Whiting Willauer

Overview

Whiting Willauer (November 30, 1906 – August 6, 1962) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and key figure in the establishment of Civil Air Transport (CAT), which became a significant CIA asset. His career spanned legal practice, government service, and diplomacy, with notable contributions to U.S. foreign policy in Asia and Latin America, particularly through his involvement with CAT and the 1954 Guatemala coup.

Personal Life

Born in New York City, Willauer grew up in a well-connected family. He graduated from Princeton University in 1928, where he was acting captain of the football team, and earned a law degree from Harvard Law School. From 1931 to 1939, he practiced admiralty law at the Boston firm Bingham, Dana & Gould. In 1939, he joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division as a special attorney, investigating judicial corruption and conducting the first grand jury investigation into Nazi propaganda. He also served as a special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General. In 1941, he became special counsel for the Federal Power Commission, working on the proposed St. Lawrence Seaway legislation.

Willauer married Louise Russell in 1930, and they had three children: Sally, Whiting Jr., and Thomas. An avid skin diver, he gained recognition in Honduras for recovering two drowned swimmers from the Rio Quaccerique. After retiring in 1961, Willauer died of a heart attack on August 6, 1962, at his summer home in Nantucket, Massachusetts, at age 55.

Civil Air Transport

Willauer’s career shifted to Asia in July 1941 when he joined China Defense Supplies, Inc., as executive secretary, representing the Chinese government in lend-lease matters under T.V. Soong. From 1944 to 1945, he served as director of the Far East and Special Territories Branch of the Foreign Economic Administration. In 1946, alongside General Claire Chennault, Willauer co-founded Civil Air Transport in China, initially to deliver relief supplies under a $4 million UNRRA contract. As executive vice president and later president, he oversaw CAT’s operations, which supported Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists during the Chinese Civil War by transporting supplies and personnel.

CIA

In 1950, Willauer and Chennault sold CAT to the CIA, transforming it into a covert airline for anti-communist operations in Asia, including support for Nationalist forces, French troops in Indochina, and the Kuomintang in Burma. A significant setback occurred in 1949 when 12 CAT aircraft were stolen by crews and flown to Communist China, prompting a legal battle to recover assets. Willauer resigned from CAT in 1954.

Ambassador to Honduras

Appointed U.S. Ambassador to Honduras in 1954, Willauer played a critical role in supporting the CIA’s Operation PBSuccess, the 1954 coup that overthrew Guatemala’s President Jacobo Arbenz. Instructed to report to the CIA via Under Secretary of State Walter Bedell Smith, a former CIA Director, Willauer provided logistical and diplomatic assistance to the CIA team in Guatemala.

Ambassador to Costa Rica

From 1958 to 1961, he served as Ambassador to Costa Rica, representing the U.S. at the Organization of American States’ Meeting of Foreign Ministers and the United Nations General Assembly in 1960. In 1961, he testified before the U.S. Senate Internal Security Subcommittee on the Bay of Pigs invasion, reflecting his involvement in regional security issues. In 1959, as a Caribbean envoy, he advocated for strong U.S. criticism of Fidel Castro’s regime, clashing with career diplomats.

CIA and OSS Connections:

Willauer had CIA connections that are well-documented through CAT’s sale to the agency in 1950, which he facilitated as president. Declassified CIA records confirm CAT’s use in covert operations, including a $500,000 commitment for an airbase and $200,000 for hazardous missions in Asia. As Ambassador to Honduras, Willauer directly supported the CIA’s 1954 Guatemala coup, reporting through Walter Bedell Smith, as noted in diplomatic records. His son, Whiting R. Willauer, was recruited by the CIA while at Princeton, flying covert missions for CAT during the Korean and early Vietnam Wars, but this does not directly implicate Whiting Sr.’s activities.

Sources:

Wikipedia (Whiting Willauer), U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian, The New York Times (August 7, 1962), Princeton University Library’s Whiting Willauer Papers, CIA FOIA records.web:0,1,3,5,8,9,11,17