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John E. Dolibois
| John E. Dolibois | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Jean Ernst Dolibois |
| Born | 4 December 1918 Luxembourg |
| Died | 2 May 2014 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Nativity | Luxembourg |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Known for | Diplomat, College Administrator |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Arm / service | Cavalry |
| ASN | 01018596 |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 18 (13 April – 10 June 1944) |
| Section | 5D |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
John Ernest Dolibois (né Jean Ernst Dolibois; December 4, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American diplomat and university administrator who served as the United States Ambassador to Luxembourg from 1981 to 1985.
Biography
John Ernest Dolibois (né Jean Ernst Dolibois; December 4, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American diplomat and university administrator who served as the United States Ambassador to Luxembourg from 1981 to 1985. In 1989, his autobiography, Pattern of Circles: An Ambassador's Story, was published by the Kent State University Press. He graduated from North High School in Akron and then attended Miami University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and was a member of Beta Theta Pi.
He emigrated to the United States with his father in 1931, settling in Akron, Ohio. Dolibois served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946, during World War II. President Ronald Reagan named Dolibois as United States Ambassador to Luxembourg on August 6, 1981.
He was awarded the Order of the Oak Crown by Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 1987. The following article was from "The American Israelite" dated November 16, 1995. Dolibois was a native of Bonnevoie, Luxembourg.
He was a member of the so-called Ritchie Boys, a special military intelligence unit composed mainly of German, Austrian, and Czech refugees and immigrants to the United States. He taught German order of battle and Nazi Party hierarchy to army officers preparing for war and worked for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in France. Dolibois was a frequent speaker to students and other audiences about his experiences during the Nuremberg trials.
Annie Jacobsen's book, OPERATION PAPERCLIP, includes many references to interrogations of high level German scientists, medical officials, engineers, etc., by US Army personnel to establish whether they could be eligible to be brought to the United States under a secret program to assist the US Government on Cold War projects. I found two references to Ritchie Boys who conducted interrogations. One was Second Lieutenant Walter Jessel of the Forty-Fourth Division Counter Intelligence Corps, who interrogated Wernher von Braun.
The second was John Dolibois, an officer with Army Intelligence, G-2, the Collecting and Disseminating Division. Goering was interrogated by Ritchie Boy John E.
Dolibois died on May 2, 2014, in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the age of 95. We have made a few posts about him in the past, including when he passed away on on May 2, 2014.
Research notes
- OSS
- Ambassador
- https://player.fm/series/veterans-chronicles-1399437
Gallery
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Thanks to Professor Beverley Eddy, author of the soon-to-be available book, Ritchie Boy Secrets, for sharing this photo of Nazi leader Hermann Goering in the Nuremberg prison awaiting trial. -
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Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 96 |
| Class_ASN | 18596 |
| Class_Name | DOLIBOIS, John E. |
| match_method | asn_partial_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Sources
- Wikipedia: John E. Dolibois
- Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
- 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 2019-08-02 (1 post)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2021-06-03 (1 post)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-01-15 (1 post)