Contributions by West Virginians to the Foreign Service

People born, raised, or educated in the state of West Virginia have made important contributions to America’s prosperity and security as members of the Foreign Service community. Here are some examples from ADST’s oral history collection:

• Born and raised in Clarksburg, Joseph S. Farland attended West Virginia University. He became a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation during World War II, where he worked to protect the secrecy of the atomic bomb program. He moved to the State Department in 1955, and became Ambassador to the Dominican Republic in an era of Caribbean strongmen, advancing U.S. interests while dictators Rafael Trujillo (“El Jefe”), Fidel Castro, and François Duvalier (“Papa Doc”) plotted against America and each other. He would go on to serve as Ambassador to Panama, Pakistan, and Iran. Read his full oral history in the ADST collection. 

• Terrell E. Arnold was born and raised in and around Bluefield in a family with Cherokee heritage and joined the Foreign Service in 1959 after serving as a U.S. Navy instructor during the Korean War. As economic/commercial counselor in Manila, he helped American businesses navigate changes in the commercial environment with the expiration of a key U.S.-Philippines trade agreement and alerted them to corrupt public procurement practices. Learn more in his complete oral history in ADST’s collection. 

• Arlene Render attended West Virginia State College on a full scholarship and joined the Foreign Service in 1970 as one of the few black officers in her training class. As Director of Central African Affairs in the State Department in the mid-1990s, she established and led the task force that supported the evacuation of American citizens and embassy staff in the initial days of the Rwandan genocide. Her decisive action saved countless lives. During her career she served as U.S. Ambassador to The Gambia, Zambia, and the Ivory Coast. Read the rest of her story in the ADST collection.

• Richard S. Welton grew up on a livestock farm near Moorefield and joined the Foreign Agricultural Service in 1956. In tours around Central and South America, he reported on crop and livestock production and developed markets for American agricultural products. Read more in Welton’s oral history in ADST’s collection.

• Madison Broadnax graduated from West Virginia State University and, after serving with the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II, returned to the school as professor of agriculture and agricultural extension agent. He joined the U.S. Agency for International Development in 1958 and helped improve agricultural practices in Sudan, South Korea, and Kenya. Read more of Broadnax’s story in his full oral history.

ADST also remembers those West Virginians in the Foreign Affairs community who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to America. One is recorded on the American Foreign Service Association’s Memorial Plaque:

• Born in Morgantown and educated at West Virginia University, Robert C. Frasure joined the Foreign Service in 1974. Frasure’s final post was as deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs. On August 19, 1995, he was part of a U.S. delegation traveling in armored vehicles through war torn Bosnia and Herzegovina to Sarajevo to discuss peace plans in the Balkans. He and two other American diplomats were killed when their armored vehicle tumbled down a mountainside.