Showing 11–20 of 51 results
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After the 1973 war between Egypt and Israel, Israel withdrew from the strategic Giddi Pass and Mitla Pass in the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for monitoring by third parties. The United States established the Sinai Field Mission (SFM) to monitor the number of personnel, weapons, and vehicles that were going into the…
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This piece of cloth was fashioned into a blindfold and used on U.S. diplomat Robert Blucker, who was serving at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 as an Economic Officer. Blucker was one of 52 who were ultimately held hostage for 444 days, in what became known as the Iran Hostage…
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During the height of the Cold War, the State Department used music to bridge gaps and ease tensions. American Jazz Ambassadors, including Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, and Billie Holiday, traveled the world representing the United States. Voice of America radio also brought their music to millions…
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Patti Morton was a trailblazer for women’s rights at the U.S. Department of State. In 1972, Morton became the first woman Diplomatic Security Special Agent. One of her other trailblazing roles was as a regional security officer in Saigon, South Vietnam in 1974 where she managed the Marines who guarded the embassy.…
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On July 24, 1959, the United States opened the American National Exhibition at Sokolniki Park in Moscow. The Soviets and Americans had agreed to host national exhibitions as a means of cultural exchange to increase mutual understanding. More than 2 million people attended and heard American guides describing technology such as washing…
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X-Ray machines aren’t just used in hospitals and airports, they’re also a crucial tool used by the Diplomatic Security Service to detect threats to U.S. diplomatic missions around the world. This portable x-ray kit, manufactured in 1970s, was used by DSS Technical Security Officers to look for espionage devices, explosives, and other…
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Diplomatic Security Special Agent Patti Morton utilized these toy cars as part of her duties to train employees at U.S. Embassy Saigon in the art of defensive driving, demonstrating various scenarios which a diplomat might encounter on the road. Patti Morton was a trailblazer for women’s rights at the U.S. Department of…
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On April 30, 1980 – the eve of May Day – two protestors with Communist sympathies burst into U.N. Security Council chamber and splashed William vanden Heuvel, deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and Soviet Ambassador Oleg Troyanovsky with bucketfuls of red paint. The protestors’ aim was to accuse the U.S. and…
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Section of sidewalk from outside U.S. Embassy Saigon, South Vietnam. In 1968, when the Embassy was attacked, State Department security officers and U.S. troops skirmished with attackers on the sidewalk which surrounded the Embassy compound’s outer wall. This small section was saved from the site in 2003 as the sidewalk was being…
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Foreign Service Officer Michael Hoyt received the prestigious Secretary’s Award after enduring 111 days in captivity in the Congo in 1964. He was serving as Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate Stanleyville when he and his staff were taken hostage by the rebel Simbas. They were narrowly rescued in a joint U.S.-Belgian…
