John Service, the son of missionaries who grew up in China, was one of the Department’s “China hands,” an expert on the region who also served as a key member of the “Dixie Mission,” which met with Mao and other Communist Chinese in Yenan in 1944. He and a few others correctly predicted that Chiang Kai-Shek,… Read More "John S. Service – The Man Who “Lost China,” Part II"
The Civil War in China, Part II –The Dixie Mission and Losing China
After attempting to convince Washington that a civil war in China was imminent and that the Communists would be the likely victors, John S. Service and a group of other U.S. diplomats traveled to Yenan in July 1944 to meet with the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Nicknamed the Dixie Mission, the U.S. Army Observation… Read More "The Civil War in China, Part II –The Dixie Mission and Losing China"
Life at Embassy Tokyo After Pearl Harbor
Despite getting extremely close to agreeing to negotiations to avert hostilities, the U.S. and Japan failed to make peace and Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7th, 1941. In these excerpts from his memoirs, Robert A. Fearey, at the time private secretary to Ambassador to Japan Joseph C. Grew, describes the surprisingly pleasant conditions of daily… Read More "Life at Embassy Tokyo After Pearl Harbor"
Soldiers, Please do not Touch the Ukrainian Women
Every November 10th, the United States Marine Corps celebrates its birthday with a traditional ball and cake-cutting ceremony. The first formal ball was celebrated in 1925 and by tradition, the first slice of cake is given to the oldest Marine present, who in turn hands it off to the youngest Marine present, symbolizing the old and experienced Marines… Read More "Soldiers, Please do not Touch the Ukrainian Women"
Constance Ray Harvey, Diplomat and World War II Heroine
The life of Constance Ray Harvey at times sounded like something from the movie Casablanca. During World War II, after tours in Milan and Bern, she was stationed in Lyon, where she worked with the Belgian and French Resistance,which included getting members of the Belgian government out of France. She smuggled documents to the U.S. Military Attaché in…
Halloweens Around the World
BOO! Halloween is a holiday on October 31st where costumes, tricks, and treats reign supreme. Originally a pagan holiday, Halloween is a time when children, and often times adults, dress up in silly and creative costumes; some go door to door asking for candy while others attend costumes parties and dance the night away. Though Halloween… Read More "Halloweens Around the World"
When Diplomats Kill
Bradford Bishop and Gérard Amanrich were highly esteemed American and French diplomats, respectively. The two men were bright, motivated, and had a lot going for them: Bishop was a skilled Foreign Service officer with a picture-perfect family, while Amanrich was a former Ambassador to the Vatican with a lovely wife and kids. While their lives… Read More "When Diplomats Kill"
Learning the Brazilian Candomble Dance
Candomblé, meaning “dance in honor of the gods” in Portuguese, is an Afro-Brazilian religion developed during the earliest days of slave trade by Africans forced into slavery in Brazil. Those of this faith believe that each individual possesses their own personal orixa, or deity, that both acts as a protector and controls their destiny. A… Read More "Learning the Brazilian Candomble Dance"
Khrushchev Visits America – A Cold War Comedy of Errors, Act II
In September of 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States on an unprecedented goodwill trip spanning several days, thousands of miles and which was covered by a huge press corps. In stark contrast to the finely orchestrated tours and campaign stops that are common nowadays, the visit was a series of flubs and… Read More "Khrushchev Visits America – A Cold War Comedy of Errors, Act II"
Khrushchev Visits America – A Cold War Comedy of Errors, Act I
Amid the descent of the Iron Curtain, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and the conflict in Vietnam lies one of the more bizarre moments of the Cold War – Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s goodwill tour of the United States that began on September 15, 1959. While some may have heard of Khrushchev’s failed attempt to… Read More "Khrushchev Visits America – A Cold War Comedy of Errors, Act I"