Frank Bessac Interview, November 7, 1993

Frank B. Bessac discusses his military service during World War Two, working with the Office of Strategic Services [OSS] which took him to China and provided him with opportunities to study Chinese and Mongolian culture. He describes working for the U.S. government’s China relief mission after the war. Bessac recalls traveling throughout China and Inner Mongolia where regional Chinese governments were adopting communism, and witnessing the escalation of strife between the Chinese Communist and Nationalist factions. He also talks about meeting and traveling with U.S. embassy vice consul, Douglas MacKiernan, and details the events that led to MacKiernan being shot and killed by Tibetan border guards. Bessac describes traveling through Russia, Bhutan, and Tibet before returning to the United States to study anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/internationaltopics_oralhistory/1002/thumbnail.jp