Thomas Campbell Wasson (TCW) was a long serving Consul in the American Foreign Service. In May of 1948 his tragic death made headlines worldwide. Appointed to the United Nations Truce Commission in 1948 by president Harry Truman, Wasson was to serve as an agent of peacemaking efforts in Jerusalem. Wasson’s descriptions of conditions in Jerusalem in 1948, contained in personal writings and communications, characterize a period of violent social unrest. On May 22, 1948, Wasson was shot by an unknown sniper. An article from the Brooklyn Eagle reported that Mr. Wasson was shot, “while returning to the consulate from a meeting of the truce commission at the French consulate.”

TCW was born in 1896 to Mary DeVeny and Edmund Atwill Wasson in Great Falls, Montana. Wasson was enrolled in public schools and later attended the New Jersey Agricultural College at Rutgers University. Diaries from 1914 and 1915 record details of Thomas’ travels through France, Spain, and Morocco during the early years of WWI. Wasson later enlisted and joined the American Expeditionary Forces in 1917. Throughout his lifetime, Wasson served in numerous countries. The collected correspondence of TCW characterizes the vast network of personal and professional acquaintances that Wasson was able to amass during his career. Early in his career, Thomas worked for various posts in Australia. He then served in Puerto Rico and Honduras. Wasson was appointed Consul General in Florence, Italy from 1936 until 1938. During the late 1930’s Wasson served in Lagos, Nigeria and in 1940 was appointed to Vigo, Spain.

In 1940, Wasson served in Dakar, Senegal during WWII. During WWII, Dakar was a strategic port in French West Africa. Wasson’s papers reflect on the political context associated with the September 1940, Battle of Dakar. Secret dispatches and communications are included in these files.

Following his time in French West Africa, Wasson was relocated to Washington, D.C. He later worked in Paris and Athens before his appointment to serve in Jerusalem in 1948.

1914

Traveled to Europe where he would remain for six years.

1914-1917

Employed by Case Tractor Co. in Paris, sold tractors throughout France.

1914-1917

Enlisted in American army in Paris. Employed by the purchasing department of the Signal Corps.

1924

Appointed as Clerk to Consulate in Melbourne, Australia.

1925-1929

U.S. Vice Consul in Melbourne, Australia

1929

Vice Consul in Adelaide, Australia

1930

U.S. Vice Consul Puerto Rico

1932-1936

U.S. Vice Consul in Puerto Cortes, Honduras.

1936-1938

U.S. Consul in Florence, Italy

1938

U.S. Consul in Lagos, Nigeria

1940

Stationed in Vigo, Spain

1940

Stationed in Dakar, Senegal

1942-1946

State Department in Washington, D.C.

1946

First Secretary of the American Embassy in Paris, France

1947

Consul of American Embassy in Athens, Greece

1948

U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem