Charles T. Cross

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Charles T. Cross (b. May 4, 1922) was the second United States Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore. He served from 1969 to 1972. He later served as Director of the American Institute in Taiwan from 1979 - 1981. He was born to American parents in Peiping, China and later served as the U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong, 1974-77. He also served in the US Marine Corps during World War 2. He attended Carleton College from 1940-42.

In 1942 he joined the Marines and after one year at the Navy Japanese Language School at the U of Colorado. He was assigned to the 23rd Marines of the 4th Marine Division as an intelligence officer and Japanese Interpreter, and was with the 23rd for all the division’s landings: Roi/Namur, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V on Saipan. After V-Day in 1945, he joined the First Marine Division in N. China , going up to Beijing, thereby taking part in the liberation of his home from the Japanese.

In January 1946 he married Shirley Foss of Faribault, MN, who supported him and their family through two more years at Carleton, an MA at Yale, and 32 years abroad: in Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Egypt, Cyprus, London, as Senior Civilian Deputy to Commanding General, III Marine Amphibious Force for Pacification Operations in I Corps’ in Danang, Ambassador to Singapore, Consul General in Hong Kong, and as the first Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (the unofficial embassy). Scattered through these were assignments in the State Department in DC: Officer in Charge – Burma Affairs and Laos Affairs, National War College, Diplomat-in-Residence, U of Michigan, 1972 Policy Planning Staff, and Senior Foreign Service Inspector 1978-79. The Crosses came to Seattle in 1982 to teach at the Jackson School of International Studies and History Department at the UW ten years, including three voyages of the Semester-at-Sea Program of the U of Pittsburgh, and a quarter as Benedict Distinguished Visiting Professor at Carleton College. His memoir, Born a Foreigner-A Memoir of the American Presence in East Asia, was published in 1999. He served on the boards a member of several non-profits, including the Lingnan Foundation in NY, DACOR in DC, and the Blakemore Foundation in Seattle.