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William Lederer | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1912-03-31)March 31, 1912 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 5, 2009(2009-12-05) (aged 97) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Occupation | American author |
| Spouse | Ethel Hackett (1940–1965) (3 children) Corinne Lewis (1965–1976)[1] |
| Children | W. Jonathan Lederer Brian J. H. Lederer Bruce Allen Lederer[2] |
William Julius Lederer, Jr. (March 31, 1912 – December 5, 2009) was an American author and naval officer.[3]
After dropping out of high school, Lederer enlisted in theUnited States Navy in 1930. He graduated from theUnited States Naval Academy in 1936. His first appointment was as the junior officer aboardUSS Tutuila (PR-4), ariver gunboat of theYangtze Patrol on theYangtze River inChina. After the entry of theUnited States intoWorld War II in December 1941, he was aline officer first inAsia and then in theEuropean Theater, serving as a ship's navigation officer in the 1943Allied invasion of Sicily. He spent the later years of his naval service as apublic information officer, and in that capacity eventually was posted toThe Pentagon and later as special assistant toCommander-in-Chief, Pacific,AdmiralFelix Stump atPearl Harbor,Territory of Hawaii.[2] He rose to the rank ofcaptain.[3]
Lederer's best-selling work, 1958'sThe Ugly American, was one of two novels he co-wrote withEugene Burdick, a former U.S. Navylieutenant commander andOxford don. Disillusioned with theUnited States's diplomatic efforts inSoutheast Asia, Lederer and Burdick sought to demonstrate that American officials and civilians could make a substantial difference in Southeast Asian politics if they were willing to learn local languages, follow local customs, and use regional military tactics. They were concerned that if American policy makers continued to ignore the logic behind these lessons, Southeast Asia would fall underSoviet orChinese Communist influence. In the book's epilogue, they argue for the creation of "a small force of well-trained, well-chosen, hard-working and dedicated professionals" fluent in the local language, which presaged thePeace Corps, whichJohn F. Kennedy proposed in 1960.[4]
InA Nation of Sheep (1961), Lederer identifies intelligence failures inAsia. In "Government by Misinformation," he investigates the sources that he believes lead to American foreign policy, namely trusted local officials; local (foreign) newspapers, magazines, books, radio broadcasts, etc.; paid local informers; personal observations by U.S. officials; and American journalists.
InOur Own Worst Enemy (1968), Lederer relates that as a young U.S. Navylieutenant (junior grade) in 1940, he had a chance meeting with aJesuit priest, Father Pierre Cogny, and his Vietnamese assistant, "Mr. Nguyen," while he was waiting out a Japanese bombing raid in China. Father Pierre asked Lederer if he had a copy of theUnited States Declaration of Independence on hisgunboat, and Lederer said that he did and provided them with a copy. "Mr. Nguyen" was eager to deliver the document to "Tong Van So," who later became known asHo Chi Minh, the Vietnamese Communist revolutionary and statesman. The 1945Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, written by Ho, begins by quoting from the American document. Ho went on to serve as prime minister (1946–1955) and president (1945–1969) of theDemocratic Republic of Vietnam (i.e., North Vietnam).[5]Our Own Worst Enemy describes how the United States supported a corrupt PresidentNgo Diem inSouth Vietnam, ignored massive black market selling of stolen U.S. military supplies, food, and foreign aid, and refused to stand up to corrupt local officials who stole donated food and supplies, took kickbacks, and bullied their own population, as Americans continued saying, "It's their country, and we Americans are only guests here."
Other Lederer works were intended to be light-hearted and humorous fantasies. His early works,All the Ships at Sea (1950) andEnsign O'Toole and Me (1957) are both. A children's book,Timothy's Song, with illustrations byEdward Ardizzone, appeared in 1965.
Two of his 1949 short stories published inReader's DigestI Taught My Wife to Keep House the Navy Way andThe Skipper Surprised His Wife were filmed in 1950 asThe Skipper Surprised His Wife/
Thetelevision seriesEnsign O'Toole, asituation comedy which starredDean Jones and aired onNBC from 1962 to 1963, was based onAll the Ships at Sea andEnsign O'Toole and Me and depicted the misadventures of the crew of the fictional U.S. Navy destroyer USSAppleby in the early 1960s. Lederer served astechnical adviser for the series.[6][7]
He co-wrote thescreenplay of the 1965 feature filmMcHale's Navy Joins the Air Force.
Lederer died ofrespiratory failure on December 5, 2009, at the age of 97.
