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John Paton Davies Jr. (April 6, 1908 – December 23, 1999) was an American diplomat and
Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
recipient. He was one of the
China Hands The term ''China Hand'' originally referred to 19th-century merchants in the treaty ports of China, but came to be used for anyone with expert knowledge of the language, culture, and people of China. In 1940s America, the term ''China Hands'' came ...
, whose careers in the
Foreign Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...
were ended by McCarthyism and the reaction to the
loss of China In American political discourse, the "loss of China" is the unexpected Chinese Communist Party takeover of mainland China from the U.S.-backed Chinese Kuomintang government in 1949 and therefore the "loss of China to communism." Background During ...
.


Early life and career

Davies was born in
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, China, the son of
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
missionaries John Paton and Helen Elizabeth (MacNeil) Davies Sr. His grandfather was Welsh immigrant and Cleveland drygoods merchant Caleb Davies. He spent two years at the Experimental College at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
, one year at
Yenching University Yenching University (), was a university in Beijing, China, that was formed out of the merger of four Christian colleges between the years 1915 and 1920. The term "Yenching" comes from an alternative name for old Beijing, derived from its status ...
, then graduated from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1931. He joined the Foreign Service upon graduation and was posted to China in 1933. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Davies was assigned as political attaché to General
Joseph Stilwell Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. An early American popular hero of the war for leading a column walking o ...
. He began the assignment in February 1942, arriving in the China Burma India Theater (CBI) in March, based mainly in
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and Kunming, China. Upon a short return to
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, he married Patricia Louise Grady on August 24, 1942, before he returned to
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. He served under Stilwell until the general's recall from China in the fall of 1944. Davies was instrumental in the creation of the U.S. Army Observation Group to Yan'an, China, in 1944.


Dixie Mission

The group, commonly known as the
Dixie Mission The United States Army Observation Group, commonly known as the Dixie Mission, was the first US effort to gather intelligence and establish relations with the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army, then headquartered in the mo ...
, established the first official diplomatic and military contact between the United States and the Chinese Communists. Many of its members later became victims of McCarthyism. Davies saw the mission as means to prevent or at least to decrease Soviet influence over the Chinese Communists. As time progressed, Davies also saw the Communists as a realistic alternative to the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
. After Stilwell's recall, Davies served briefly under General
Albert Coady Wedemeyer General Albert Coady Wedemeyer (July 9, 1896 – December 17, 1989) was a United States Army commander who served in Asia during World War II from October 1943 to the end of the war. Previously, he was an important member of the War Planning Board ...
and also General Patrick J. Hurley. The last three months of 1944 were to prove his last in China, as Davies found himself increasingly at odds with Hurley, who was appointed acting ambassador to China in mid-November. The main point of contention between the two men was their views on the future of China. Hurley advocated for a unified government of Communists and Nationalists with
Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...
Chiang Kai-shek at its head. Davies, meanwhile, believed not only that was a coalition impossible to form but also that Chiang's regime was ultimately a dead end for American policy in China. Also, Davies believed that the Communists were the future of China. Davies visited Yan'an, China, twice. The second trip, in mid-December, resulted in an intense argument with Hurley over Davies's motives. Hurley accused Davies of actively working to undermine Hurley's unification talks between the Communists and the Kuomintang. Hurley undertook work to finalize Davies's transfer out of China to
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
. A second argument in the first week of January and resulted in Hurley threatening to destroy Davies's career and accusing the Foreign Service Officer of being a communist. Davies departed China for good on January 9, 1945.


Medal of Freedom

Davies and several others, including
Eric Sevareid Arnold Eric Sevareid (November 26, 1912 – July 9, 1992) was an American author and CBS news journalist from 1939 to 1977. He was one of a group of elite war correspondents who were hired by CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and nicknamed " Murrow's ...
and a Chinese general, were flying from
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to Chongqing in 1943 when the plane developed engine trouble and the occupants were forced to
bail out A bailout is the provision of financial help to a corporation or country which otherwise would be on the brink of bankruptcy. A bailout differs from the term ''bail-in'' (coined in 2010) under which the bondholders or depositors of global sy ...
over the Burmese jungle, in an area inhabited by the Naga headhunters. Davies led all the passengers to safety and, in 1948, was awarded the
Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
.


Later career

After the war, he served as first secretary in charge of the political section at the US embassy in Moscow; on the State Department's policy staff; with the High Commission for Germany; as director of political affairs at the German Embassy; and finally, as counselor and chargé d'affaires at the Peruvian Embassy, until his dismissal in 1954.


Accusations and dismissal

Davies was one of the
China Hands The term ''China Hand'' originally referred to 19th-century merchants in the treaty ports of China, but came to be used for anyone with expert knowledge of the language, culture, and people of China. In 1940s America, the term ''China Hands'' came ...
who specialized in China and the Far East in the State Department. He predicted that
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
's
Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
would win the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
, and, after they did so in 1949, he advocated US relations with Communist China to forestall a
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
takeover. These views ran counter to prevailing government policy and provoked the " China lobby". Supporters of Chiang Kai-shek were looking for those who had helped "lose" China and Senator Joseph McCarthy was looking for any Communists in government. Davies was attacked as both. Nine investigations of Davies' loyalty between 1948 and 1954 did not produce evidence of disloyalty or Communist sympathies. His opposition to Communism was a matter of record; indeed, in 1950 he had advocated a preventive nuclear showdown with the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. Nevertheless, in 1954, under political pressure from McCarthy and Senator
Patrick McCarran Patrick Anthony McCarran (August 8, 1876 – September 28, 1954) was an American farmer, attorney, judge, and Democratic politician who represented Nevada in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1954. McCarran was born in Reno, Nevada, atte ...
, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles asked Davies to resign. He refused, and on November 5, 1954, Dulles fired him, claiming he had "demonstrated a lack of judgment, discretion and reliability."


Later life

After the end of his diplomatic career, Davies returned to Peru and, with his wife, operated a furniture business. Their company, Estilo, won the International Design Award twice. The Davies family returned to the United States in 1964. After a protracted battle, Davies was finally exonerated and regained his government clearance in 1969. The family moved to Málaga,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
in 1972 and then to France and England and finally back to the US.


Death

Davies died December 23, 1999, in Asheville, North Carolina, at the age of 91.


Books

*"''The China Hands: American Foreign Service Officers and What Befell Them''," E.J. Kahn, Jr. NY Viking Press, 1975. *"''China Hand: An Autobiography''," John Paton Davies, Jr. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012. * ''Foreign and Other Affairs'' (1964) W.W. Norton & Co. * ''Dragon by the Tail: American, British, Japanese, and Russian Encounters With China and One Another'' (1972). W.W. Norton & Co. .


References


External links


Several obituaries




- tribute to John P. Davies


''The ‘Breaking of an Honorable Career’''
April 25, 2013
New York Review of Books New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
''China Hand: An Autobiography'' review
Roderick MacFarquhar Roderick "Rod" Lemonde MacFarquhar (2 December 1930 – 10 February 2019) was a British China scholar, politician, and journalist. MacFarquhar had a varied career. He was founding editor of ''China Quarterly'' in 1959. He served as a Member of ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, John Paton Jr. 1908 births 1999 deaths University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Columbia University alumni American diplomats Dixie Mission participants Victims of McCarthyism China Hands