While the eyes of America were on Vietnam, another war was being fought next door in Laos. Involvement of the…
A Cold End to the Prague Spring
In 1968, growing opposition to the failing sociopolitical and economic policies of hard-line Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, led by Antonín…
“We Didn’t Start the Fire”: Billy Joel Sums up World History with a Single Song
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” was a huge commercial success when it was released in 1989. It was Billy Joel’s…
“Viet Cong Invade American Embassy” — The 1968 Tet Offensive
On Jan. 30, 1968, Vietnamese communists attacked the American embassy in Saigon. For several hours they held the embassy grounds,…
No-tell CODELs
One of the more important tasks that an embassy deals with is the Congressional delegation or CODEL in Washington-speak. These…
Escape from the Congo
During the Congo Crisis (1960-1966), which began after the colony was granted independence from Belgium, the province of Katanga declared…
“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…
Born in the Congo: The Experience of Giving Birth During a Civil War
Emergency medical care in developing countries can be problematic, if not wholly inadequate. Even more so in the 1960s. When…
The Year of Living Dangerously – Indonesia and the Downed CIA Pilot, May 1958
In April and May of 1958, Indonesia went through a period of rebellion, as discontent on the peripheral islands, like…
Apocalypse Not, Part II
On April 29, 1975, Francis Terry McNamara, then Consul General, finally received orders to evacuate the Consulate General in Can…