During the Cold War, the United States and the USSR engaged in a zero-sum game throughout the globe; while mutually…
The Famine in Biafra — USAID’s Response to the Nigerian Civil War
Known as the ‘Giant of Africa,’ Nigeria stretches across the continent like a patchwork quilt, sewn together from dozens of…
“The Six-Day Miracle”: The 1967 War and How It Changed Israel
“This is a fight for the homeland – it is either us or the Israelis…. Any of the old Palestine…
The Fall of Dien Bien Phu and the Rise of U.S. Involvement in Vietnam
Dien Bien Phu was a major battle of the first Indochina war in which the French fought against the Viet…
My Lai — Atrocity and Cover-up in the Midst of Vietnam
On March 16, 1968, in what was one of the most shocking incidents of the Vietnam War and in the…
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…
A Ride to Remember: Exploring Cold War Russia via the Trans-Siberian Railroad
It was unusual for any Americans during the Cold War to travel in the Soviet Union but Russell Sveda did…
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…
Apocalypse Not – The Evacuation from Can Tho, Vietnam — April 1975
The shaky peace that had held in Vietnam since the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1973 began to…
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…