Dan Zachary Obituary, Death – Dan Zachary was born in Chicago, and he received his degree in history from Northwestern University. He attended both Harvard University and Stanford University, where he earned an MA in European history and an MA respectively. In addition, he received his degree from the Air War College located in Montgomery, Alabama, as well as from the Sorbonne University in Paris.
Mr. Zachary, who was 18 years old at the time, was employed at a Martin Marietta factory when World War 2 broke out. After that, he joined the United States Navy and served on a destroyer escort aboard the USS Le Hardy, which was responsible for escorting troop and cargo vessels throughout the western Pacific. Following the conclusion of the war, his ship took part in the ceremonial handing over of power that took place on Wake Island.
After the Japanese invasion on Wake in 1941, “American resistance” became a rallying cry for an American populace that was still reeling from the events at Pearl Harbor. Following the decommissioning of his ship, he was assigned to serve at the Naval Air Station in Pearl Harbor. In 1953, Mr. Zachary started his career in the foreign service and was sent to Munich to work as a consular officer there. This was then followed by appointments as an economic-commercial officer in Copenhagen and Paris respectively. After then, he served in three different capacities related to African affairs: in Ethiopia, the Congo, and the Bureau of African Affairs inside the State Department.
Greece served as the focal point of Mr. Zachary’s professional life there. After receiving instruction in the Greek language and the region at the Foreign Service Institute of the State Department in 1960 and 1961, he worked in economic, political, and commercial issues in Athens and Thessaloniki during his three different posts. Mr. Zachary established the key link to strengthen Greek democratic leaders when the Greek military junta took control of the country in 1967 and began employing Greek intelligence services to harass Greek democratic leaders. Between the years 1977 and 1981, he held the position of Consul General in Thessaloniki during his final tour of duty.
