Richard L. Holm
Author of The American Agent.
Born in the Midwest, Dick Holm joined the CIA in the early 1960's and rose rapidly in the ranks to become Chief of several stations, eventually receiving the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the CIA's highest award.
Mr. Holm had an eventful and action packed career that spanned thirty five years. He was first assigned to Laos where he worked with the Hmong tribesman and led operations against the Ho Chi Minh trail during the early stages of the Vietnam War. He was then sent to the Congo where he suffered near fatal injuries in a plane crash in the far northeastern region of that country. Treated by local tribesmen, his severe burns were treated with tree bark and snake oil. He subsequently spent two years at Walter Reed Hospital where he underwent dozens of operations. It was a trying period during which he regained his eyesight and the use of his hands.
Among other places, Dick Holm served in Hong Kong, Brussels and Paris and, at one point in his career he was head of the Agency's Counter Terrorism Office. Intensely patriotic, he has worked under thirteen CIA Directors and has deeply held views on policies - past and present, national and international - which ultimately determine where, how, and why the CIA is deployed/used.
In his fascinating memoir, Dick Holm not only gives an inside view of the life of a CIA officer, but poignantly describes his appalling injuries after the plane crash in the Congo and his determined fight for survival.
Mr. Holm is married, wife Judith, and has a platoon of daughters (4). He currently resides in McLean, Virginia.
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