Recently I have been wondering how I would go about writing the history of the Peace Corps. (Thankfully, I don’t have to do it but the question still intrigues me.) What events, personalities, world events are important enough to be included? I certainly don’t have the answer but I bet we, collectively, do. Let’s collaborate on developing a Peace Corps chronology.
I have prepared a starter’ list of ’significant events’ and ‘general topics’ that could be included. The list is far from complete, especially since my knowledge of the past thirty years is pretty skimpy. I’m asking for everyone’s help in coming up with a definitive list of subjects.
The list would include both specific happenings (of all kinds) that affected the Peace Corps in a meaningful way, and also, in a separate list, subjects that don’t have a specific beginning or end, but are important to understanding the organization.
Read through the list below, which includes both types. Then, using your own experience and knowledge of the Peace Corps, make additions, comments, whatever. For example, I show in 1974 that Peace Corps began to exit countries (I recall we did leave someplace that year) but we need more specifics on this topic.
I will do my best to keep up with the flow and regularly post a revised list until the end has been reached. (If anyone has a good idea of how to manage the logistics of all this let me know.)
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN PEACE CORPS HISTORY
1960-69
Peace Corps is conceived on a chilly night in Michigan (1960)
Peace Corps Executive Order proclaimed (1961)
The Peace Corps Act is passed (1961)
First PCVs go abroad (1961)
PC/W created and staffed (1961-63)
The Nigeria Letter Incident (196?)
Sargent Shriver leaves the Peace Corps (1966)
PCVs in the field reach 15,000 (19??)
Joseph Blatchford becomes Peace Corps Director (1969)
1970-79
‘New Directions’ becomes Peace Corps policy (1970)
Older men and women actively recruited as volunteers (1970-onward)
Peace Corps training moved to in-country (1970)
Peace Corps subsumed into ACTION (1971-72)
Families with children permitted to serve as PCVs (1971- ?)
Congressman Otto Passman tries to destroy the Peace Corps (1972)
Mike Balzano becomes ACTION Director; PC/W turmoil ensues (1973-76)
Peace Corps exits countries as they prosper, or become dangerous (1974-onward)
Peace Corps achieves limited independence within ACTION (1979)
1980-89
RPCV’s become a ‘voice’ in the public arena (1980-onward)
Loret Ruppe serves as Peace Corps Director for eight years (1981-89)
Peace Corps achieves independence from ACTION (1983?)
Peace Corps enters former Soviet Bloc countries (19??)
1990-99
Peace Corps enters the fight against AIDS (19??)
Presidents promise but never deliver (1990 onwards)
First RPCV (Carol Bellamy) becomes Peace Corps Director (1993)
2000-2010
Peace Corps enters China (19??)
The Peace Corps reaches out to the Islamic world (2001 onward)
GENERAL TOPICS DESERVING ATTENTION
Changes in PCV life styles over 50 years
Deaths, Kidnapping & Disappearances
Working relationships with USAID, NGO’s, and other organizations
Volunteer & staff relationships
Overseas posts & PC/W relationships
Partisan politics and the Peace Corps
The making of a successful Peace Corps Volunteer
AND A FINAL TOPIC
Has it all been worthwhile?
Comments are closed or deactivated
I subscribe to the Peace Corps Worldwide RSS feed for all blogs on the site. (I wish I could pick and choose bloggers, but that’s not how your RSS feed works.) Do any of you read the other blogs collected here? Mr. Coyne definitely has the history of the Peace Corps well covered on his blog, and it doesn’t seem as if that needs repeating. I wish there were more *current* news on Peace Corps on this site. I would love to know how things are going for volunteers in newly opened countries, for example. Or a place to collect news in PC countries undergoing transition, turmoil or other news ~ during last year’s troubles in Mauritania and Honduras, it was virtually impossible to find information on PCVs in those countries. Or coverage of the amazing work PCVs are currently doing around the world. Most of the blogs on here have very little to do (directly, at least) with Peace Corps, and I for one crave more such information. Thanks for listening to my two dirhams’ worth.
Rebecca Roberts, Youth Development, 2008-2010, Morocco
http://shwiya-b-shwiya.blogspot.com
I agree wholeheartedly! We are much too concentrated on what to current Peace Corps folks must seem like ancient history (and maybe it is).
I also wonder what in the world the real Peace Corps is up to these days. Why don’t you tell us something about it and suggest to some of your friends that they do too.
As you can tell from the outline above I haven’t the foggiest idea of what happening now (or in the 90s either for that matter).
For my little corner of PC life in Morocco, read my blog (I plan a new post later today) at http://shwiya-b-shwiya.blogspot.com. There are tons of similar blogs at http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com, for a glimpse of current PC life around the world. But what I’m looking for is something that collates current PC news, insider info, and especially updates when a country PC serves, such as Georgia or South Africa, is in the news ~ someone to let us know whether volunteers are safe, whether they’re on standfast or being pulled out, whether life has returned to “normal.” This is something an individual PCV can’t provide … but we, and I suspect thousands of RPCVs, would love it if someone from the inside could. Does anyone on this site have those connections?
Some of the recent PC books included timelines (see “At Home In The World” and “PC The Great Adventure”). Like most, they get silly after 1966- the year Shriver resigned and moved on to run the anti-poverty program.
In classical literature, heroes are men or women who are either killed or totally incapacitated in their quest. If a timeline were to be bottom to top, it should include the nsame of those who died overseas while in service. I took a few hours last night to put together a rough drat of the first few years based upon information at home and on the computer.
PEACE CORPS TIMELINE
1904 American philosopher William James addressed the Universal Peace Congress in Boston. While speaking out against war, he counseled, “We must go in for preventive medicine, not radical cure.” He repeated similar themes in subsequent speeches in 1906 and 1910, believing that mankind would only find peace through self-sacrifice and example.
1957 Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr. (D-Minnesota) introduced a bill to create a “Peace Corps.”
1959 Henry S. Reuss (D-Wisconsin) advanced the idea of a “Point Four Youth Corps.”
early 1960 Henry Reuss (D-Wisconsin) and Senator Richard L. Neuberger (Oregon) introduced measures calling for a study about the “Point Four Youth Corps.”
Aug., 1960 Mutual Security Appropriations Act passed including a stipend for the study of this idea.
Oct. 14, 1960 John F. Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), at a late night campaign stop, asked a group of college students if they would serve overseas. The response from the group as well as around the nation was positive. Kennedy requested that Max Millikan and Chester Bowles outline an organization and goals. Within two weeks he adopted this into his campaign, speaking in favor of a Peace Corps.
Nov., 1960 Per the Mutual Security Appropriations Act, Maurice Albertson, Andrew E. Rice and Pauline E. Pirky of Colorado State University Research Foundation in Fort Collins, Colorado were contracted to prepare a study.
Jan. 9, 1961 Maurice Albertson, Andrew E. Rice and Pauline E. Pirky were briefed by the State Department in Washington D.C. before leaving on separate assignments to begin negotiations for an overseas Peace Corps. Albertson flew to Pakistan, Rice to Africa and Pirky to Mexico, Colombia, Haiti and Chile.
Mar. 1, 1961 President-elect John F. Kennedy signed an Executive Order creating the Peace Corps. He hoped to have 500 volunteers in the field by year’s end.
Mar. 4, 1961 Sergeant Shriver, Kennedy’s brother-in-law, was appointed the first Peace Corps Director.
May 15, 1961 Colorado State University Research Foundation presented final report.
Aug. 28, 1961 First countries to request technical assistance; Ghana, Nigeria, Tanganyika, India, Pakistan, Malaya, Thailand, Colombia, Chile, St. Lucia, and the Philippines. In aneffort to weed out potential problems, the Peace Corps instituted an entrance exam to fit psychological profiles. Training was done within the United States and included “team-building” physical activities similar to those used by airbourne rangers. Trainees were monitored by psychologists. First groups of Peace Corps Volunteers sent to Ghana and Tanganyika, Africa.
Sept. 22, 1961 Kennedy signed Peace Corps Act.
Oct. 13, 1961 A postcard written by a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria was intercepted in that country and publicized. Within it, the volunteer described that country as squalid and primitive. Nigerian college students protested, calling Peace Corps Volunteers “spies,” the program a tool of neo-colonialism and demanded deportation. The volunteer was returned to the U.S.A. The program continued. However, volunteers were now taught to guard their own opinions and all written commentary was to be reviewed for approval by the country director. This incident would be described to all Peace Corps Trainees from this date forward.
1961 Total applications= 12,644. Number registered for training= 913 (7% acceptance rate). Training termination rate=18%. Field early termination rate=10% (9 of 10 sworn-in volunteers completed 2 years of service). Total attrition rate= 26% (3 of 4 who reported for training completed 2 years of service). These are the best completion of service rates ever recorded. World Book Encyclopedia described Volunteer’s work as “conservationists, engineers, hygienists, bridge builders, road surveyors, carpenters, plasters, farmers and bricklayers.” The First Annual Peace Corps Report does not list programs or Volunteer occupations.
Dec., 1962 Peace Corps served in 12 countries with 698 Volunteers. These Volunteers died while in service; David Crozier & Lawrence Radley (Colombia), David Mulholland (Philippines), and Dale Swenson (Brazil).
June, 1963 Peace Corps served in 45 countries with 4,000 Volunteers. Early programs emphasized education, agriculture, health and community development.
Dec., 1963 Robert Ferestrom and 3 other Peace Corps Volunteers were taken hostage for 10 days by striking Bolivian miners. These Volunteers died while in service; Nancy Boyd, Phillip Maggard & Roger McManua (Philippines) and Frederick Detjen (Colombia).
Dec. 1964 Peace Corps served in 46 countries with about 10,000 Volunteers. More than half were teachers (52%), one in ten worked in health (9%), nearly one in ten worked in agriculture (7%), and almost one third of the Volunteers worked in community development (32%- rural community action projects, urban community action projects and public works). Nearly half of all volunteers worked in Latin America (42%) followed by Africa (31%), Middle East/North Africa/South Asia (16%) and the Far East (11%). A domestic peace corps called Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) was formed. These Volunteers died while in overseas service; Bruce McKeen (Nepal) and Cynthia Myers (India).
Apr. 28, 1965 The United States invaded the Dominican Republic. The Peace Corps was briefly evacuated.
Dec., 1965 These Volunteers died while in overseas service; Gareth Simmons & Robert Zech (Dominican Republic), Joy Darling (Bolivia), Don Humphrey (Chile), Stanley Kowalczyk & Johnnes Vonfoerster (Nigeria), Francis Kirking (Iran), James Hughes (Ecuador), John Parott (Kenya), James Driscott (Togo), Judith Corley (Cameroon). The leading cause of death between 1961 and 1999 was car and/or motorcycle accidents. Motorcycle deaths were so prevalent that their use was briefly banned by the Peace Corps.
June, 1966 The number of Volunteers worldwide reached 15,000, the highest number ever, serving in 47 countries. To achieve this, 27% of applicants were invited to training. Attrition rates had risen each year as the number of volunteers increased. By 1966, nearly half (47%) of all invited to train did not complete at least 2 years of service. Following the Peace Corps dictate to limit service to 5 years, Sergeant Shriver left the Peace Corps. New Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn promoted conservation, natural resource management and community development. Gradually, training is moved from universities to rural impoverished areas within the United States. Psychological testing and military style physical training dropped since they did not seem to affect attrition rates.
