In his 94 years of life, Charles Hostler had been a soldier, businessman, scholar, author,
diplomat and philanthropist. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in
January 1942 (one month after the Pearl Harbor attack) and entered the Army Air Corps as a
2nd Lieutenant. His fluency in French and military intelligence training led to his assignment
to the Office of Strategic Services (predecessor of the CIA) X-2 section during the invasion of
France in WWII.
His special Counter-espionage unit landed on D-Day, June 6, 1944 at Utah Beach in
Normandy, France. During and after WWII, Charles continued carrying out many clandestine
missions for the OSS and CIA. On June 6, 2004, during the celebrations of the 60 th
Anniversary of the D-Day landings, French President Jacques Chirac personally presented him
with the French Legion of Honor in the presence of 17 Heads of State in Normandy. Charles
received decorations from 9 countries and from 4 religious leaders for his valiant actions.
Following his retirement as a Colonel in the Air Force, Charles continued to hold many
distinguished positions. He was appointed by three California Governors as a Commissioner
for various public service positions. Charles was also appointed by Presidents Nixon and Ford
as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Commerce. And lastly in 1989, Charles was
appointed by President Bush, Sr. as the U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain (1989-1993) during the
Persian Gulf War.
Charles earned a master’s and doctorate degrees in Political Science from Georgetown
University, and a MA in Middle Eastern Studies from American University of Beirut. He also
received three honorary doctorate degrees and was the author of three books. His memoirs,
“Soldier to Ambassador”, were published by San Diego State University Press in 2003.
Charles grew up during the Great Depression era, began working at the age of 13 and never
stopped. In 2007, his long-time dream came true when he inaugurated a 5-building Hostler
Student Center at the American University of Beirut. He also endowed the Charles Hostler
Institute on World Affairs at San Diego State University (SDSU) in 2004, plus providing a
Fellowship program and supporting their Veterans Center. In addition, The Charles Hostler
Hall at SDSU was dedicated on February 21, 2014. Charles and his wife Chinyeh endowed
the Global Youth Forum Scholarship Fund for People to People International organization
which was founded by President Eisenhower in 1956 to enhance peace through understanding
and friendship through educational, cultural and humanitarian activities.
Charles Hostler had been the Honorary Consul General of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the USA
since 1993. Charles touched many people’s lives throughout the world and left a remarkable
legacy. Ambassador Hostler passed away on September 28, 2014 at the age of 94 and was buried
with full military honor next to his father (a WWI Army Officer) at the Arlington National
Cemetery, Washington, D.C. He is survived by his wife, Chinyeh and 2 step-sons. Mrs Chinyeh Hostler is now AUSA SD Soldier to Ambassador Book is on sale via Amazon