Former Queens resident Julian Bartley, the Consul General to Kenya, and his son Jay were among the 210 dead after bombings at U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Aug. 7.
Bartley, who was 55 years old, grew up on 147 St. in South Ozone Park, in a house where his mother, Gladys Baldwin, still lives. Neighbors mourned the death of Bartley, who was an inspiration to many.
"He used to talk with my son, tell him to stay in school and stay away from gangs," said Betty Jones, who has lived across the street for 33 years. She described Bartley as "a very sweet, very bright kid."
Jay Bartley, who was 20, was one of 11 Americans confirmed dead by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on the day after the bombings. At the time, Julian Bartley was the one American still unaccounted for, leaving family and friends to hope for a miracle.
This hope was shattered, however, when Edith Bartley, Julian’s daughter, announced in a statement from Washington on Aug. 9 that her father’s remains had been identified in a morgue in Nairobi.
"I miss him like I’d miss my own son," said Ann Stevenson, a neighbor and friend of Baldwin since 1961.
Bartley, a graduate of Syracuse University, had traveled the globe in his years of Foreign Service, but "came home as often as he could," Jones said.
"He would come say hello before his bags were even in the house," remembered Stevenson, who said that he put on no airs, despite his success.
Stevenson, who spoke with Baldwin on Sunday, was among a handful of neighbors who visited her in the days after the bombing. Others, like Jones and neighbor Tynita Chapman, chose to stay away for a few days.
"Put yourself in her situation, what can she say? What can she do?" Chapman asked.
A sign on Baldwin’s door asked that she be allowed the "peace, dignity and privacy to mourn the loss of her son and grandson."
Bartley, who was in charge of issuing visas in Kenya, was "known to get out of his office and meet the Kenyans who were in line," said Christopher Sharf, a spokesman for the Embassy. "He was an extraordinarily popular and well-respected officer."
In 24 years, Bartley’s work had taken him everywhere from the Dominican Republic to Israel to Korea, and he was thought to be a leading candidate to become one of a small number of black ambassadors.
"Julian Bartley was an incredible man and a good friend. He approached the world with a rare and unique understanding of the global community," said Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson, for whom Bartley served as an international affairs counselor in 1996.
"When children are fortunate enough to fall asleep without the fear of violence and military aggression," Thompson added, "their parents should thank God for men like Julian Bartley."
Jay Bartley graduated from Kenyan International High School in 1997 and was working at the Kenyan Embassy for the summer. He hoped to go into Foreign Service himself.
In a radio address Aug. 8, President Clinton announced that flags would fly at half mast in honor of the fallen Americans. He said that the Bartleys and the other casualties "gave their lives to the highest calling–serving our country, protecting our freedom, and seeking its blessings for others."
In addition to Mrs. Baldwin, the two are survived by Julian’s father, Joe Bartley, who lives in Florida, his wife who remains in Nairobi, and daughter Edith, who is a student at the University of Missouri’s School of Law.
