Diplomatic Recognition

Alumna recounts U.S. Department of State career

Gloria Kilgore (’60) chose her major in business education thinking that she would either teach or enter the business world.

Then the “travel bug” intervened.

A four-decade career in foreign service with the U.S. Department of State fulfilled Kilgore’s drive to see the world. Even now, she recalls a book she read as a child about a couple’s African travels and her fascination when Christian missionaries serving in China spoke at her church. “I’ve always had this desire to travel,” she said.

She applied and was hired for an entry-level foreign service position, living for six months in Washington, D.C., at the YWCA until leaving for her first overseas assignment – Istanbul, Turkey.

“When I first joined, I said I’d stay two years to get this travel bug out of my system,” said Kilgore. “I retired 42 years later.”

As a regional office manager, Kilgore made official visits to more than two dozen countries and visited many others on her own. Each locale held a unique experience, she said. While stationed in London, “I think I put 30,000 miles on my car just traveling England. I visited someplace new every weekend.”

Despite warnings about what she should avoid eating, Kilgore enjoyed literally taking in the local flavor. “I tasted everything,” she said. “In Istanbul, when I walked to work I went by the bakery and would buy a loaf of crusty and delicious bread fresh out of the oven. One afternoon, the fishermen had just come in with their catch and had a frying pan on the boat and were frying the fresh fish and selling it. I couldn’t resist this delicious fish sandwich. I ate on the streets in China, Laos and Thailand.” She was only sick once from bad food in India after eating in a five-star hotel.

In Istanbul, Kilgore watched from her balcony as Soviet ships passed through the Bosphorus Strait in support of Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis. She visited Viet Nam while stationed in Laos, regularly flying in to American air bases for refueling in the war-torn country. She was a member of the diplomatic staff supporting President Lyndon Johnson’s visit to Thailand in 1966 and President Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to Moscow during the Strategic Arms Limitation (SALT) talks, and was working in the office of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger when Nixon resigned. She worked President Ronald Reagan’s 1985 visit to Bonn for a summit with European leaders.

At one point, Kilgore was detailed to the White House as a gifts officer during the Clinton Administration, cataloging incoming and outgoing gifts to the President. “It was a lot of fun,” she said. “There were some very nice gifts – some very expensive and some very creative gifts from children.” She drafted thank-you notes, all according to strictly prescribed protocol. “There was always an official thank-you for each gift,” she said.

“I was working in Washington on Sept. 11, 2001,” said Kilgore. “We were evacuated out of the building onto the streets. We were able to see the smoke billowing from the Pentagon. Normally it took me 40 minutes to get home, but it took two hours that day.”

Through all the massive changes in technology Kilgore witnessed – from typewriters to desktop computers and transatlantic cable messages to encrypted satellite links – one thing has remained constant. While governments often clash and customs differ from nation to nation, individuals the world over share much in common. “They’re people just like we are,” she said.