The Foreign Service Journal, June 2009

J U N E 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 29 Unraveling the Mystery Further Internet searches con- firmed that Felix Russell Engdahl was indeed the individual buried in the military cemetery. But at this point I did not know how he had died, information that was necessary to determine his eligibility for commem- oration on the AFSA Memorial Pla- ques. Even though the trail was cold, I felt a compulsion to continue my research. I can’t articulate precisely what droveme, but in large part it was a conviction that the service of these men should finally be recognized. I decided to write to the Historian’s Office for more in- formation about Engdahl and Roberts, on the assumption that the department maintained biographies of anyone who had ever worked there. I quickly learned that this was not the case, particularly for 19th-century diplomats. I was instead referred to the State Department’s Ralph J. Bunche Library and the National Archives. The library gave me several leads on books, while the National Archives referred me to the National Personnel Records Center, which has records on many federal employees. Several weeks after writing the NPRC, I received a thick envelope on Engdahl, which included such items as his application to the Foreign Service, his personnel evalua- tions and two photographs. I was very surprised to learn that personnel files be- come public records after an individual’s death — some- thing all of us should keep in mind as we write Employee Evaluation Reports! To be sure, the process has changed considerably over the years. Some very blunt and now-il- legal statements appear in Engdahl’s reviews, calling him “lazy” and describing him as a “blue-eyed Nordic type.” In addition to the letter quoted at the beginning of this piece, there are a few other references to the fiancée he’d had while in Port-au-Prince. He did not end up marrying that woman, but instead wed Elizabeth “Lee” Lockhart, who joined the Foreign Service herself after WorldWar II and lived until Dec. 15, 1994. From his personnel file, I learned that Russ Engdahl joined the Foreign Service on Dec. 16, 1930. After serv- ing as vice consul in Port-au-Prince and Calcutta, he took up an assignment in Shanghai in October 1935. He was still serving there as consul in late 1941 when he traveled to Hong Kong on courier duty. (Copies of his ship tickets were in his personnel file.) After the Japanese invaded, he was interned in Stanley along with all Allied civilians, including several other members of the Foreign Service. Engdahl died on May 14, 1942, shortly before the interned Ameri- cans (including members of the For- eign Service) were repatriated to the United States. The July 1942 FSJ (“In Memoriam”) contains the fol- lowing obituary: “ENGDAHL. — F. Russell Engdahl, last assigned Consul at Shanghai, and recently detained by the enemy, died on May 13, in Hong Kong.” Suspicious Circumstances? Given Engdahl’s death and burial during the occupa- tion of Hong Kong, I naturally assumed he had been killed by Japanese soldiers. Fortunately, his personnel file in- F O C U S Further Internet searches confirmed that Felix Russell Engdahl was indeed the individual buried in Stanley Military Cemetery.