William A. Eddy
William A. Eddy, 67, distinguished diplomat, educator and soldier, who spent most of his life in the Middle East, died on May 3 in Beirut of cerebral thrombosis. Known and beloved throughout the Middle East as Colonel Eddy, he is survived by his wife, Mary, and their two sons and daughters - Rev. William A. Eddy, Jr., of Bloomington, Ind., John C. Eddy of Des Moines, Ia., Mrs. R.R. Furman of Bethesda, Md., and Mrs. John A. Costinett of Washington, D.C.
In recent years, Eddy has been a consultant to the Trans Arabian Pipeline Company and the Arabian American Oil Company. He first joined Aramco in 1947 and Tapline in 1952 and retired from full time duties in 1956.
Born March 9, 1896 in Sidon, Lebanon, of Protestant missionary parents and grandparents who lived and died in Syria, Eddy received his Lit. B. from Princeton University in 1917. As a Marine in World War I, he served with distinction in France and was severely wounded at Belleau Woods in 1918. He held the Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, two Purple Hearts and Legion of Merit. In October, 1917, he married Mary Emma Garvin. After the war, he returned to Princeton and received his Ph.D. in English Literature in 1922. He served as professor of English at the American University of Cairo from 1923 to 1928, and at Dartmouth College from 1928 to 1936. From 1936 to 1941, he was president of Hobart and William Smith colleges in New York.
With the advent of World War II, Eddy returned to service with the U.S. Marine Corps, as naval attache with the American Legation at Cairo. He later was instrumental in the planning of the Allied North African landings, during which time he was closely associated with Robert Murphy, then special advisor to President Roosevelt. At the close of WWII, Eddy was appointed the first American minister plenipotentiary to Saudi Arabia. He acted as interpreter for President Roosevelt and King 'Abd al-'Aziz al Sa'ud of Saudi Arabia during their historic meeting aboard the cruiser USS Quincy in 1945 in the Suez Canal. [Photograph]