He was appointed to the staff of the United States Operations Mission at Seoul, South Korea in late July 1956.Appointed to Staff, Council Bluffs, Nonpareil (Council Bluffs, Iowa), August 3, 1956, page 5 In Korea, he became program officer of the International Cooperation Administration. His project included the development of the Chungje Fertilizer Plant and training of its workers, the transportation of oil from Pusan to the plant site, training agricultural workers, health and sanitation programs, rural villager living standard improvement assistance, and furnishing communications media. His wife, Valaria, had been an art teacher in Omaha, and worked with Korean artists to prepare pamphlets, books, posters, and exhibits for ICA demonstrations. He joined the Agency for International Development (AID) when it was organized in 1961. During the Johnson Administration, he became a White House adviser on matters of economic stabilization for the Dominican Republic. He later was a budget and financial officer for a White House committee on civil rights.
