John H. Waller

John Henry Waller, an historian, author and the former inspector general of the CIA, died on Nov. 4 of complications from pneumonia. He was 81.
Born in Paw Paw, Mich., and raised in Detroit, Waller graduated from the University of Michigan. An ear disorder kept him from serving in the military during World War II so he took a job as a diplomatic courier for the Foreign Service. In 1943, Waller joined The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor to the CIA, and worked in counterespionage.
Waller spent the post-war years as a CIA operative in Iran, Sudan and India. He was the deputy chief of the Africa division at CIA headquarters from 1964 to 1968, and chief of the Near East division from 1971 to 1975. Waller finished his career at the agency as the CIA’s inspector general.
After retiring in 1980, Waller became a full-time historian and author. He wrote six books, but was best known for penning “Beyond the Khyber Pass: The Road to British Disaster in the First Afghan War,” an historical text published in 1992 that examined Britain’s failed efforts to rule Afghanistan in the 1840s. His final book, “The Devil’s Doctor: Felix Kersten and the Secret Plot to Turn Himmler Against Hitler,” was published in 2002.
Waller was the chairman of the OSS Society and a past president of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. He was also the recipient of the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the National Civil Service Award.