“We honor the men and women of this Agency who perished in the line of duty. The cause to which they devoted their lives—the freedom and safety of Americans—endures.”
CIA Director Gina Haspel (May 21 2019)
“CIA’s Memorial Ceremony began in 1987 and is attended each year by hundreds of employees, retirees, and family members of the officers who died serving the CIA. In 1974, CIA dedicated the Memorial Wall with 31 stars to honor those who had fallen since the Agency’s founding in 1947. There are now 133 stars on the wall.”
CIA Official Statement (May 21, 2019 — 04:32 PM)
“The Memorial Wall features 135 stars to honor officers who gave their lives in service to their country. This month, we will celebrate those lives by highlighting their contributions to CIA’s mission.”
CIA Twitter — (September 9, 2020 — 6:00 PM]
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 133 stars carved into the white Alabama marble wall. Eleven represent women.
On Tuesday (May 21 2019), 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. Four stars were added to the Memorial Wall this year. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
RELATED POST: CIA Honors its Fallen in Annual Memorial Ceremony — May 22 2017
RELATED POST: CIA — Memorial Ceremony 2018
RELATED POST: CIA Molly Hale Just Answered Intel Today Question. Well, Not Really… [UPDATE : 11th Female Star Identity Revealed]
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 80 : Helge Philipp Boes
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 79 : Johnny Micheal Spann
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 78 : Tucker Gougelmann
RELATED POST: CIA : A Few Good Women
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 103 : Jeffrey R. Patneau [Yemen — September 29 2008]
UPDATE (September 10 2020) — CIA Molly Hale can be a difficult girlfriend. She never answers my questions. But She never forgets them either…
A few months ago, I asked Molly if the CIA annual ceremony had been cancelled this year? Once again, she broke my heart. No answer…
To the best of my knowledge, the annual memorial ceremony honoring the men and women of CIA who have died in the line of duty was cancelled in 2020, probably because of the pandemic.
Then, out of the blue, the Agency tweeted this message yesterday.
“The Memorial Wall features 135 stars to honor officers who gave their lives in service to their country. This month, we will celebrate those lives by highlighting their contributions to CIA’s mission.” [Sep 9, 2020 — 6:00 PM]
Did I read that correctly? 135 stars? If this is not a typo, then it would imply that the CIA has honored two more of its heroes. Stay tuned!
END of UPDATE
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A special page “CIA Book of Honor” has been created. This will allow you to find easily the references to the stars we have already written about. I will try to keep this page up to date.
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Daniel Dennett and John Creech were flying in a twin-engine aircraft on an operation for the Central Intelligence Group — the immediate precursor to the CIA — when their plane crashed into a mountain in the Horn of Africa in 1947. [Ethiopia — March 20, 1947]
When the wall went up in 1974, they were excluded because they were considered not technically part of the CIA.
Nicholas Dujmovic, a longtime CIA historian who retired in 2016, wrote in an article on the CIA website, there was hardly any difference between the two groups, save for their initials.
Two other new stars honor officers whose names and contributions remain classified.
There are now 133 stars on the wall.
I would like to make two comments. Firstly, it is certainly controversial to honor two CIG operatives with a star on the CIA wall.
This is a very political decision. There is a fine balance between honouring the Past and abusing History.
I am puzzled by the two non-identified new stars. In a recent speech, DCIA Gina Haspel (Auburn University – April 18 2019) stated that forty-two Agency men and women have died in the line of duty since 9/11.
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Gina Haspel Visits Auburn University
As I have argued, this would imply that not a single CIA officer died in the line of duty over the last year.
Perhaps Director Haspel misspoke? Or could it be that two CIA officers died since her speech and were immediately honoured with a star?
The other possibility is that the two stars honour CIA officers who died before 9/11. But then, why is their identity kept secret?
Official Statement
Today, the Central Intelligence Agency held its annual Memorial Ceremony to remember, honor, and celebrate the courageous CIA officers who died serving their country.
This year, there are four new stars on the Memorial Wall, each commemorating a distinguished officer. Two of those stars honor officers whose names and contributions remain classified even after their deaths.
The other two stars honor Lieutenant John W. Creech and Daniel C. Dennett, Jr., who were on a mission to Addis Ababa when their plane crashed in bad weather. John and Daniel worked for the Central Intelligence Group (CIG)—the immediate predecessor to CIA.
In her remarks to those assembled before the Memorial Wall, Director Haspel said, “We honor the men and women of this Agency who perished in the line of duty. The cause to which they devoted their lives—the freedom and safety of Americans—endures.”
During the ceremony, Director Haspel presented the families of the four fallen officers with a marble replica of their loved one’s star.
CIA’s Memorial Ceremony began in 1987 and is attended each year by hundreds of employees, retirees, and family members of the officers who died serving the CIA. In 1974, CIA dedicated the Memorial Wall with 31 stars to honor those who had fallen since the Agency’s founding in 1947. There are now 133 stars on the wall.
TIMELINE
July 1974 — The Memorial Wall is created; 31 stars chiseled into the marble.
1987 — First Memorial Ceremony is held with Deputy Director Robert M. Gates presiding; number of stars on the wall has grown to 50.
1997 — 70 stars, 29 of which had names
2002 — 79 stars
2004 — 83 stars
2009 — 90 stars
2013 — 107 stars
2014 — 111 stars
2016 — 117 stars
May 2017 — 8 new stars; 125 stars chiseled into the wall
May 2018 — 4 new stars; 129 stars
May 2019 — 4 new stars; 133 stars
September 2020 — ??? 2 new stars; 135 stars ???
REFERENCES
CIA Pays Tribute to Its Fallen in Annual Memorial Ceremony — CIA Website
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CIA Honors its Fallen in Annual Memorial Ceremony [May 21 2019]
CIA Honors its Fallen in Annual Memorial Ceremony (May 21 2019) — [UPDATE : 135 STARS?]
Intel Today 