Flags lowered to honor slain diplomat

April 16, 2013

Flags lowered to honor slain diplomat

Under a proclamation signed by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, the United States flag and the Illinois flag are to be at half-staff at all State of Illinois facilities in honor of a slain U.S. Foreign Service officer who died in an attack in southern Afghanistan earlier this month.

Flags are to be flown at half-staff immediately until sunset, Wednesday, April 17, in honor of Anne Smedinghoff of River Forest.

Smedinghoff, 25, was killed April 6, along with four other Americans in what the U.S. State Department said was a Taliban attack in Zabul province. She worked as an assistant press information officer and was killed while walking from a military base to a nearby school to deliver textbooks to children, according to reports.

Smedinghoff attended Fenwick High School and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and joined the U.S. foreign service after college.