Walter Joseph Patrick Curley Jr. (September 17, 1922 – June 2, 2016) was the 57th

United States Ambassador to France The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations we ...

from 1989 to 1993, and the

United States Ambassador to Ireland The United States Ambassador to Ireland is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to Ireland. It is considered a highly prestigious position within the United States Foreign Service. The current ambassa ...

from 1975 to 1977. Curley was

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

's Commissioner of Public Events and Chief of Protocol from 1973 to 1974, during the administrations of

John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

and Abraham Beame.

Career

He wrote two books on royalty, ''Vanishing Kingdoms'', and ''Monarchs in Waiting'', as well as two memoirs, ''Letters from the Pacific: 1943–1946'', and ''Almost a Century: An American Life East and West of Suez''. Curley was a graduate of Phillips Academy,

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and Harvard Business School. Curley was in the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

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 ...

, serving from 1943 to 1946, seeing combat on Iwo Jima and

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. He was a captain and was decorated with a

Bronze star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. Curley died in New York City. His nomination as United States Ambassador to France was controversial as he was one of several made by Bush of long-time financial backers and financial supporters including Peter F. Secchia ( Ambassador of Italy), Joseph Zappala ( Ambassador of Spain),

Mel Sembler Melvin Floyd Sembler (born May 10, 1930) is an American former diplomat who was the United States Ambassador to Italy (2001–2005), and Ambassador to Australia and Nauru (1989–1993). He has also served as chairman of the board of the Sembler ...

( Ambassador of Australia), Frederic Bush Morris ( Ambassador of Luxembourg), and Joy Silverman ( Ambassador of Barbados).

Works

* * * *

References

External links

*
Walter J. P. Curley Papers (MS 2009).
Manuscripts and Archives. Yale University Library. 1922 births 2016 deaths Writers from Pittsburgh Writers from New York City Yale University alumni Ambassadors of the United States to France Ambassadors of the United States to Ireland American male writers Harvard Business School alumni Phillips Academy alumni United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II {{US-diplomat-stub