Composure

Showing 41–50 of 67 results

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    Declarations of Algiers Pen

    On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants forcefully took over the U.S. Embassy Tehran and ultimately held over 50 Americans hostage for 444 days. Negotiations between the U.S. and Iran for the release of the hostages were brokered through the Foreign Ministry of Algeria. The Declarations of Algiers was a set of agreements…

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    Kathleen Stafford's Disguise Eyeglasses

    These eyeglasses were worn by U.S. Embassy Tehran employee Kathleen Stafford as part of her disguise during a covert CIA operation to exfiltrate her and five other U.S. Embassy employees from Iran on January 28, 1980. Known as the “Canadian Six,” they were sheltered in homes of Canadian Embassy officials in Tehran…

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    Patti Morton's Practice Target

    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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    Constance Harvey's Medal of Freedom

    Constance Ray Harvey, one of the first women to become a Foreign Service Officer, voluntarily put herself in danger while serving as a diplomat in France during World War II. For her extraordinary efforts, she earned this Medal of Freedom—the predecessor of today’s Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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    Hans Tuch's “Kitchen Cabinet” Certificate

    U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev famously debated the merits of communism versus capitalism while on a tour of the American National Exhibition in Moscow in 1959, pausing at the display of a modern kitchen. U.S. Embassy Moscow Public Affairs Officer Hans Tuch accompanied Nixon on this tour…

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    Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty's Missal

    Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty was the highest Catholic official in Hungary mid-20th century during the Soviet takeover of Hungary. He was opposed to communism and sentenced with treason. His life was in danger, and he sought and received asylum at the U.S. Embassy, Budapest on November 4, 1956. He ended up staying at…

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    Constance Harvey's Dog Tags

    These wartime dog tags belonged to Foreign Service Officer Constance R. Harvey, one of the first women in the Foreign Service. Harvey was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1947 for her meritorious service with the French Underground from 1941-1942. Her citation reads, in part: “Despite close surveillance by Gestapo agents and…

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    LAFD Fire Helmet

    This yellow fire helmet represents an important life-saving partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD). LACoFD’s Urban Search and Rescue Team serves with distinction as one of two departments in the U.S. trained and authorized to deploy with USAID disaster response teams…