The family of Anne Smedinghoff, on Sunday, reflected on the dedication and contributions made by the young Foreign Service officer, killed in Afghanistan a year ago.
Observances took place far and wide. Ceremonies were conducted in Washington, Kabul and elsewhere. In River Forest, her name was read during the offertory at St. Luke Church; neighbors on both sides of the block where Anne lived lit luminaria, as they did after her death. In addition to “tweets” from Secretary of State John Kerry and others, messages of remembrance from colleagues and friends went out in different forms.
Whatever form the remembrances took and in whatever manner they were delivered, they continued to help her family, and those who knew her, deal with the loss of the 25-year-old Fenwick High School alum, who died while delivering textbooks to a school in southern Afghanistan. Four other Americans and an Afghan doctor also died while they were walking from a military base to a nearby school.
“It helps a lot to know that people are still thinking about her, remembering her, that her memory is still alive,” said her father, Tom Smedinghoff. “I find it consoling and helpful and gratifying.”
After Mass, the extended family, including her brother and one of her sisters, returned to the Smedinghoff home. The family also connected with another daughter in Germany via Skype. It was an emotional day, but “having everyone at the house was helpful,” he said.
Around 4 p.m., the family received a phone call from Secretary of State John Kerry — not someone calling to say “hold for Secretary Kerry,” but Mr. Kerry himself. Tom Smedinghoff said Kerry offered his condolences and wished everyone well. “He has been so nice and kind to us,” Smedinghoff said. “His letters have been fantastic.”
Remembering Anne’s work and her promise were on the minds of the members of U.S. State Dept. and Foreign Service staff. With her sister, Regina, who is the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, State Department staff in Washington, Friday, laid a wreath in front of a wall of plaques containing the names of all the Foreign Service officers who have died in the line of duty.
The anniversary of her death was the third item on Friday’s State Department daily press briefing, which took place shortly before the Afghan people cast ballots in their national election. Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf noted in part that “even as we mark the tragic events of a year ago, we do so drawing strength from Anne … and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, especially the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces and the Afghan people themselves.”
Anne’s colleagues in Kabul remembered her, Monday, with a brief service, conducted in a courtyard named in her memory. The wife of the U.S. Ambassador, James Cunningham, read a letter from Tom and Mary Beth Smedinghoff, who shared one of Anne’s favorite poems by Gerald Gould, according to a Facebook post sent to Tom by Dave Fogelson, a Foreign Service officer who arrived in Kabul shortly after Anne’s death.
David Snepp, a senior advisor at the embassy, said in an email: “The attack in Qalat robbed the U.S. Foreign Service of a future ambassador and stole a wonderful intellect and friend. Our memories of her will always keep Anne alive, and we will continue to work as she did for the aspirations of people everywhere for democracy, freedom, and peace.”
Anne Smedinghoff joined the U.S. Foreign Service straight out of college. Her first assignment was in Caracas, Venezuela, after which she volunteered for the Afghanistan assignment. Tom recalled a conversation with Anne as she began her initial training in the Foreign Service, in which Foreign Service officers talked about being part of a family, a close-knit group. The response from her colleagues bore that out.
“I feel like they’re friends,” he said.
Other tributes will take place in the coming days and weeks. Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore has created in her memory an annual event that will recognize a leader who embodies Anne’s values of “education, development and global harmony” and raise funds to support students interested in a career in international relations.
The annual memorial event, part of the Foreign Affairs Symposium, which Anne Smedinghoff directed in 2008, will honor a global leader for work in the fields of international development and diplomacy. The first recipient of the award will be Shabana Basij-Rasikh, who founded SOLA, the School of Leadership, a boarding school in Afghanistan. The event on April 11 will be part of the university’s alumni weekend, a program the Smedinghoff family will attend.
Fenwick High School will honor the 2005 graduate when they induct her posthumously into the school’s hall of fame, April 25. Tom Smedinghoff said he would speak at a school assembly that morning. A short ceremony will be held during the annual Blackfriar’s Scholarship Dinner Dance that evening.
The school’s first Anne Smedinghoff Memorial Lecture on Government Service, hosted by the International Relations Club, will take place at 12:45 p.m. today. Louis Delair Jr., a former Foreign Service officer from Washington D.C., will attend. Anne was an officer in the club during her senior year, according to a release from the school.
“Anne Smedinghoff … demonstrated unselfish sacrifice; a commitment and dedication to values and standards consistent with Fenwick; and she exemplified the highest ethical, moral and spiritual qualities,” said R.J. McMahon, the school’s director of development.
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