The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2022

Please check www.afsa.org for the most up-to-date information. July 4 Independence Day: AFSA offices closed July 20 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting August 17 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting September 5 Labor Day: AFSA offices closed September 11-15 AFSA Road Scholar Program Washington, D.C. September 25-30 AFSA Road Scholar Program Chautauqua, N.Y. AFSA NEWS AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION Foreign Service Day Remembrances and Activities CALENDAR Continued on page 68 THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2022 63 In a poignant Foreign Service Day memorial ceremony on May 6, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Brian McKeon and AFSA President Eric Rubin delivered remarks in front of the AFSA memorial plaques in the State Department’s C Street lobby, honoring For- eign Service personnel who died in the line of duty. Because of the pandemic, the State Department’s commemoration of the 57th annual Foreign Service Day was held virtually. “Today is an opportunity to honor the thousands of diplomats, development experts and other profession- als who have represented the United States at home and around the world,” Deputy Secretary McKeon said in a live feed on the State Department’s website and YouTube channel (see bit.ly/ FSday2022). “Whether you served previously or currently serve … I want you to know and the Secretary [of State] wants you to know how grateful we are for your work.” “The past few months have shown us precisely why we cannot take the rules- based international order for granted and why American leadership and American diplomacy are needed more than ever. We do this work because it matters, because we seek to serve our fellow citizens in a mission larger than ourselves. It is work that requires sacrifice and com- mitment.” Honoring Service and Sacrifice “We count ourselves espe- cially fortunate to be add- ing no new names to these walls today,” Ambassador Rubin said in his introductory remarks. “Nevertheless, ser- vice carries significant risks, and our happiness today is Deputy Secretary of State Brian McKeon (left) and AFSA President Eric Rubin hang the remembrance wreath during the AFSA Memorial Ceremony on Foreign Service Day in front of the memorial plaques in the State Department’s C Street lobby. SCREENCAPTURE/JULIAWOHLERS tempered by the announce- ment of a new memorial to be constructed here in the coming months. “AFSA and the depart- ment will soon unveil a bronze plaque commemo- rating those in the Foreign Service community who lost their lives due to COVID-19 while serving overseas at their post of assignment. Alongside several locally employed staff, Foreign Service family members, and others, two Foreign Service officers, Elbridge Lee (New Delhi, India) and Thomas J. Wallis (Lima, Peru), lost their