Pleasants, Henry III (0914107): Difference between revisions

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|birth_date=12 May 1910

|arm_or_service=Air Corps

|death_place=London, England

|birth_place=Wayne, Pennsylvania

|known_for=Spy, music critic

|occupation=Spy, music critic

|death_date=4 January 2000

|rank_final=Second Lieutenant

|photo=Pleasants_Henry_III_0914107_portrait.jpg

}}

'''Henry III Pleasants''' (12 May 1910 – 2000) was a Ritchie Boy (~~from United States; Protestant~~) ~~who trained at Camp Ritchie~~ in ~~class 9~~.

'''[[Pleasants, Henry III (0914107)|Henry Pleasants III]]''' (12 May 1910 – 4 January 2000) was a Wayne-born Ritchie Boy (Class 9), Philadelphia music critic, and postwar CIA / music scholar in London.

</div>

== Biography ==

Henry was born May ~~12,~~ 1910~~. Pleasants studied voice, piano and composition at the Curtis Institute of Music, from which he received an honorary doctorate~~ in ~~1977. On January 4, 2000~~, ~~Pleasants died aged 89 in a London hospital after suffering a ruptured aorta~~. You can read more about Henry at the Wikipedia page linked here: You can read a three page article entitled "War and Remembrance" dated July 1995 from Opera News. He was an American music critic and intelligence officer. In 1930, at age 19, he became a music critic for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and ~~was~~ the ~~paper's~~ music editor from 1934 to 1942, when he enlisted in the U.S. In 1948–49, he re-entered the military as an army liaison officer with the Austrian government. He left the army to enter the Foreign Service in 1950, serving as an intelligence officer in Munich. ~~From 1950 to 1956~~, he was the CIA station chief in Bern, and subsequently from 1956 until his retirement from the CIA in 1964, CIA station chief in Bonn. He was involved in espionage during the Cold War, living with Reinhard Gehlen, a ~~former Nazi general and a top intelligence official~~ for ~~West Germany, to evaluate~~ his ~~"suitability. The Gehlen Organization~~, ~~which the former general led~~, ~~became the forerunner of the postwar West German Federal Intelligence Service~~.

Henry Pleasants III was born on 12 May 1910 in Wayne, Pennsylvania. At nineteen he became a music critic for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and served as the paper’s music editor from 1934 to 1942. Drafted that year, he was commissioned a second lieutenant for his German, Italian, and Russian and trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 9).

~~== Research notes ==~~

He landed at Naples on New Year’s Eve 1943 and served with a German-speaking order-of-battle team at Fifth Army headquarters in the Royal Palace at Caserta, where Special Services staged San Carlo Opera performances he attended nightly. He later wrote about wartime opera in “War and Remembrance.”

* https://en.~~wikipedia~~.~~org/wiki/Henry_Pleasants_%28music_critic%29~~

After the war he worked in intelligence in Europe and became a widely read music critic and author in London. He died there on 4 January 2000.

== Gallery ==

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6001903866498151.jpg

6001903869831484.jpg

Pleasants_Henry_III_0914107_portrait.jpg|Henry Pleasants, American music critic (RB Archive)

</gallery>

</div>

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| row_source || both

|}

== Timeline ==

* 12 May 1910 — Born in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

* 1930–1942 — Philadelphia Evening Bulletin music critic / editor.

* 1942–1943 — Commissioned; Camp Ritchie Class 9; to Naples / Fifth Army Caserta.

* Postwar — Intelligence work in Europe; music criticism and books in London.

* 4 January 2000 — Died in London.

</div>

</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>

== Sources ==

* Camp Ritchie ~~class roster~~ (~~classes~~ 1–31), ~~merged~~ research ~~file~~

* [[:File:Pleasants_Henry_III_0914107_portrait.jpg|Henry Pleasants, American music critic (RB Archive)]]

* Henry Pleasants, “War and Remembrance” opera memoir (RB Archive)

* [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/jan/13/guardianobituaries1 The Guardian — Henry Pleasants obituary]

* [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/13/news/obituary-henry-pleasants-89-music-critic-dies.html New York Times — Henry Pleasants obituary]

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Pleasants_(music_critic) Wikipedia — Henry Pleasants (music critic)]

* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data

* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records

* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)

* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)

* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-29 (1 post)

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Pleasants_(music_critic Wikipedia]

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 |birth_date=12 May 1910
 |arm_or_service=Air Corps
+|death_place=London, England
+|birth_place=Wayne, Pennsylvania
+|known_for=Spy, music critic
+|occupation=Spy, music critic
+|death_date=4 January 2000
+|rank_final=Second Lieutenant
+|photo=Pleasants_Henry_III_0914107_portrait.jpg
 }}
 <div class="soldier-lead">
-'''Henry III Pleasants''' (12 May 1910 – 2000) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Protestant) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 9.
+'''[[Pleasants, Henry III (0914107)|Henry Pleasants III]]''' (12 May 1910 – 4 January 2000) was a Wayne-born Ritchie Boy (Class 9), Philadelphia music critic, and postwar CIA / music scholar in London.
 </div>
 == Biography ==
-Henry was born May 12, 1910. Pleasants studied voice, piano and composition at the Curtis Institute of Music, from which he received an honorary doctorate in 1977. On January 4, 2000, Pleasants died aged 89 in a London hospital after suffering a ruptured aorta. You can read more about Henry at the Wikipedia page linked here: You can read a three page article entitled "War and Remembrance" dated July 1995 from Opera News. He was an American music critic and intelligence officer. In 1930, at age 19, he became a music critic for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and was the paper's music editor from 1934 to 1942, when he enlisted in the U.S. In 1948–49, he re-entered the military as an army liaison officer with the Austrian government. He left the army to enter the Foreign Service in 1950, serving as an intelligence officer in Munich. From 1950 to 1956, he was the CIA station chief in Bern, and subsequently from 1956 until his retirement from the CIA in 1964, CIA station chief in Bonn. He was involved in espionage during the Cold War, living with Reinhard Gehlen, a former Nazi general and a top intelligence official for West Germany, to evaluate his "suitability. The Gehlen Organization, which the former general led, became the forerunner of the postwar West German Federal Intelligence Service.
+Henry Pleasants III was born on 12 May 1910 in Wayne, Pennsylvania. At nineteen he became a music critic for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and served as the paper’s music editor from 1934 to 1942. Drafted that year, he was commissioned a second lieutenant for his German, Italian, and Russian and trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 9).
-== Research notes ==
+He landed at Naples on New Year’s Eve 1943 and served with a German-speaking order-of-battle team at Fifth Army headquarters in the Royal Palace at Caserta, where Special Services staged San Carlo Opera performances he attended nightly. He later wrote about wartime opera in “War and Remembrance.”
-* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Pleasants_%28music_critic%29
+After the war he worked in intelligence in Europe and became a widely read music critic and author in London. He died there on 4 January 2000.
 == Gallery ==
@@ Line 36: / Line 44: @@
 6001903866498151.jpg
 6001903869831484.jpg
+Pleasants_Henry_III_0914107_portrait.jpg|Henry Pleasants, American music critic (RB Archive)
 </gallery>
 </div>
@@ Line 54: / Line 63: @@
 | row_source || both
 |}
+== Timeline ==
+<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
+<div class="soldier-timeline-body">
+* 12 May 1910 — Born in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
+* 1930–1942 — Philadelphia Evening Bulletin music critic / editor.
+* 1942–1943 — Commissioned; Camp Ritchie Class 9; to Naples / Fifth Army Caserta.
+* Postwar — Intelligence work in Europe; music criticism and books in London.
+* 4 January 2000 — Died in London.
+</div>
+</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>
 == Sources ==
-* Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
+* [[:File:Pleasants_Henry_III_0914107_portrait.jpg|Henry Pleasants, American music critic (RB Archive)]]
+* Henry Pleasants, “War and Remembrance” opera memoir (RB Archive)
+* [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/jan/13/guardianobituaries1 The Guardian — Henry Pleasants obituary]
+* [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/13/news/obituary-henry-pleasants-89-music-critic-dies.html New York Times — Henry Pleasants obituary]
+* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Pleasants_(music_critic) Wikipedia — Henry Pleasants (music critic)]
+* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
+* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
 * NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
 * 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
 * Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-29 (1 post)
 * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Pleasants_(music_critic Wikipedia]