The AFSA Memorial Plaque Ceremony was held Friday, May 1, 2009 as part of Foreign Affairs Day. The ceremony took place at the site of one of AFSA's two Memorial Plaques in the C St. lobby of the Harry S Truman Building of the State Department.  The solemn ceremony honors those Foreign Service personnel who have lost their lives while serving their country abroad in the line of duty or under heroic or other inspirational circumstances.  It also serves as a graphic reminder of the extremely dangerous and difficult conditions our colleagues face while serving our country abroad today.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton presided over the ceremony.  Four names were added to the plaque this year, bringing the total to 231.  They are:

Brian Daniel Adkins, an entry-level Foreign Service Officer, who was murdered in his home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on January 31, 2009, while on his first assignment as a consular officer.  Brian was a skilled linguist who spoke several languages, a classical violinist and an outstanding cook.   He was a summa cum laude graduate of GWU.  He would have turned 26 on February 2, 2009.
Felix Russel Engdahl, a Foreign Service officer, died in an accidental fall while in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in May, 1942 in Hong Kong.   He was serving as Consul in Shanghai in 1941 and was captured while on courier duty in Hong Kong, along with several other Foreign Service officers. 
Thomas W. Waldron, the first U.S. Consul to Hong Kong died of cholera in 1844 while on an official visit to Macau.   He is buried in the Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau.
Edmund Roberts was appointed as Special Agent in January 1832.  He was tasked by President Andrew Jackson to negotiate commercial treaties with Muscat, Siam, Cochin, China, and later, with Japan.  While in Siam, he contracted dysentery and died in Macau on his way to Japan.  He is also buried in the Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau.

For a listing of all the names on the plaque, click on http://www.afsa.org/plaques.cfm.
Since the end of WWII, most of the names that have been added to the plaque have lost their lives due to acts of terrorism or other hostile action. The names are engraved on the two plaques located on either side of the main lobby and serve to remind those who pass by of our fallen colleagues' "willingness to serve and willingness to sacrifice." With these plaques we honor their service and their memories.
For more information on AFSA's Plaque Ceremony, please contact Perri Green .