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"
József Mindszenty: The Cardinal who Lived in Embassy Budapest
József Mindszenty was a Roman Catholic cardinal ordained shortly after World War II who staunchly resisted the fascist and later Communist governments that ruled Hungary. His fierce opposition to the new regime led to his arrest on December 26, 1948; he was accused of treason and conspiracy. He was forced to confess to a host of crimes,… Read More "József Mindszenty: The Cardinal who Lived in Embassy Budapest"
El Salvador, the Sheraton Hotel Siege and the Jesuit Murders — November 1989
The civil war in El Salvador lasted from 1979-1992 and was fought between the government and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of five leftist guerrilla groups that attempted a military coup in 1979, which was followed by many violent attacks on the government and civilians. On November 11, 1989, twenty armed guerrillas stormed the… Read More "El Salvador, the Sheraton Hotel Siege and the Jesuit Murders — November 1989"
444 Days — The End Game
The 444-day-long Iran Hostage Crisis ranks as one of the most traumatic diplomatic events in U.S. history and even thirty years later still colors diplomatic relations with Iran. In these excerpts, John Limbert describes the negotiations that eventually led to the release of all the hostages Iranian Revolutionaries attacked the embassy, their (surprisingly) triumphant arrival in… Read More "444 Days — The End Game"
444 Days: Memoirs of an Iran Hostage
More than thirty years later, the Iran Hostage crisis still ranks as one of the most traumatic diplomatic events in U.S. history. Dissatisfied with the corrupt and ineffective regime of Reza Shah Pahlavi, many Iranian citizens began protesting the Iranian government in 1977. In 1979 after nearly two years of protests and strikes, the Shah was… Read More "444 Days: Memoirs of an Iran Hostage"
Terror on the 9th Floor — The Kuala Lumpur Hostage Crisis
On August 4th, 1975, five members of the Japanese Red Army or JRA – a militant organization intent on overthrowing the Japanese government and starting a worldwide revolution – stormed the United States embassy on the 9th floor the AIA Insurance building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The tallest building in Malaysia at the time, it… Read More "Terror on the 9th Floor — The Kuala Lumpur Hostage Crisis"
Guests of the Gestapo
Nazi Germany launched the Spring Offensive against France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in May 1940. Within six weeks it had achieved complete military dominance. The French government agreed to sign the Second Armistice agreement, whereby France was divided into two parts: the North was occupied by the Germans, while Vichy France was nominally independent. During this… Read More "Guests of the Gestapo"
“We’re in East Germany! We better get the hell out quick!”
It began as a routine trip to test artillery battalions. It ended as a minor international incident that lasted several weeks and potentially could have been even worse. In 1958 Colonel Frank Athanason, then a captain, and eight others lost their way and crashed in a forest in East Germany. They were picked up by… Read More "“We’re in East Germany! We better get the hell out quick!”"
“Without respect, America’s power just seeps away”
Walter Mondale, born in Ceylon, Minnesota on January 5, 1928, was the 42nd Vice President of the U.S. under Jimmy Carter, after having served 12 years as a senator from Minnesota. He later ran against Ronald Reagan as the Democratic Party candidate for President in 1984. After the loss, he spent a few years working…
The Terrorist Attack on the Saudi Embassy — Khartoum, 1973
Less than a year after its members murdered 11 Israeli athletes and one German police guard during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the infamous Palestinian terrorist group Black September Organization (BSO) on March 1, 1973 launched a brazen raid on the Saudi Arabian embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, kidnapping U.S. Ambassador Cleo Noel and Deputy Chief… Read More "The Terrorist Attack on the Saudi Embassy — Khartoum, 1973"