He was returning from the Far East when he was stricken with an illness last July.  He first became known internationally when he established and became editor and publisher of the Far Eastern Review, an English-language periodical at Shanghai.

Friends said it was his insight into the politics of the Orient and his intimate contact with the Chinese and Japanese Governments that led to his appointment as adviser for Manchukuo.

Mr. Rea was born in New York City in 1870 and educated in engineering.  He was a newspaper war correspondent in Cuba in the Spanish-American War and the insurrection in the Philippines.  In the World War he served as a Captain in the Intelligence Branch of the Army.  He also served as an Assistant Military Attaché in Madrid.

A widow and four children survive him.  He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors on Tuesday.

  Webmaster: Michael Robert Patterson