“For a small cadre of CIA veterans, the death of Osama bin Laden was more than just a national moment of relief and closure. It was also a measure of payback, a settling of a score for a pair of deaths, the details of which have remained a secret for 13 years.
Tom Shah and Molly Huckaby Hardy were among the 44 U.S. Embassy employees killed when a truck bomb exploded outside the embassy compound in Kenya in 1998.”
AP 5/29/2011
The Memorial Wall is a memorial at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. the wall honors CIA employees who died in the line of service. Today, there are 117 stars carved into the white Alabama marble wall. [WIKIPEDIA]. Eleven represent women. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
The Wall bears the inscription:
“IN HONOR OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY”
The Wall is flanked by the flag of the United States on the left and a flag bearing the CIA seal on the right.
Molly C.H. Hardy
Molly C.H. Hardy died in the August 1998 suicide bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. She was 51.
“Veteran officer Molly N. Hardy, moments before she was killed in the August 1998 suicide bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi, used her keen situational awareness to warn colleagues to take cover.” [CIA Website]
[NOTE. Her full name is Molly Carol Huckaby Hardy. So, the CIA — see website — seems to be a mistaken regarding her middle name. ]
Hardy was a divorced mother from Valdosta, Georgia, who raised a daughter as she travelled to Asia, South America and Africa over a lengthy career.
At the CIA station in Kenya, she handled the office finances, including the CIA’s stash of money used to pay sources and carry out spying operations.
She was a new grandmother and was eager to get back home when Al Qaeda struck.
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PS: Did you know Molly C. H. Hardy? Would you like to share a story? Just let us know.
Director Leon E. Panetta Honors First Agency Officer Killed in Vietnam at (2011) Annual Memorial Ceremony
During the Agency’s annual memorial ceremony on Monday, May 23, (2011) Director Leon E. Panetta paid tribute to the first American woman killed in the Vietnam War.
REFERENCES
Women of the CIA — Newsweek
The Mystery of Jane Wallis Burrell: The First CIA Officer To Die in the Agency’s Service — CIA news & Information
Remembering CIA’s Heroes: Barbara A. Robbins — CIA Website
Barbara Robbins: A slain CIA secretary’s life and death — WP
Tribute to Women Who Have Died — STUDIES IN INTELLIGENCE
CIA discloses names of 15 killed in line of duty — LA Times
CIA Holds Annual Memorial Ceremony to Honor Fallen Colleagues — CIA Website
Phyllis (Nancy) Faraci — Human Rights & Democracy for Iran
REAGAN SAYS BLAST WON’T DETER PEACE EFFORTS — NYT 21 April 1983
Memorial Service 1983 — CIA Website
Remembering CIA’s Heroes: Jacqueline K. Van Landingham — CIA Website
U.S. Seeking 3 Gunmen In Karachi — NYT March 10 1995
Remembering CIA’s Heroes: Leslianne Shedd — CIA Website
Osama raid avenged CIA deaths, a secret until now — TODAY
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CIA : A Few Good Women — Molly C.H. Hardy (Dec. 15 1946 – Aug. 7 1998 )
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