World War II Activities
At the height of the Second World War, Thompson was recruited by William Joseph Donovan to serve in the Office of Strategic Services (which in 1947 was disbanded in place of the newly formed Central Intelligence Agency).
His first assignment was with the French resistance forces in North Africa. He was then sent to Europe. After Victory in Europe Day (May 7–8, 1945), he was transferred to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He was assigned to contact the pro-Allied Seri Thai or Free Thai Movement, which was planning an uprising against the occupying Japanese Army. In August 1945, Thompson was about to be sent into Thailand, when the Surrender of Japan officially ended World War II. He arrived in Thailand shortly after Victory over Japan Day and organized the Bangkok OSS office. In the spring of 1946, Thompson went to work as military attaché at the United States legation for his former Princeton classmate Charles Yost, the U.S. Minister to Thailand. Thompson used his contacts with the Free Thai and Free Lao groups to gather information and defuse conflicts on Thailand's borders. Working with him in the Legation was Kenneth Landon, an American missionary whose wife was the author of Anna and the King of Siam, the inspiration for The King and I.
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