccini, October 14, 2007. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2005-025-001
Cindy Annchild served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1968 to 1972 as an English teacher. She joined with her husband; only couples were allowed to be stationed in Iran. Annchild trained in Vermont with intensive language training in Persian. In-country training consisted of cultural courses, especially on how to dress and act appropriately as a woman. Cindy and her husband both taught high school children in segregated boys and girls schools. During the first year, she found it difficult to do everything "correctly" and fit into the local culture, but says Iranians were the most hospitable and kind people she has ever met. The couple re-enlisted and served for another two years from 1970 to 1972. By this time all Peace Corps volunteers were training in-country and they joined the staff as cross-cultural directors. Interviewed and recorded by Ernest Zaremba, August 27, 2004. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-052
Nicholas Montalto served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from June 1969 to June 1971 as an English teacher. He served alongside his wife Gloria. He describes his previous overseas volunteer activities and how the training he received did not fully prepare him for the challenges that he met both culturally and educationally, and how he and his wife overcame those challenges. After considering leaving within the first three months, Montalto grew to love Iran and continued in his position teaching English at a boys' school. He relates how his Peace Corps experience led him to his life-long career helping immigrants. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, January 27, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-051
Gloria Montalto served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from June 1969 to June 1971 as an English teacher. She served alongside her husband Nicholas. She speaks about the exciting time, including her marriage, prior to leaving for the Peace Corps, and impact of her New York City Italian-American background on her family's reaction to her decision. She discusses training both in the U.S. and in Iran, and the couple's desire to serve in the Iranian countryside. Montalto taught English in a girls' school. She is frank about her difficult first three months and the break-throughs that finally helped them integrate into the community. She also discusses her inexperience in cooking and other things, the challenges she faced in the school, her connection with the Muslim culture, and her life as a woman in Iran. Finally, Montalto talks about difficulty reintegrating upon her return to the U.S., as well as a trip back to their site in the 1990s. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, January 27, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-010
Jeanette Grayson Gottlieb served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1965 to 1967 in an elementary and secondary education program. She was initially assigned to the towns of Nowshahr and Chalus on the Caspian Sea to help English language teachers in two all-girls schools improve their English and teaching skills. Although she didn't teach the children, she taught adults in the evenings and started a crafts club for the students. Gottlieb didn't feel qualified to teach experienced teachers and even though she was busy, she experienced considerable loneliness from living by herself, the overcast weather, and being a single woman in a traditional society where women stayed home. In the second year, she transferred to the town of Hamadan where she taught her own classes in another all-girls school, held first-aid and craft classes, and lived with another volunteer. Although she reflects negatively on the deselection process during training, Gottlieb has good memories of her Peace Corps experience overall and says she learned to be alone. She also met her husband in the Peace Corps. She remains active in RPCV activities in Albany, New York, and served as president of the Peace Corps Iran Association. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, August 25, 2018. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-032
Mike Wildman served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1972 to 1974 as a vocational education teacher. He applied to the Peace Corps after receiving an electrical engineering degree from the University of California at Berkeley. His training in Iran included the study of the Farsi language. Wildman then began his service in a vocational education program at a school in Isfahan. Together with an Iranian counterpart, he worked to translate a technical education teaching manual from English into Farsi. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, February 23, 2017. 1 digital file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-016
Kathleen MacLeod served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from June 1964 to June 1966 as an English teacher in the TEFL program (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Her group was the fourth one to serve in Iran. After spending a year in Mexico during college, she had expected to be sent to a Spanish speaking country. Training was conducted at the University of Michigan English Language Institute and included the Farsi language and Iranian history. MacLeod initially worked in Tehran teaching English to public health engineers, and at the UNESCO School of Social Work. After a few months, she requested a reassignment to an area with more locals. In Gorgan, MacLeod taught at a girls' high school. She lived with a local midwife and sometimes accompanied the midwife when she delivered babies in nearby villages. MacLeod has maintained lasting friendships with her Iranian friends and other volunteers after her service. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, October 17, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-013
Skip Auld served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1973 to 1974 as an English teacher in a TEFL program (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). He was interested in serving in South Asia, but readily accepted the invitation to Iran. His in-country training included intensive language instruction and teaching techniques. Auld was assigned to teach English at a boys' high school in the town of Mahallat, where he was the only westerner. There had been Peace Corps volunteer couples at the school previously, but he was the first single volunteer. Auld found the local residents to be very fond of Americans, and was frequently invited to their homes for dinner. He was unable to complete his full tour due to medical issues. The interview also includes a discussion of Auld's continuing engagement with the RPCV Iran community. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, October 29, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-122
Richard (Dick) Wood served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1964 to 1966 on a community development project. He had studied philosophy and engineering at Yale. His training was with an all-male group, Iran 5, first in Utah and then for a week in the agricultural college outside of Tehran. Wood was stationed in Sari in the province of Mazandaran. He and a friend were placed with a government community development firm that went around the province gathering information about what the people in villages needed, surveying, and drawing up proposals. Wood describes the warmth of the Iranian people and how his worldview expanded. He often talked with locals about American foreign policy and other matters. After the Peace Corps, Wood traveled with friends before returning to the U.S. to enter graduate school in Middle Eastern studies. He continued to work in the Middle East for several years. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, July 16, 2019. 1 digital audio file.