“Rachel was a warm and compassionate young woman, and an officer of unbounded potential. We miss her still and will remember her always. She is our 87th star.”
CIA Director General Michael V. Hayden — May 21 2007
The Memorial Wall is a memorial at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It honors CIA employees who died in the line of service. There are 129 stars carved into the white Alabama marble wall. At least ten represent women.
The Memorial Wall is a memorial at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It honors CIA employees who died in the line of service. Today, there are 129 stars carved into the white Alabama marble wall. At least ten represent women.
Rachel Alexandra Dean was a support officer who joined CIA in January 2005. She died in September 2006 in a car accident while on temporary duty in Kazakhstan. She was 25. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
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Rachel A. Dean
Rachel Alexandra Dean was a support officer who joined CIA in January 2005.
She died in September 2006 in a car accident while on temporary duty in Kazakhstan. She was 25.
Rachel was born in Portsmouth, Virginia (daughter of Thomas R. and Laurie M. Dean, Stanardsville, Virginia).
Her father was on active duty with the US Navy, so she grew up experiencing life overseas.
Rachel graduated from Maury High School, Norfolk,Virginia in 1999.
She attended Randolph Macon Women’s College, majoring in International Studies.
During her junior year, Rachel studied abroad for a semester in Athens, Greece. Along with her course work, Rachel was active in several service organizations.
In 2003, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Rachel joined the CIA in January 2005, having earned a place in the Directorate of Support.
“From the start, Rachel was a hard worker, with a warm and caring personality. Her colleagues described her as the glue that held the team together. She was always eager to volunteer for an extra task.” (CIA Website)
PS: Did you know Rachel A. Dean? Would you like to share a story? Just let us know.
UPDATE — On Monday May 22 2017, the Central Intelligence Agency held its annual memorial ceremony to pay tribute to the men and women of CIA who have died in the line of duty – courageous Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Eight stars were added to the Memorial Wall this year.
Three of the stars added pay tribute to the lives of David W. Bevan, Darrell A. Eubanks, and John S. Lewis. All three men died when their plane crashed while carrying out a mission in Laos in 1961.
A fourth star was added to honor Mark S. Rausenberger, an Agency officer of eighteen years, who died while serving overseas. The circumstances of his death remain classified.
The names of the other four individuals honored with newly-carved stars this year remain classified.
Obviously, one — or several — of these four individuals could be a woman. We simply do not know.
Moreover, in September 2016, Abigail Jones published a piece in Newsweek titled “Women of the CIA“. Jones wrote:
There are more women in the CIA than ever before, with women operating at unprecedented levels on every floor of CIA headquarters and throughout its far-flung global outposts. Yet women remain underrepresented in executive-level jobs and the clandestine service.
The Memorial Wall, in the lobby of the CIA in McLean, Virginia, has 117 stars, honoring the agency officers who’ve died in the field. Eleven represent women.
On June 12 2018, the Central Intelligence Agency held its annual Memorial Ceremony to remember, honor, and celebrate the courageous CIA officers who died in the line of duty for their country.
The CIA added four stars to its Memorial Wall this year to commemorate four distinguished officers who can be known to the public not by their names or the circumstances of their deaths, which remain classified, but by a star.
During the ceremony, which occurred before the Memorial Wall, Director Haspel remembered the fallen, saying, “They live on in our thoughts and prayers and remain forever among our ranks—a constant source of pride, inspiration, and strength for those of us who carry on their mission.”
Director Haspel presented the families of the four fallen officers with a marble replica of their loved one’s star.
END of UPDATE
Mother, Daughter, Sister, SPY – Women of the CIA
This event was moderated by Governing Board Member and Co-anchor of Eyewitness News This Morning on WABC-TV in New York City, Lori Stokes.
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
CIA Adds Four Stars to Memorial Wall — CIA website May 21 2006
Khowst – 5 Years Later — Cia Website
Who was Elizabeth Hanson? — COLBY Magazine
Year Later, Some Details Emerge About CIA Officer Killed In Afghanistan — npr
Silent Stars — The Washingtonian
“Zero Dark Thirty” entertaining but inaccurate: ex-CIA agents — Reuters
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CIA : A Few Good Women — Rachel A. Dean (April 10 1981 – 30 Sept. 2006)
Remembering CIA Rachel A. Dean (April 10 1981 – September 30 2006)
