George Benson, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army, died in Washington D.C. on Dec. 16, 2007. He was a true friend of Indonesia who dedicated most of his life to promoting Indonesia-U.S. relations, and encouraging friendships between Indonesians and Americans. During his military career he served three times in Indonesia, first as an army attache in the late 1950s when he met then Col. Achmad Yani, an encounter that blossomed into a life-long friendship.

On his second tour a few years later, George served as a liaison officer for the Military Advisory Group during the early days of the Soeharto presidency; and he came back to Indonesia as the defense attache at the U.S. Embassy in the 1970s. George was awarded two medals of honor by the government of Indonesia in appreciation of his fine services in promoting bilateral relations between Indonesia and the U.S.

Upon his retirement from the U.S. Army, George was appointed by the president director of Pertamina, Ibnu Sutowo, another great friend of George, to serve as Pertamina's representative in Washington, D.C. He held the job until Pertamina decided to close down its office in the U.S. capital soon after Pertamina's financial crisis in 1975.

George continued his interest in the country, doing consulting work for a few oil companies operating in Indonesia. Official duties and business brought George to Indonesia often, but one particular visit that he had religiously made over the years was for Idul Fitri.

On the first day of the celebration at the end of Ramadhan, one would always find George doing the rounds of his Indonesian friends in Jakarta. He stopped doing this only when his health problems prevented him from flying long-haul. But he kept in contact with his Indonesian friends through telephone calls.

George was in Jakarta on his first tour of duty when the 1957/1958 PRRI-PERMESTA rebellions broke out. In those days, Indonesians did not know much about what the U.S. did except the CIA's involvement in the rebellions. Decades later George filled us in on part of history that otherwise would have never been told.

While the CIA was doing its own activities on the rebels' side, Col. Achmad Yani, who was preparing for the attack on West Sumatra in mid 1958, called his army attache friend at the U.S. Embassy, Maj. George Benson, to provide him with a map of West Sumatra because the Indonesian Army Headquarters did not have one for military purposes.

The time was 9 p.m. So while Taiwan's Kuomintang pilots who flew from the Clark Field Base were dropping arms to the rebels in Pekanbaru, the U.S. Military attache in Jakarta was providing the Indonesian Army Headquarters with a West Sumatra map to be used to attack Padang.

Sometime it has gone both ways in U.S. policies, and it might look like a wayang play to the rest of us. But both sides are serious and sincere at the same time.

However, the ever optimistic and jolly-good-fellow George was always Indonesia's friend in Washington. He assisted the Indonesian government very seriously and always worked very hard on the ever evolving relations between our two countries and peoples. He had many friends both in the U.S. and Indonesia who always thought highly of his work, friendship and great personality, including his demeanor and countless jokes.

George decided to retire from the Army because he could not stand the way the U.S. Military fought in Vietnam, the suffering and casualties suffered by civilian and innocent people. Some of his friends in the higher rungs of power in Washington, including the assistant secretary of state during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, William Bundy, made some effort to get him a promotion but to no avail.

George was the embodiment of an honorable American with all the good qualities of an officer and gentleman: open minded, optimistic, emphatic, sincere, generous, and always honors friendship.

My family and I had decades of friendship with him and his wife Barbara, an equally great person, and we treasured every minute of it. George and Barbara gave Judi, my eldest son, a home and a family away from home when he lived with them in Rockville, Maryland, for a year, introducing him to American culture and brushing up on his English before starting college. Judi enjoyed immensely his stay with uncle George and aunt Barbara which provided him with an invaluable introduction to American life.

Until his death George was still active in USINDO, which he helped to establish with Ed and Ailene Masters. My youngest brother, Edward Wanandi, now residing in Chicago, has replaced him as treasurer of USINDO, which promotes U.S.-Indonesia relations.

When I used to visit Washington, D.C. several times a year, I was always assisted by George. He came along with me to the State Department, the Department of Defense and the National Security Council, as well as to both Houses of Congress. And we always exchanged notes and encouraged each other in our efforts to strengthen the relationship between Indonesia and the U.S.

One evening on St. Patrick's Day, we went to George's Parish to celebrate. An old lady at the reception said to George that I did not look like an Irishman to her. George answered: "No, he is a Chinaman, but he is the biggest buddy of this good and authentic Irishman." Thanks, George, for your great friendship.

I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Barbara and their children.

The writer is vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta.

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