Cleo Allen Noel Jr. (August 6, 1918 – March 2, 1973) was a United States

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

who was murdered by the

Black September Black September ( ar, أيلول الأسود; ''Aylūl Al-Aswad''), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was a conflict fought in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), under the leadership of King Hussein ...

Palestinian terrorist Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence perpetrated for political ends in relation to the State of Palestine or in connection with Palestinian nationalism. Common political objectives include self-determination in and soverei ...

organization in the 1973 attack on the Saudi embassy in Khartoum.

Early life

Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Noel spent his formative years in Moberly, Missouri. He attended

Moberly Junior College Moberly Area Community College (MACC) is a public community college based in Moberly, Missouri. In addition to the Moberly campus, MACC has four campuses across a large portion of Northeastern and central Missouri: Columbia, Hannibal, Kirksvill ...

and then University of Missouri, receiving a B.A. in History in 1939 and a M.A. in the same subject in 1940.

Career

Noel worked briefly as an educator, teaching American history at the University of Missouri before joining the United States Navy in June 1941. During World War II he served as a gunnery officer providing security aboard merchant vessels throughout the Pacific Ocean and Persian Gulf; in fall 1945 Noel discharged from the navy at the rank of lieutenant commander.

U.S. Foreign Service career

After the war, while studying for his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, Noel passed the United States Foreign Service exam and was hired by the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

. In 1951 he married fellow Foreign Service worker Lucille McHenry. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Noel served with U.S. consulates in Italy, Saudi Arabia, France, Lebanon and

. Noel was particularly fascinated with the Middle East and regularly toured the region, learning the Arabic language.

Ambassadorship to Sudan and death

On December 23, 1972, Noel was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Sudan when Sudan and the U.S. reestablished diplomatic relations severed as the result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The outgoing Charge d'Affairs, George Curtis Moore, was asked to stay on as Deputy Chief of Mission until the new Deputy arrived in March. On the evening of March 1, 1973, militants from the Black September faction of

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and s ...

stormed the Saudi Embassy in Khartoum, where a farewell ceremony for Moore had just concluded. Noel was wounded during the taking, he and Moore were among the ten diplomats taken hostage by the militants. The next day, March 2, the hostage takers shot Noel to death. Also murdered were his deputy, Moore; and Belgian diplomat Guy Eid. After a joint funeral on March 7 at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C., Cleo Noel Jr. and Curtis Moore were buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

References

*Korn, David A., ''Assassination in Khartoum'', Indiana University Press, 1993

External links

U.S. Department of State, Office of the HistorianU.S. Department of State, Declassified Memorandum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noel, Cleo A. Jr. 1918 births 1973 deaths 1973 murders in Africa 20th-century American naval officers Ambassadors of the United States to Sudan American terrorism victims American people murdered abroad Kidnapped diplomats Assassinated American diplomats University of Missouri alumni Harvard University alumni University of Missouri faculty Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Kidnapped American people Terrorism deaths in Sudan People murdered in Sudan Deaths by firearm in Sudan Victims of the Black September Organization People from Oklahoma City People from Moberly, Missouri United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Foreign Service personnel