"A Partial Examination of One Aspect of the Many Gross Errors Contained in The Amerasia Papers," by John Stewart Service, 1970

This collection consists of only two documents from John S. and Caroline E. Service (1970, 1978).

The first document is a memorandum entitled “A Partial Examination of One Aspect of the Many Gross Errors Contained in The Amerasia Papers,” written by John S. Service and dated September 18, 1970. Service critically examined the U.S. government’s foreign policy with China and, in particular, the Communists in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He expressed these views in an interview with the magazine Amerasia, which he provided several back documents for. This memorandum inspects the seemingly innocent interview that stripped Service of his position at the State Department and eventually drove him into the spotlight during the McCarthy era. Service cited several official government documents and published manuscripts as evidence of the injustices he incurred some twenty years prior, and alluded to the fact that he was forced to clear his name of Senator McCarthy’s accusations for much of the remainder of his life.

The second document, the memoirs of Caroline Edward Schulz Service, is entitled “State Department Duty in China, the McCarthy Era, and After, 1933-1977,” and was compiled in 1978. The interviews for these memoirs were conducted and transcribed by Rosemary Levenson from 1976 to 1978. The memoirs (248 pp., plus index) actually begin with the history of Caroline Schulz’s family and her childhood memories. A section covering her time as a student at Oberlin is also included. The bulk of the memoirs cover the Service’s years in China, 1933-1940; their separation during World War II, 1940-1945; the Amerasia case and John Service’s arrest, 1945; their foreign-service post in New Zealand, 1946-1948; Caroline Service’s year in India, while her husband was being attacked by Senator McCarthy, 1950-51; John Service’s accusation by McCarthy and his subsequent firing, 1951; Caroline’s defense of her husband during that period and appeals to the United States Supreme Court, 1952-1957; John Service’s reappointment to the foreign service and subsequent post in Liverpool, 1959-1962; and their years in Berkeley and two return trips to China, 1962-1977. Recurring characters in these memoirs are Caroline’s friend, Lispenard (Lisa) Green; her sister-in-law, Helen Service; her sister, Katherine; and her parents.