Jim and Linda Roddy Henderson served as Peace Corps Volunteers in Colombia in the 1960's



'Bogota was our headquarters. We could go there for health care. We were well taken care of. If there was danger, we weren't sent there,' Jim Henderson said. 'People were generally pretty responsive. Occasionally we'd run into someone who said, 'Ah, you're a CIA agent.'' There were about 600 volunteers serving in Colombia, the second-largest force at the time, Jim Henderson said. All five of his children - two of whom were adopted from Colombia - speak fluent Spanish. Their dad had a tougher time. 'Anybody can learn Spanish if I can learn it. My wife was a Spanish major. I had worked on it for six years and six months immersed in Colombia before I could follow conversations. I was exceptionally bad,' he said. Jim Henderson is working on his fourth book on Colombian history while he's on sabbatical this year. 'The illegal drug trade destroyed Colombia's peace,' said Jim Henderson, who gained a deep love for the people and culture. He goes back to do more research in September. 'I'm one of the top people in modern Colombian history in the world,' he said. Without the Peace Corps, 'nothing would have been the same. It made all the difference.'

Jim and Linda Roddy Henderson served as Peace Corps Volunteers in Colombia in the 1960's

CCU couple among early Peace Corps volunteers

Myrtle Beach Online

July 18, 2007

Jim Henderson can't imagine what his life would have been like had he not asked what he could do for his country 41 years ago.

'Remember [President] Kennedy - 'Ask not what your country can do for you?' We were changing the U.S. The Peace Corps was helping the world,' said Henderson, a Coastal Carolina University professor of international studies, who served with his wife in Colombia in the 1960s.

'Colombia passed a law that high school seniors must work in literacy programs. We worked with churches, businesses, civic groups, the military, companies and high school seniors. That's what we did for two years,' said Henderson, who considers himself bi-national. 'By far, of all the foreign programs, [the Peace Corps] is the most successful.'

Henderson, 65, a historian who writes books on Colombia, met his wife, Linda Roddy Henderson, at Brandeis University during Laubach Literacy training. They were married in Colombia. She currently heads CCU's department of economics, finance and accounting.

'Bogota was our headquarters. We could go there for health care. We were well taken care of. If there was danger, we weren't sent there,' Jim Henderson said. 'People were generally pretty responsive. Occasionally we'd run into someone who said, 'Ah, you're a CIA agent.''

There were about 600 volunteers serving in Colombia, the second-largest force at the time, Jim Henderson said. All five of his children - two of whom were adopted from Colombia - speak fluent Spanish. Their dad had a tougher time.

'Anybody can learn Spanish if I can learn it. My wife was a Spanish major. I had worked on it for six years and six months immersed in Colombia before I could follow conversations. I was exceptionally bad,' he said.

Jim Henderson is working on his fourth book on Colombian history while he's on sabbatical this year.

'The illegal drug trade destroyed Colombia's peace,' said Jim Henderson, who gained a deep love for the people and culture. He goes back to do more research in September.

'I'm one of the top people in modern Colombian history in the world,' he said. Without the Peace Corps, 'nothing would have been the same. It made all the difference.'

Copyright © 2007 Myrtle Beach Online, All Rights Reserved.

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