Showing 1–10 of 45 results
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As a young boy in Vienna, Austria in the 1930s, Richard Schifter would often walk with his father past the Austrian Consular Academy. Richard would tell his parents that one day he wanted to be a diplomat. One time, his father pulled him aside and explained, “We are Jews. Jews can't get…
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U.S. diplomats at posts around the world provide consular services to Americans living and working abroad as a core part of their mission. Sometimes that work is especially tragic, challenging, and dangerous. In 1978, officials from the U.S. Embassy in Guyana were making periodic consular visits to The Peoples Temple settlement, known…
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John E. Lange was serving as Chargé d’Affaires at U.S. Embassy Dar Es Salaam on August 7, 1998. That morning, he convened a meeting in his office with the Political-Economic Section which was cut short due to the bomb’s impact. Lange remembers feeling a deep rumble before an explosion rocked his office,…
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When the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi was attacked by a truck bomb in August 1998, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Prudence Bushnell was present in a neighboring building and injured by the blast. Ambassador Bushnell returned to inspect the damaged embassy the next day. Her staff presented this hard hat for her to…
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The National Federal of the Blind of Illinois awarded Avraham (Rami) Rabby this award in 2018, recognizing the success of his advocacy on several issues impacting blind people. These included recognition of White Cane Safety Day and passing white cane legislation. White canes are commonly used by people with low or no…
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Ambassador Robert G. Neumann was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1916. He studied diplomacy at the University of Vienna, the University of Rennes, and at the Geneva School of International Studies. During his studies in Geneva, he was imprisoned by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp. After his release, Neumann…
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This artwork was given to Bruce Laingen, one of the 52 American hostages held in Iran for 444 days from 1979-1981. It depicts President Jimmy Carter and the iconic symbol of the hope for the hostages’ safe release – a yellow ribbon – tied around a tree. One of a series of…
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This unusual memento -- a square of yellow carpet -- was given to Michael Metrinko, one of the 52 hostages held in Iran for 444 days from 1979-1981. Framed in a shadowbox with a letter from the governor of New York as the backdrop, it is one example of the numerous letters,…
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This large metal Great Seal emblem, measuring approximately 4 ft. in diameter, was located at the entrance to the U.S. Consulate Herat, Afghanistan, and was damaged during the September 13, 2013, attack on the consulate by a truck bomb. Eight Afghan guards lost their lives defending the Consulate during this attack.
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After the 9/11 attacks, U.S. embassies and consulates around the world became memorial sites, filled with offerings of all kinds. Condolence gifts included flowers, candles, personal notes, drawings, and mementos. International first responders also expressed their sorrow at the loss of so many who had given their lives in the face of…
