Hal W. Vaughan

Hal W. Vaughan (born 1928) is an American author based in Paris, France. He has held several posts as a US Foreign Service officer before becoming a journalist on assignments in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. He has also served in the United States Military in both World War II and Korea, and was involved in a number of covert intelligence activities as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer at Karachi and Geneva during the Cold War. His French-born wife, now deceased, worked with the U.S. intelligence community in Geneva. Vaughan has intimate knowledge of clandestine, international operations.

During his tenure with the United States Information Service (USIS), Vaughan developed documentary films in Pakistan. At the U.S. Embassy in Karachi and at the U.S. Consulate General in Dacca, East Pakistan, he covered events for the Voice of America (VOA). Later, Vaughan temporarily carried out duties in Saigon during the Vietnam War. As a U.S. Foreign Service Officer in Geneva, Vaughan served as Public Affairs Officer to Vice President Hubert Humphrey (during the Kennedy round of Tariff Negotiations). Vaughan also held diplomatic posts under Ambassadors W. Michael Blumenthal and W. Averell Harriman.

In Cairo, Vaughan was a consultant to Prince Mohammed al-Faisal al-Saud. This stint resulted in a screenplay titled Bedouin that was optioned by Orion Films.

As a journalist, Vaughan worked for the New York Daily News and the International Press Service (IPS). He covered Mehmet Ali Agha's attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II for ABC-News in Rome, and later worked for ABC News Radio in New York.

Vaughan is a disabled (non-combatant) WWII veteran. Near the end of the Korean war, Vaughan, a National Guard Battalion Sergeant-Major (S-2) dealing with tactical intelligence. was mobilized at Fort Drum, Watertown, New York. His unit never made it overseas.

In August 2011, Vaughan released "Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War," which was brought out by Alfred A. Knopf. The book reveals never-before-told details of how Chanel served the Abwehr as Agent 7124, code-name Westminster. Reports of her covert activities include an attempt, at Himmler's behest, to broker a meeting between Hitler and Churchill in Madrid. "Sleeping With the Enemy" is currently being translated into several languages, and has been met with critical acclaim.

In 2004, his first book, Doctor to the Resistance: The Heroic True Story of an American Surgeon and His Family in Occupied Paris, was published by Brassey's Inc. Vaughan followed up with FDR's 12 Apostles: The Spies Who Paved the Way for the Invasion of North Africa, which was brought out in 2006 by The Lyons Press. He is currently at work on a book about Paris during World War II.

Vaughan is a member of DACOR—Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired, Wash., DC; Association of Former Intelligence Officers; the Paris Cercle de l'Union interalliée; and the National Press Club, Wash., DC. He has also been a consultant to the American Hospital of Paris at Neuilly since 1992. A polyglot, Vaughan is fluent in French, has a working knowledge of Italian, and has a passing acquaintance with German, Urdu, and Arabic.

External links

• The author's web site