Background
William George Roll was born on July 4, 1892 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Norwegian immigrants.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
William Roll
Edit ProfileEducation
The eldest of three sons and two daughters, he attended schools in Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Career
Roll was the United States. Vice Consul in Copenhagen in 1921 and in Bremen from 1926–1929. When the United States. entered World War I, Roll enlisted in the Army, and was sent to Denmark to engage in covert activities in Germany, heading a team of six agents. Following the war, the State Department appointed him Vice Consul in Denmark, where he served for two years under President Woodrow Wilson.
The State Department then transferred Roll to Bremen, Germany, where he was stationed as Vice Consul for eight years.
From then, till the outbreak of World World War II, he continued to carry out missions for the State Department throughout the world. He saw duty on most of the major European fronts.
So it was on May 9, 1945 at the age of 53, Roll was the first American officer with the liberation army to land in Norway. At the end of the war, the State Department kept Roll in Oslo as American Information Officer.
In 1947, under President Harry Truman, he was transferred to Denmark as First Consul for Ambassador Eugenie Anderson.
He retained this post for three years till he retired. Under Presidents Eisenhower and Truman, Roll was instrumental in organizing North Atlantic Treaty Organization for Northern Europe. He was also Chief of the Marshall Plan in the Scandinavian countries and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the United States. Education Foundation.
Colonel Roll died in 1967.
Roll"s son, William George Roll II, was born July 3, 1926 in Bremen, Germany. He is president of the Parapsychological Association.
