With the Heart of a Tiger: Alan Lukens ’46
From the Battlefield to the Diplomatic Corps
Alan Lukens ’46’s college years were interrupted by World War II. Part of the US Army’s 20th Armored Division, he was 21 years old in April 1945 when his unit and other American soldiers broke through barbed wire surrounding Germany’s Dachau concentration camp to find emaciated prisoners shouting in relief. “They surrounded us. Some waved an American flag they had made with bits of clothing. That was something one never forgets,” said Lukens.
He didn’t have long to process the horror of the camp. Soon after liberating the prisoners, his unit pressed on to Munich, clearing villages of German soldiers. By the following winter, he was discharged from the Army and wasted no time returning to the place where his ties run deep. “I rushed to Princeton within a week,” said Lukens, whose father, Edward Lukens ’1915, and two uncles—Alan Lukens ’1913 and Lewis Lukens ’1917—were Princetonians.
Back on campus he majored in the Woodrow Wilson School and was a member of ROTC. One day he walked over to 13 Blair Hall, to visit the room that had been occupied by his Uncle Alan, who had died in the first world war. Lukens and the young men living in his uncle’s old room became good friends, and he moved to a room down the hall.
During Lukens’s term as ambassador to the Republic of Congo, his parrot learned to sing “Old Nassau.”
Representing the US Around the Globe
Lukens’s own experience in war shaped his life, inspiring him to enter the Foreign Service. At posts throughout the world, including Turkey, Paris, and Morocco, he represented US interests, built relationships, and responded to crises. When the newly independent Republic of Congo descended into chaos in 1960, Lukens got Americans safely out of the country, at one point directing the effort using a walkie-talkie while standing on the top of a building. Years later, he returned to the Republic of Congo as ambassador from 1984 to 1987.
Although he couldn’t attend Reunions during his years abroad, he found other ways to keep Tiger spirit alive—he served as president of the Princeton Club of Paris, started Princeton clubs in Nairobi, Copenhagen, and Cape Town, listened to his parrot sing “Old Nassau,” and contributed faithfully to Annual Giving—64 consecutive years so far. When he moved back to the United States, he became active with the Alumni Council, including launching the Princetoniana Committee and serving as president of his class from 1996 to 2001.
A Personal Touch of Gratitude
Today he’s vice president for ’46 and rallies his classmates for Annual Giving. He handwrites thank you notes to every classmate and widow who donates, no matter the size of the gift.
In addition to making a habit of Princeton Reunions—this year he organized his class’s 70th and marched with his son Lewis Lukens ’86 *03, also a former ambassador, and his son’s wife, Andrea Gerstell ’86—he’s made sure to travel for another kind of reunion: the anniversary celebrations of the liberation of the Dachau camp. Last year, he was invited to speak on behalf of the liberators. In his remarks, he recalled the Dachau Memorial motto, “Never again.”
