The Foreign Service Journal, December 2020

48 DECEMBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL diplomats 11 years ago, I had no idea that until the early 20th century there had been no organized effort to mark the deaths of those who died in tragic or heroic circumstances,” Mr. Vorderstrasse tells the FSJ . “It is a credit to AFSA that the organization took on this task almost 100 years ago, and it has been my privilege to play a small role in helping ensure that these heroes are not forgotten.” His task was complicated by the fact that hundreds of U.S. envoys have died overseas during the last 240 years, but AFSA does not inscribe the names of those who died of natural causes. Mr. Vorderstrasse’s research not only had to identify the previously overlooked deaths but had to document that they qualified for inscription due to having died from tropical diseases, violence, accidents while in official transit or other circumstances—distinctive risks of overseas service. His research was painstaking. For each case, he reviewed multiple primary-source documents (such as contempora- neous newspapers, books, family histories, college alumni reports and genealogical records) to ensure that the date, place and circumstances of death were accurate. In many cases, he consulted with State’s Office of the Historian to examine official records. He then compiled that documenta- tion for review by AFSA’s Awards and Plaques Committee. As his research advanced, Mr. Vorderstrasse personally vis- ited several final resting places of these early envoys. Finding some of the graves suffering from poor upkeep, he convinced cemetery authorities in Southampton, New York, to refurbish the gravesite of Robert Sterry, who died in a shipwreck while returning from France in 1820. His research into the three U.S. diplomats buried at the Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau led to a memorial ceremony there. Jason Vorderstrasse, about to release endangered totoaba fingerlings, in Puertecitos, Baja California, Mexico in February 2016. It is a credit to AFSA that the organization took on this task almost 100 years ago, and it has been my privilege to play a small role in helping ensure that these heroes are not forgotten. —Jason Vorderstrasse