US Diplomat Killed In Afghanistan Was Doing Labor of Love

US Diplomat Killed In Afghanistan Was Doing Labor of Love

25-year-old Anne Smedinghoff from Chicago was killed in the line of duty this past Saturday in Southern Afghanistan.

Smedinghoff was serving as a US Diplomat at the time of her death. Her father told reporters that his daughter died doing what she loved.

The young woman from Chicago had ever displayed a love for world affairs and went to work for the US Foreign Service upon graduating from college. Her father Tom Smedinghoff told reporters the job she got with the US Foreign Service was “tailor-made” for her. Anne grew up in a suburb of Chicago where she attended Fenwick High School.

She majored in International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. While in the US Foreign Service, Anne sought out dangerous locations for her work assignments. She expressed to family that to work anywhere else would be “so boring”.

At her request, her first assignment was in Caracas, Venezuela; she was fluent in Spanish.

Afterwards, she was sent to Afghanistan. Her plans were to finish her assignment in July and return to the US to learn Arabic. From there, she intended to work in Egypt and later Algeria.

Secretary of State John Kerry described her as a “selfless and idealistic” woman who cared deeply for the children of Afghanistan.

On The Web:

Father: Young US diplomat killed in Afghanistan terrorist attack died doing what she loved
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/father-young-us-diplomat-killed-in-afghanistan-terrorist-attack-died-doing-what-she-loved/2013/04/08/6a9ae636-a02c-11e2-bd52-614156372695_story.html