Robert L. Clifford ’33

Robert died Aug. 21, 2005, at Ruxton Health Care in Williamsburg, Va.

He was born in 1912 in Evanston, Ill., grew up in Washington, D.C., and had been a resident of Williamsburg since 1972.

Robert studied history and received his ROTC commission at Princeton, then spent two years at Harvard Business School. He was employed by Northern Trust Co. in Chicago until 1940, when he volunteered for active military duty. During the next six years he served on the War Department general staff, Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet, Southeast Asia Command, and at the Army and Navy Staff College. He was awarded the Legion of Merit. He remained in the active reserve for 28 years, retiring as a colonel.

Following World War II he was appointed a Foreign Service officer and served in U.S. embassies in Belgrade, Rangoon, Beirut, and Karachi. He later held posts as United Nations economic adviser to Niger, Sierra Leone, Malaysia, Burundi, and Western Samoa. He was decorated by the State Department for safely evacuating missionaries from hill stations in Burma and by the president of Niger for his services to that country.

Robert is survived by his wife of 54 years, Mary Louise Clifford, four children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Burial will be in Arlington National Cemetery Nov. 1.

The Class of 1933