Dec., 1966 These volunteers died while in overseas service; Curtis Larson, Paul Bond & Gerald Flynn (Ecuador), Peverly Kinsey (Tanzania), William Olson (Ethiopia), Florice Barnum (Togo), Troy Ross (Peru), Thomas Hassett & Robert Weland (Nepal), James Redmann (E. Caribbean), Thomas Ashton (Iran), Lowell Dunn (Thailand), Henry George Shine & Diane Nitahara (Nigeria).
June, 1967 As the War in Vietnam escalated, Peace Corps appropriations shrank and with it, the number of volunteers began to decrease.
July, 1967 Civil War began in Nigeria. Peace Corps evacuated. A pilot training program in Turkey began with the idea that Trainees would learn more language in their host country. In order to improve recruiting, Stanford graduates became recruiters and the University of California Berkeley held its first informational meeting with possible recruits.
Dec., 1967 These Volunteers died while in overseas service;
Rebecca, Peacecorpsonline.org did provide the kind of information for which you are looking. It specifically provided updates on crisises and evacuations. However, right now the site is not covering everything. It is hoped and anticipated that it will become active again, shortly.
Do you find that either Peace Corps Connect or the official Peace Corps website has information which you find of interest?
lorenzo, Thank you for the timeline. What is your source for:
“Apr. 28, 1965 The United States invaded the Dominican Republic. The Peace Corps was briefly evacuated.”
My understanding was that Peace Corps Volunteers were not evacuated. Rather, they stayed and were the only people allowed in all the sectors after the invasion. because they were trusted.
Thanks. Opps! The competer sez that’s too short. So, thanks again.
You guys are doing great! Please keep it up. We need some of the later years to be represented but, please keep it up. I’ll organize every thing when I return (or enroute, as things go ). Too many of us old folks are involved at the moment.
I’m off on a trip so I won’t be on top of things for a while but keep the stuff coming.
No need to reinvent the wheel. The best online source for Peace Corps History is the independent peacecorpsonline.org. There is a link from this site. Rebecca, the last update was February 2010, and includes information on current Peace Corps host country activities.
The way to access the history is to clink on “Site Index” on the website, “peacecorpsonline.org. It includes every Peace Corps Annual Report from 1961 through 2008. It has information on every host country and gives information on every Director. It also has a google search engine for the site and for all of google. It is invaluable.
Hugh Pickens, the publisher, has done a tremendous job and that should be acknowledged.
You are right, Joey. This is a great site. Thank you for recommending it. I can’t seem to find a timeline though. Am I missing something?
Lorenzo,
I am glad you found the site helpful. I don’t think there is a timeline on peacecorpsonline.org. There are items with which you could construct a timeline. I am so grateful to the work which Pickens as well as Coyne/Bell on this site have done to keep the Peace Corps community engaged and informed. I am in awe of the magnitude of their efforts.
To do a timeline, I think you would have to decide what was important (and fifty years is a long time) and what area of Peace Corps you would be emphasizing.
I find that Wikipedia (not peacecorpwikipedia) but Wikipedia’s section on Peace Corps has chronologies which are really good. For example, they list important Peace Corps legislation and Executive orders.
Different host country alumni groups may be developing their own timeline/histories. Friends of Colombia created an excellent archive at American University. There is a list of all the groups which served in Colombia. A lot of people have done a lot of work, for which I am so grateful. It is like doing genealogy! Many alumni groups have pages on Peace Corps Connect and that may be another source.
“In the olden days,” Peace Corps training groups were very important and many of us identified by that Peace Corps training group number.
Such groups identified what projects were undertaken by country and date. That chronology would be so important for any timeline for a host country. I was disappointed to learn that PC/W does not maintain a list of those groups. They are only kept for seven years.
I would also think that NPCA’s WorldView magazine would have some type of timeline.
