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Finding Aid to the John S. Service Papers, 1925-1999
BANC MSS 87/21  
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Collection Overview
 
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Description
The John S. Service Papers, 1925-1999, document the life experiences of "Jack" Service, a member of the United States Foreign Service who was posted to China during the 1930s and 1940s, and later accused of "losing China to the Communists." As one of the "Old China Hands," Service was implicated in the Amerasia Affair and arrested. Although he was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, Service was repeatedly accused of questionable loyalty to the United States, and dismissed. His reinstatement and public exoneration are covered, as is his subsequent career as a China specialist at the University of California, Berkeley. Personal and family papers round out the collection by providing another glimpse of this very private man.
Background
John Service, the son of American YMCA missionaries, was born August 3, 1909 in Chengtu, China and spent his school years there, in Chungking, and in Shanghai. Following his graduation from Oberlin College in 1931, he joined the Foreign Service as a clerk at the American consulate in Kunming. He went to Beijing for language training in 1935-1937, and then served in Shanghai until the U.S. entry into World War II. From 1942 to 1945, Service was in Chungking, for much of that time on the staff of General Joseph Stillwell.
Extent
Number of containers: Number of containers: 12 boxes, 4 cartons, 2 card file boxes, 1 oversize box, and 5 oversize folders Linear feet: 11.5
Restrictions
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94270-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must obtained from the copyright owner. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html. Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Availability
Collection is open for research.