Paul Arnold Borel was born in Zürich, Switzerland, on March 15, 1912, to a family whose roots are in Neuchâtel. He died on July 7, 2007, at his home in Southern Pines, North Carolina, at age 95.
When Paul was five years of age, the family emigrated to Kansas City, Missouri, where he attended public schools and, after spending a year of study in Switzerland, attended the School of Engineering and Architecture of the University of Kansas, graduating with a degree in civil engineering. Paul subsequently earned a master's degree of business administration at Harvard, a master's degree in international affairs at Columbia and a juris doctorate at George Washington. He was a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and the U.S. Supreme Court, and a graduate of the National War College, class of 1950.
As an engineer, Paul worked for the Sun Oil Company's Toledo refinery; for Black and Veatch, consulting engineers, in Kansas City; and for Phillips Petroleum Company at Bartlesville, Okla., and Phillips, Texas.
Paul’s naval service was preceded by commissioned service in the Army Reserve and in the Missouri National Guard (110th Combat Engineers Regiment). Commissioned by the Navy in 1940, he was called to active duty in December 1940, and served until December 1946, first as naval cost inspector for the St. Louis area, and then as military government and civil affairs officer in the European Theater of Operations. His ETO duties included service as an aide for French affairs to commander ports and bases France; chief staff officer of the U.S. Naval component SHAEF mission to the Netherlands; at the Potsdam Conference assisting the tripartite naval commission in the division of the German fleet and as an aide to Secretary of the Navy Forrestal; and at the Paris Peace Conference as a member of the U.S. delegation headed by Secretary of State Byrnes.
Following World War II, Paul was active in the voluntary politico-military affairs unit, serving for a time as its commanding officer.
In early 1947, Paul joined the Central Intelligence Agency, working there in various executive capacities until retirement in March 1972. In his book, "Secrets, Spies and Scholars," Dr. Ray S. Cline characterized Paul as "one of the great selfless managerial experts of CIA who devoted a long career to making the institution work."
In 1997, Paul was one of fifty CIA individuals awarded the Trailblazer Medallion for outstanding contributions to the Agency during its first 50 years. The presentation was made to honorees or surviving representatives by George Tenet, director of Central Intelligence, at CIA headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Following his retirement from the CIA, Paul engaged in a number of activities, including consultant to Jules Borel and Co., national wholesalers of precision instruments, materials and supplies to watchmakers; trustee of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church of Falls Church, Va.; regent of Capital University at Columbus, Ohio; governor of the Northwest Center for Community Mental Health, Fairfax, Va.; director of the Great Falls Historical Society; member of the CIA's Educational Aid Fund scholarship committee; editor of CIA's Retirees Association quarterly; vice president of the University of Kansas Alumni Association.
An avid golfer and a member of River Bend Golf and Country Club, Paul played in the retired men's league of Northern Virginia, and, on moving to the Sandhills in North Carolina, with the Men's Golf Association of Longleaf Golf and Country Club.
Paul was an active member of The Village Chapel of Pinehurst; a supporter of Sandhills Community College, where he was a member of the Summa Group and served as volunteer tutor in the college's GED and literacy programs; a supporter of Habitat for Humanity; and a volunteer with FirstHealth Hospice.
Paul considered himself blessed with a great family and was ever seizing the occasion to organize family reunions.
As a writer, Paul contributed to various publications, including "Letters from World War II," "Fragments of Rhyme and Reason," his autobiography "Along the Way," "The Roofs of Neuchatel," and "CIA Retrospection: 1947-1972."
Paul met his wife, Miriam Chesham Borel, in Kansas City, Mo., where they were married in 1939. They have six children, thirteen grandchildren, and ten great-granddhildren. (The tenth was born a few days after Paul's death. Update: As of 2016, there are now a total of eighteen great-grandchildren). They also have two step-great-grandchildren who live in England.
When Paul was five years of age, the family emigrated to Kansas City, Missouri, where he attended public schools and, after spending a year of study in Switzerland, attended the School of Engineering and Architecture of the University of Kansas, graduating with a degree in civil engineering. Paul subsequently earned a master's degree of business administration at Harvard, a master's degree in international affairs at Columbia and a juris doctorate at George Washington. He was a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and the U.S. Supreme Court, and a graduate of the National War College, class of 1950.
As an engineer, Paul worked for the Sun Oil Company's Toledo refinery; for Black and Veatch, consulting engineers, in Kansas City; and for Phillips Petroleum Company at Bartlesville, Okla., and Phillips, Texas.
Paul’s naval service was preceded by commissioned service in the Army Reserve and in the Missouri National Guard (110th Combat Engineers Regiment). Commissioned by the Navy in 1940, he was called to active duty in December 1940, and served until December 1946, first as naval cost inspector for the St. Louis area, and then as military government and civil affairs officer in the European Theater of Operations. His ETO duties included service as an aide for French affairs to commander ports and bases France; chief staff officer of the U.S. Naval component SHAEF mission to the Netherlands; at the Potsdam Conference assisting the tripartite naval commission in the division of the German fleet and as an aide to Secretary of the Navy Forrestal; and at the Paris Peace Conference as a member of the U.S. delegation headed by Secretary of State Byrnes.
Following World War II, Paul was active in the voluntary politico-military affairs unit, serving for a time as its commanding officer.
In early 1947, Paul joined the Central Intelligence Agency, working there in various executive capacities until retirement in March 1972. In his book, "Secrets, Spies and Scholars," Dr. Ray S. Cline characterized Paul as "one of the great selfless managerial experts of CIA who devoted a long career to making the institution work."
In 1997, Paul was one of fifty CIA individuals awarded the Trailblazer Medallion for outstanding contributions to the Agency during its first 50 years. The presentation was made to honorees or surviving representatives by George Tenet, director of Central Intelligence, at CIA headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Following his retirement from the CIA, Paul engaged in a number of activities, including consultant to Jules Borel and Co., national wholesalers of precision instruments, materials and supplies to watchmakers; trustee of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church of Falls Church, Va.; regent of Capital University at Columbus, Ohio; governor of the Northwest Center for Community Mental Health, Fairfax, Va.; director of the Great Falls Historical Society; member of the CIA's Educational Aid Fund scholarship committee; editor of CIA's Retirees Association quarterly; vice president of the University of Kansas Alumni Association.
An avid golfer and a member of River Bend Golf and Country Club, Paul played in the retired men's league of Northern Virginia, and, on moving to the Sandhills in North Carolina, with the Men's Golf Association of Longleaf Golf and Country Club.
Paul was an active member of The Village Chapel of Pinehurst; a supporter of Sandhills Community College, where he was a member of the Summa Group and served as volunteer tutor in the college's GED and literacy programs; a supporter of Habitat for Humanity; and a volunteer with FirstHealth Hospice.
Paul considered himself blessed with a great family and was ever seizing the occasion to organize family reunions.
As a writer, Paul contributed to various publications, including "Letters from World War II," "Fragments of Rhyme and Reason," his autobiography "Along the Way," "The Roofs of Neuchatel," and "CIA Retrospection: 1947-1972."
Paul met his wife, Miriam Chesham Borel, in Kansas City, Mo., where they were married in 1939. They have six children, thirteen grandchildren, and ten great-granddhildren. (The tenth was born a few days after Paul's death. Update: As of 2016, there are now a total of eighteen great-grandchildren). They also have two step-great-grandchildren who live in England.
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