Collection Highlights
A Piece of the 1968 Attack on U.S. Embassy, Saigon
This fragment of the original granite wall surrounding the U.S. embassy compound in Saigon bears the evidence of the January 31, 1968, Tet Offensive attack.
Showing 1–10 of 58 results
Collection Highlights
This fragment of the original granite wall surrounding the U.S. embassy compound in Saigon bears the evidence of the January 31, 1968, Tet Offensive attack.
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This Foreign Service Commission dated March 25, 1991, promoted Ryan C. Crocker to the rank of Minister-Counselor in the Foreign Service. While Crocker was serving as ambassador to Syria in 1998, rioters broke into his official residence, causing significant damage and leaving this commission soiled and damaged.
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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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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…
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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…
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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…
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Tragedy struck a diplomatic delegation and their military escorts on April 6, 2013, in southern Afghanistan. A young diplomat named Anne Smedinghoff, three U.S. soldiers, and an Afghani interpreter were killed in a car bomb blast that targeted their group as they were delivering books to a boys' school. Anne was a…
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Following a deteriorating security situation in Libya and attacks on U.S. properties elsewhere in the region, the U.S. government compound in the Libyan city of Benghazi came under a heavy and deadly attack on the evening of September 11, 2012. The U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens was at the compound…
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In the first half of 2020, the U.S. Department of State made extraordinary efforts to bring home more than 98,000 American citizens stuck overseas as the COVID-19 pandemic sparked quarantines and canceled flights. This patch was handed to the U.S. Ambassador in Cameroon, Peter Barlerin, by an evacuee of the COVID-19 pandemic…
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Before the Iran hostage crisis began on November 9, 1979, American diplomats in Iran faced the ongoing challenges of serving during the Iranian revolution, which had been unfolding since early 1978. Michael Metrinko, who was the U.S. Consul in Tabriz, Iran faced a chaotic and violent situation in early 1979. Metrinko opted…