On April 18th, 1980, Southern Rhodesia, the richest nation in Africa, officially gained independence from the United Kingdom and established…
After D-Day — Life in Paris After Liberation
The Allied invasion of France under the Supreme Command of General Dwight Eisenhower began on D-Day, June 6th ,1944. As…
Being Gay in the Foreign Service
Public perception of gay rights, including the right to marry and to serve in the military, has undergone a sea…
A Completely Lawless Place – Beirut and the Assassination of Ambassador Meloy and Robert Waring
The Lebanese Civil War was a 15-year conflict that took the lives of more than 130,000 people. Throughout the early…
The East Berlin Uprising, June 16-17, 1953
It began as a strike by East Berlin construction workers but quickly escalated into waves of protests throughout the German…
The Tiananmen Square Massacre — June 4, 1989
The 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square was one of the most heart-wrenching displays of state suppression of peaceful assembly in…
The Fall of Saigon — April 30, 1975
April 30, 1975 will long be remembered as the day that Saigon fell and with it, the end of U.S.…
House for Rent in the War-torn Congo–Three Baths, no Squatters
Housing for FSOs was not always provided on assignments abroad. Francis Terry McNamara had to find housing for himself and…
Being Black in a “Lily White” State Department
Terence Todman is one of the few people to attain the rank of career ambassador – the equivalent of a…
The USS Pueblo Incident — Assassins in Seoul, A Spy Ship Captured
January of 1968 saw two of the most serious incidents to occur on the Korean peninsula since the end of…