Two Peace Corps Legends: Moritz Thomsen and Patricia Wand
Patricia Wand (Colombia 1963-65) wrote this article for our site in May 1997. Finding Moritz Thomsen (Ecuador) “THE MESSAGE FROM ECUADOR TODAY IS: NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED.” So wrote Moritz Thomsen on June 29, 1990, and what he meant was that he was angry at me. He was angry because I nominated him for the Sargent Shriver Award; because I suggested his traveling to the U.S. when I knew of his frail health; and because I described his living conditions in my letter of nomination. But this all happened after I got to know him a bit. Let’s start much earlier than that; when I read his first book. Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle spoke to me and for me. Moritz Thomsen captured the essence of Latin American village culture as I too knew it. I saw in his village the same people, the same breadth of character, the same . . .
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John, Pat visited Moritz in Guayaquil 7 times--the last visit was just a few years before his death. Fellow travel…