Yo, Joey! Checked out all the sites. A timeline is an actual line and for fifty years, that would be one long piece of paper. A chronology is probably a better choice. What started as a dare from Davie Searles became an obsession. There will be a book titled “Peace Corps Chronology 1961-2010″ published in 2011 and available on Amazon.com. It will include several appendices with maps, lists and graphs. You will be welcome to buy it. Personally, I am of the opinion that memoirs are the most important element for guarding our collective memories. Chronologies and timelines are useful thumb-nail sketches but the real beauty and detail comes from the personal account. My chronology will be for the entire Peace Corps- not a country by country report. The intended market is greying former Peace Corps volunteers with too much time on their hands, their maiden aunts and future historians. Since most information is currently on the Internet which is ephmeral like a stream, it is a good idea to get as much as possible in book format. By the way Joey, what is the title of your book?
Lorenzo, I am only working on an informal guide to where the public records are of the Peace Corps. Your chronology sounds great.! I lack the talent and the discipline to write a book.
Now I have a question. What will be the topics of your chronology??
Joey: Congrats on the guide. Will you print it as a pamphlet? Not all important documents are books. The Federalist Papers were pamphlets. Topics? That’s a trade secret, buddy. You’ll have to buy it to find out.
It is not a guide to important papers, it is a guide to public papers. There is a big difference. My intent is to publish my guide online, in a venue such as Peace Corps Connect. When I make FOIA requests, I always note that I am not going to be doing anything for sale.
I am sorry, I certainly wasn’t trying to infringe on your copyright by asking your topic. As I say, Peace Corps is “anybodies” or “qualquieras;” whoever does the work or pays the money or knows the influencial friends gets to claim the brand. So your chronology will reflect your perspective. Having said that, I will be more than happy to buy your book. I think your effort is worthwhile.
Joey: Thank you for your confidence. The chronology is based upon published sources, not interviews. A half century is a long time and I noticed that topics changed as we all have. Here is a snippet.
1994
Jun. 30, 1994
Worldwide, volunteers totaled 6,745.
Dec., 1994 The number of applications (13,628) was almost the same as the number received in 1977, about one quarter of those received in 1966. The relative numbers of volunteers worked in these areas; 40% in education, 18% in agriculture, 13% in the environment and forestry, 17% in health, 9% in business and 3% in urban planning. Ethnic minorities represented 12% of all volunteers. More than half of the volunteers were women (53%). The average age of a volunteer had risen to 31 years with 8% over 50 years of age.
Most training lasted 12 to 14 weeks. As part of the Women In Development program, gender and development training workshops began in Central and South America.
This program opened; Niue. These programs closed; Argentina, Sierra Leone, Yemen.
This volunteer died during service overseas; Thomas Barakatt (W. Samoa).
1995
Spring, 1995 Worldwide, 90% of country headquarters were connected to the Internet.
Jun. 30, 1995 Worldwide, volunteers totaled 7,218.
Jul., 1995 The Peace Corps released a new 15 minute recruiting film titled “What is a Peace Corps Volunteer” which targeted grades 3 through 12.
Aug.11, 1995 Mark D. Gearan succeeded Carol Bellamy as Director. He established the Crisis Corps which still places former volunteers in areas beset by natural and humanitarian disasters for a limited time period.
Dec., 1995 These programs opened; Guyana, Suriname, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Ethiopia. These programs closed; Comoros, Nigeria, Cook Islands.
These volunteers died during service overseas; Lucille Raimondo (Guatemala), Donald Weber (Hungary), Andrew Shippee (Cameroon), Jeffrey Orton (Niger).
1996
Apr. 5, 1996 Since its inception in 1989, World Wise Schools had communicated with 300,000 American students in 50 states, explaining what it was like in a foreign country. The Peace Corps Fellows program included 26 colleges and universities from which former Peace Corps Volunteers had acquired masters’ degrees with scholarships and/or reduced tuition in exchange for a two year commitment to teach or work in local social projects.
Jun. 30, 1996 Worldwide, volunteers totaled 6,910.
Dec., 1996 While visiting Asunción, Paraguay, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said, “For nearly 35 years the Peace Corps has represented the United States commitment to social investment. It does not often receive the headlines that political action or economic progress does, but underneath both is the steady work done by Peace Corps Volunteers in partnership with the citizens of the countries in which they serve.”
As an ongoing part of the Women In Development program, gender and development training pilot workshops began in Africa. Peace Corps Crossroads was published online.
In countries around the globe, volunteers began to use the radio for education, entertainment and business models.
The Crisis Corps was begun. Former volunteers were sent to nations on a short-term basis, primarily to aid in reconstruction after a natural disaster.
No programs opened. These programs closed; Central African Republic, Chad, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tunisia, Marshall Islands.
These volunteers died during service overseas; Laura Stedman (Swaziland), Nancy Coutu (Madagascar), Robert Lindstrom (Poland), Annika Rodriguez (Honduras), Kyrstin Scharninghausen (Namibia).
The book will also include a number of appendices, summarizing answers to simple questions; who served, where they served, how many completed service, who died during service, etc. In it entirety the book should be between 125 and 150 pages. Thanks again for your interest.
This will be invaluable, Lorenzo. It is almost like the old “World Books” or Almanac. I can imagine the amount of work this reflects. I bet it sparks interest in all the topics you reference. I can’t wait to buyit!
In June of 1960, Humphrey introduced in the Senate a bill, Senate S. 3675, to send “young men to assist the peoples of the underdeveloped areas of the world to combat poverty, disease, illiteracy and hunger.” The Humphrey bill — and not Candidate Kennedy — was the first to use the specific name “Peace Corps.”
Naming the “Peace Corps
Posted by John Coyne on Tuesday, April 20th 2010
Those of us who follow the history of the Peace Corps agency know the term “peace corps” came to public attention during the 1960 presidential election. In one of JFK’s last major speeches before the November election in the Cow Palace in San Francisco he called for the creation of a “Peace Corps” to send volunteers to work at the grass roots level in the developing world.
However, the question remains: who said (or wrote) “peace corps” for the very first time? Was it Kennedy? Was it his famous speech writer Ted Sorensen? Or Sarge himself? But - as in most situations - the famous term came about because of some young kid, usually a writer, working quietly away in some back office that dreams up the language. In this case the kid was a graduate student between degrees who was working for the late senator Hubert Horatio Humphrey.
Today, forty-nine plus years after the establishment of the agency in March of 1961, it is generally acknowledged that Peter Grothe, now an Adjunct Professor at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, authored the term in the spring of 1960. I learned about the history of the naming from Peter when we exchanged a series of emails earlier this spring.
“There would have been no Peace Corps without John F. Kennedy being elected President,” Peter told me first when he wrote me on April 19, 2006. The term “peace corps” came about when Peter, then Senator Humphrey’s Foreign Relations Advisor, drafted a bill in May of 1960 and used the words “peace corps.” This was on the eve of the U-2 incident and the West Virginia primary which Kennedy won, a victory that showed a Catholic could win in a traditional protestant state, and, therefore, could win a general election.
“I gave the name “Peace Corps,” [in this draft of a Humphrey sponsored foreign assistance bill] in order to be consistent with the Senator’s Peace theme,” Peter explained. [Humphrey was also proposing an "education for peace" bill]. “I first, toying round, gave it the name “Works for Peace Corps,” but that seemed too cumbersome,” Peter remembers, “so I just shortened it to “Peace Corps” and Senator Humphrey approved. Some said that it sounded ‘communistic.’ Other said that it sounded too militaristic (corps). But somehow it stuck!”
Peter also added this important - and missing - piece of information about his involvement with the “peace corps” idea. “When I left Humphrey to go back to do my Ph.D. work, I asked him if I could take the idea to Kennedy, who, by that time, had won the Democratic nomination. Humphrey said, ‘of course!’ I drafted a speech I hoped JFK would use in the campaign and took it to the head of Kennedy’s speech writers in the campaign, Archibald Cox.
“I told Cox we had received an enormous amount of mail, many of it from organized letter writing by Protestant groups, because the Peace Corps reminded them of action-oriented, Protestant missionary work. Cox listened to this because, as you know, no Catholic had ever been elected to the presidency.
“I returned to Stanford and was in the Cow Palace in San Francisco the night Kennedy chose to give the Peace Corps speech I had written. There were some changes, but about 75% of his speech was what I had written. The major change was that the Humphrey bill had the Peace Corps as an alternative to the draft, and Kennedy removed that provision (good politics!). I sat there in disbelief of Kennedy’s giving MY speech and I said to myself, “if the Lord wants to take me right now, Lord, I am ready to go.”
Well, the Lord didn’t take Peter Grothe that night. He is still with us, and if nothing else, as he says today, he is forever “a footnote in Peace Corps trivia history.”
I was wondering if one of you could answer a quick question about the 1970/1971 Peace Corps. I know of a gentleman who was a volunteer in the Peace Corps for a total of 4 months (3 months training and 1 month “volunteer service” in Columbia). His service was from Oct 70 to Feb 71. I was wondering if this short volunteer duration was typical of service in that period of time. Most of the volunteer service that I know about is much longer (one or two years) but I wasn’t sure if it was always this way. Is it possible that he could have quit before his service was up? Was that allowed back then? Could there have been disciplinary problems that could explain the short duration? Any other speculation?
I don’t know this gentlemen personally, but know that he mentions his Peace Corps experience often as a credential. I just wanted to know if he’s overemphasizing it and taking more credit than his service merits.
Any response would be appreciated.
Thank you for your service!
Respectfully,
Junior
After being sworn in as a PC volunteer, one could quit anytime. The PC offered a ticket home and a retroactive monthly readjustment allowance calculated from the time you reported to training. The volunteer who left before the 24 month term was completed (Early Termination) did not receive a personal letter from the President or federal job hiring preference.
The person you mention might have quit (Early Termination), might have had a serious medical problem (Medical Evacuation) or even could have been released for “the convenience of the Corps” (which began in June, 1969 in response to volunteer politcal action against the Vietnam War). There is no way to tell except by asking him.
I forgot one thing, Junior. The Vietnam War was still going on between 1970 and 1971 as was the Draft. Some volunteers were actually drafted during their work as Peace Corps Volunteers. That is one more possibility. If that were the case, your friend would most probably also be a Veteran of Foreign Wars.
Junior
From what you say I’d guess that he probably got to his work site and found his job completely unstructured and he didn’t know how to cope with the situation, so he simply left. There are of course other possible explanations: an illness, a problem at home back in the states, some major indiscretion on his part, even a draft notice.
Early Terminations were a major problem in the 70s, and seemed to defy all attempts to reduce them.
I know a fellow who makes much of his few months service in the Peace Corps, but he came home as a result of serious illness (dengy fever). Still, I think he makes more of it than he should.
But who are we to judge?
David Searles
lorenzo, I have a question: This fact which you cite about Volunteers being released “for the convenience of the Corps”:
“or even could have been released for “the convenience of the Corps” (which began in June, 1969 in response to volunteer politcal action against the Vietnam War).”
Did this happen before or after the Bruce Murray incident? I believe that the there was a court decision stipulating that Peace Corps Volunteers did have First Amendment rights to engage in some political action.
The policy of terminating a PCV ‘for the convenience of the Peace Corps’ sure was a well-kept secret. In my three years as a CD (1971-74) I never heard of it, and certainly never used it. We had a serious ET problem but it was a result of volunteer decisions, not the Peace Corps. I recall only three Peace Corps initiated ETs: 2 for mental health reasons, and one for publicly and brazenly smoking pot. We also sent home a trainee after three days in-country because he was an obvious drunk. I guess you could classify all three as ‘convenience matters,’ but the phrase ‘for the convenience of the Peace Corps’ makes the whole thing kind of suspect, and it was nothing of the kind.
The Bruce Murray incident occurred during the summer of 1967. At that time the number of volunteers worldwide was nearly 15,000. There were complaints about volunteers without jobs and in some countries, complaints about offensive volunteer behavior.
The reports I read mentioned that 12 volunteers were released for political activities shortly after the introduction of the “convenience of the Corps rule.”
David mentioned Early Termination rates. These are like wrestling jello. In the private sector when one invests in employee training, retention is an important factor. In the Peace Corps there are really two categories of employees who left early- those who left wduring training and those who were actually sworn in and left before completing two years of service. The rates of attrition (both categories) were climbing as the Vietnam War escalated. Between 1970 and 1971 this rate was actually climbing. It should have been around 40% worldwide. However, this varied wildly from country to country. Some countries lost more than three quarters of their volunteers prior to completion of service. Eventually the worldwide rate increased to nearly 50% in 1974. Then, it began to decrease. By the 1990’s it was at the same levels that it had been in the early 1960’s- less than 30%.
Congress, as would be true of any employer, was concerned with this high attrition rate. Worldwide, the PC began retiring “parental control” rules. It also began to recruit older, specialized volunteers. Country Directors responded by extending volunteer service more often which helped the averages.
lorenzo: The rest of the story:
Murray was terminated and lost his draft deferment. His draft board reclassified him A-! and notified him that he was to be inducted into the army. He refused induction and sued both his Draft Board and the Peace Corps. In late December of 1969, a judge in the United States District Court in Rhode Island ruled that both the Peace Corps and the local draft board had violated Murray’s rights to due process. This information is from Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman’s book “All You Need is Love.”
I think that what followed in terms of Peace Corps policy is covered in more detail in Elizabeth Schwartz’s “Ask Not What You Can Do for Your Country.” I cannot find my copy of Schwartz’s book. I have spent half the afternoon looking for it. (Getting old is awful). So, that is what originally prompted my question to you.
My guess is that the term ” terminated for the convenience of the Peace Corps” was no longer used after the Murray decision, but I can’t find the source for that.
Thanks to everyone who answered my question. That helped shed light on the short duration of his service.
Just a comment about families in the Peace Corps. I was in Philippines Group 39. (Dave we knew you then!) In group 39 there were no families but a number of couples. In groups 37 and 38 there were several families. All 3 of the groups were education volunteers. One family was stationed in Davao where we were. They had 2 small children. The wife was supposed to do a PCV “job” but really didn’t end up doing much. Another family had 3 school age children and one was evacuated for surgery. We didn’t know them well but met them in Nepal after we all left the Philippines. They were in the group that were in higher education and actually stayed over 3 years.
I also heard about a family in an agriculture program that had a teen-age son who turned 18 while they were in country. He ended up becoming a PCV on his own before the family left and married a Filipina.
A volunteer in the Bohol Health group (1972) who married a Filipino started her family while a volunteer and ended up being PC staff in the Philippines.
I wonder how many PCV babies were born in country before their parents COS?
I find the discussion of “convenience early termination” interesting. Especially D. Searles’ comment about terminating an obvious drunk. I had emotional problems I was dealing with for the last month of my training which I chose to deal with by crawling inside a bottle. For reasons that I have no clue what were, PC Iran chose to ignore it and placed me in the program I was intended for. I got past the worst of my abuse and actually stayed in country for a little over three years. One of the few people in my group who made it for the whole two year regular tour and I had several interesting discussions on who Staff seemed to favor and who not. At PRIST we had our first talk when he had finished the “Psych Evaluation.” It seems they asked him a lot of “when did you stop beating your wife” type of questions and by contrast my evaluation was very short and simple. In fairness I would say he was probably as smart or smarter than me, certainly a lot quieter and more polite and the only thing I can think of that prejudiced the staff must have been either he had worse acne than I did, or the fact he was about normal height while I am well over six feet tall. Peace Corps pulled out of Iran in summer of 1976, I believe June 15th, but I might have the date wrong. We left mostly because George raised the price of Oil to $30 a barrel during the Yom Kippur war oil embargo. (I might also be remembering the price wrong.)