William P. Durkee III

William Porter Durkee III (April 27, 1919 – May 6, 1982) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and public official, who served as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) division chief, second director of the Office of Civil Defense, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Civil Defense during the Cold War, president of National Committee for a Free Europe and the last president of Radio Free Europe before its merger with Radio Free Liberty. During World War II, he was an infantryman in the "Five Yanks."

Early life and family William Porter Durkee III was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 27, 1919, the son of William P. Durkee II and Helen Chapman Durkee. His family later moved to California where he spent much of his childhood. After high school, Durkee attended Dartmouth College where he graduated cum laude in 1941 after studying economics and politics.

Durkee married Dorcas M. Dunklee and they had three children. Durkee was dismayed by the U.S. government's reluctance to confront fascism in Europe.

In May 1941, more than six months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Durkee enlisted in the British Army, effectively becoming one of the first American ground troops to fight the Nazi army in World War II. He received officers' training in England and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps.

After Alamein, Durkee required a six-month stay in a military hospital in Alexandria, Egypt. In April 1943, he was able to stand again, and in July 1943 he was sent back to England for further recovery. In the role, he supported the creation of "The President's Program for National Survival" and coordinated support to localities for the construction of fallout shelters. The office was abolished in 1964. In April 1964, Durkee was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to serve as the second director of the Office of Civil Defense, helping to coordinate U.S. civil defense strategy during the Cold War.

Radio Free Europe In 1967, he became the president of the National Committee for a Free Europe and Radio Free Europe. The national committee was an anti-communist Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) front organization which worked for the spreading of NATO influence in Eastern Europe and to covertly destabilize Soviet Bloc countries.

In 1971, Durkee testified before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee regarding the funding and operations of Radio Free Europe. Durkee's testimony was part of a broader discussion on transitioning the funding of these radios to an open and congressionally approved process. The hearings led to legislative efforts to authorize public funding for Radio Free Europe, aiming to bring their financial support under direct congressional oversight. This shift was intended to enhance transparency and align the operations of these organizations with U.S. public diplomacy objectives during the Cold War.

Durkee resigned as president of Radio Free Europe in June 1975, to support the pending merger of Radio Free Europe with Radio Liberty. After his resignation, he supported the organization's consolidation efforts and was tasked with making recommendations for the future of European operations.

Later life After retiring from public service, he returned to the private sector, where he returned to practicing law.

In popular culture Durkee and his fellow members of the "Five Yanks" are the subject of Rachel S. Cox's 2012 non-fiction book, Into Dust and Fire: Five Young Americans Who Went First to Fight the Nazi Army, which chronicles the full story of these men. The book provides a narrative of their early lives, the decision to volunteer, and their experiences in combat with the British Eighth Army, drawing heavily on their personal correspondence and diaries. Into Dust and Fire brought the Five Yanks' story to a broad audience.