Charles Hostler ’42

---

Charles Hostler has a long and distinguished career in diplomacy and international relations. Currently the honorary consul general of Bahrain, a position he has held since, 1993, Hostler's record of service stretches back over six decades.

“Ambassador Hostler is a visionary and a personal example … of a bridge builder of peace,” writes Randall Phillips, honorary counsul general of Japan in San Diego. “He is a superb leader of hopefulness for the world.”

Hostler graduated from UCLA in January 1942 – just one month after the attack on Pearl Harbor – and entered the Army Air Force as an ROTC second lieutenant. His fluency in French and military intelligence training led to an assignment to the Office of Strategic Services (predecessor to the CIA). Hostler worked in the X-2 section for Allied counterintelligence and deception operations during the invasion of Europe in World War II.

His special counter-espionage unit landed on D-Day, June 6, 1944, at Utah Beach in Normandy, France. The unit's mission was to take control of enemy agents and French civilians conspiring with the Germans in order to transmit deceptive materials. Although Hostler sustained a wound during this mission, his unit succeeded in deceiving the German espionage network in France during a critical period of the war. U.S. authorities concluded that these joint U.S.-British secret operations substantially contributed to the Allied military success and probably saved thousands of lives.

Hostler was awarded the U.S. Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart and a Commendation medal for his work in Normandy. On June 6, 2004, during the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings, French President Jacques Chirac personally presented him with the French Legion of Honor in the presence of 17 heads of state. He has received decorations from nine countries and four religious leaders.

Though he retired as a colonel from the Air Force, Hostler continued to offer distinguished service to the world community. He was appointed by President Richard Nixon to be deputy assistant secretary for international commerce from 1974 to 1976. In 1989, President George H. Bush appointed Hostler to the post of U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain during the Persian Gulf War.

In addition to his UCLA degree, Hostler holds master's and doctorate degrees in political science from Georgetown University and a master's degree from the American University of Beirut. In 2004, American University of Beirut broke ground for the Charles Hostler Student Center, which will house recreational facilities, a gym, a pool, a track and field area and an auditorium.

Hostler has written three books, including the memoir Soldier to Ambassador, for which he obtained security clearances from the CIA due to sensitive material about his clandestine missions. In his life, Hostler has been soldier, scholar, businessman and diplomat; he has traveled to 170 countries and lived for more than 22 years in the Middle East, serving as an expert on the region. Hostler resides in Coronado, Calif., with his wife, Chin-Yeh.