His assignment was as liaison to the Republic of China Army operating in the China-Burma-India theater, where he was promoted to the rank of major and awarded the Bronze Star.
[1] According to Prados, Fitzgerald worked in the CIA's Far East Division on a diverse array of projects, dealing with Tibet, China, Philippines, Japan and Korea.
[2] In January 1961, Fitzgerald approved James William Lair's proposal for arming Hmong guerrillas to fight in the Laotian Civil War.
In one instance he asked Edgar Applewhite to attack Ramparts magazine as part of the CIA's Cold War strategy.
[citation needed] Later, Fitzgerald worked on the CIA's accurate prediction of the outbreak of the Six-Day War in the Middle East between Egypt and Israel.
Dulles described Fitzgerald as "an officer of imagination and sense of daring, backed by his credentials as a fellow Wall Street lawyer and his impeccable social connections, coupled with his ability to get things done.
"[1] John Kenneth Galbraith, an economist and diplomat who was influential in the Kennedy administration, also admired him, although also describing Fitzgerald as reckless.
[7][10] His funeral was attended by Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and publisher Katharine Graham among others.