“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)

April 21 2021 — