The Foreign Service Journal - November 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2017 79 continued as an officer in the Naval Reserve, retiring at the rank of com- mander. In 1981, after serving as political counselor in Bucharest, Mr. Smith retired from the Foreign Service and began a new career as a research scholar at Stanford University and a programofficer for edu- cation with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. He taught courses at Stanford as a con- sulting professor of Latin American studies and authored or co-editedmultiple books, including twomonographs, The Disap- pearing Border (Stanford Alumni Asso- ciation, 1992) and Inevitable Partnership (Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., 2000). Mr. Smith also helped to launch initia- tives such as Stanford’s Project on United States-Mexico Relations, PROFMEX and the North American Forum. Inmore than 30 years of teaching, awarding foundation support and offering career advice, he fos- tered the success of many who gratefully recall his mentoring. Mr. Smith is held in loving memory by his wife, Marilyn Sode Smith; his children Paula (Paul Tjossem) of Grinnell, Iowa; Rosemary (Charles Frederick Williams) of Pocatello, Idaho; Alexandra (Franz Brot- zen) of Houston, Texas; and Clint Norman Smith (Elizabeth Arndorfer) of Palo Alto, Calif.; and seven grandchildren: Clara, Clint Thomas, Daley, Eric, Franz, Nora and Sode. Charitable contributions in memory of Clint E. Smith may be directed to the Stanford University Women’s Basketball program or to Planned Parenthood, two groups he appreciated and supported. Q Ulrich Alexander Straus, 90, a retired Foreign Service officer and author, died on Aug. 25. He was a resident of Northport, Mich. “Rick” Straus was born in Wurzburg, Germany, to German Jewish parents, Hans and Clara (Itzig) Straus. In 1933 his family moved to Japan, where his father worked as an export manager for a phono- graph and record company. He attended the American School in Tokyo until 1940, when the family immigrated to the United States and settled in New York City. After attending the U.S. Army Japanese Language program at the University of Michigan, Mr. Straus served as a Japanese language officer at Gen. Douglas MacAr- thur’s headquarters. He was a member of the prosecution staff at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. Recalled to duty during the Korean War in 1951, he resumed his earlier responsibilities at G-2 (Intelli- gence) in Tokyo. Mr. Straus earned his bachelor’s degree in 1950 and his master’s degree in 1951 from the University of Michigan. After teaching at his alma mater and the Uni- versity of California and initiating studies as a Fulbright scholar in Japan, he joined the Foreign Service in 1957. After two years at the Department of State, he married Sarah Wolcott in 1959 and, was assigned to Tokyo as a politi- cal officer. In 1965, he was transferred to Berlin as a political and labor officer, and returned to State in 1967 to serve as deputy director of the Office of Japanese Affairs. In 1970 he was detailed to the erstwhile Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and in 1973 was assigned to Rome to study at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Defense College. Later that year, he was posted to Bern as a political officer. In 1976 he returned to Washington to serve in the African Bureau. His last assignment overseas was as consul gen- eral in Okinawa from 1978 to 1982. There he fostered cooperation between the 50,000-strong United States military and the Japanese and Okinawan authorities. He returned to State as director of the Office of Philippine Affairs during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos and the assassination of Benigno Aquino. He was later detailed to the faculty of the National War College. In retirement, he served as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University, University of William and Mary, Johns Hopkins University, George- town University and the Foreign Service Institute. He also facilitated visits for groups of District of Columbia and other state government officials to Japan through the Japan American Society of Washington, D.C. Mr. Straus resided in Japan for more than 20 years—as a child, in the U.S. Army and as a Foreign Service officer. Mr. Straus researched and wrote The Anguish of Surrender: Japanese POWs of World War II (University of Washington Press, 2002). A volume in the DACOR- Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training “Diplomats and Diplomacy” series, it remains the only book on the subject. During the controversy in the United States over the use and efficacy of torture, he was pleased that his book was cited, since it demonstrated that torture was not required to elicit truthful informa- tion. A decade after he retired, Mr. and Mrs. Straus moved to Northport, Mich. They enjoyed living “up north” for the scenery, climate and good neighbors. He was involved in the International Affairs Forum in Traverse City, Mich., and pro- vided commentary for a radio program on Interlochen Public Radio. Mr. Straus is survived by his wife, Sarah Wolcott Straus; his sons, Michael (and his wife, Christine) and John (and his wife, Michele); his daughter, Rebecca Straus; and four grandchildren, Christopher, Ian, Meg and Nathan. Q