Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE- John Kindschi got his taste for different cultures while serving as a marine in World War II. In 1946, at the end of the war, he served in Manchuria, attached to a Marine Corps Intelligence Unit. "It whetted my appetite for foreign cultures, languages and countries. Being in China gave me a desire to see the rest of the world," he says, "It not only triggered my interest in other cultures, it also made me think that it might be a future career choice."

After coming back to the United States, Kindschi enrolled in The Platteville State Teacher's College. "I enjoyed studying at Platteville very much. I was the Exponent editor and of course had a brisk social life and made life long friends," stated Kindschi. He graduated in 1951 with a degree in English and history education. Kindschi taught at Kaukauna High School for a year before receiving the President Adams Fellowship to attend UW-Madison to further his education in Russian history. "I had always been interested in Russia, and during the Cold War the government had an interest in people studying Russian, it was a good career choice," Kindschi added.

From there Kindschi began to work with the State Department and was recruited by the Foreign Services to work at the Moscow embassy as a staff officer. He was then selected to be the principal diplomatic courier responsible for relaying messages and information for the 1955 Geneva Conference with the Soviets. He was then assigned to Cairo for courier duty throughout Africa and the Middle East in places like Baghdad, Iran and Lebanon.

After he left the courier service, he was assigned to work with the Tolstoy Foundation as a refugee officer. The Tolstoy Foundation was set up after World War II to resettle and rehabilitate Soviet and East European refugees and find them homes in the free world, in places like the United States, Canada, Mexico and Argentina.

In 1957, Kindschi was recruited for the Central Intelligence Agency as Operations Officer for Soviet Affairs. There he helped recruit Soviet spies to work with the United States. From 1957 to 1978 Kindschi was employed by the CIA in several sensitive areas and positions, including senior staff positions, supervising employees and managing funds and properties worth millions of dollars.

Kindschi's last assignment was being appointed chief of the CIA field office in Honolulu, were he met with military commanders, took care of collections and affairs in Hawaii and worked with the FBI, Secret Service and other government agencies. Two years later he retired after 25 years of working with the federal government and being assigned abroad in several well-known cities, including Stockholm and Mexico City.

Even after all of his travels, Kindschi still remembers UW-Platteville fondly, stating, "Platteville is attractive because of the fact that the individual has more chance to get more attention, it's not a huge factory school. Students can concentrate on particular career choices and the quality of instruction is very high and comparable to big schools. I have very warm memories of Platteville." Kindschi also serves on the UWP Foundation Board of Directors.

Kindschi is currently living in Madison and enjoying his retirement and life.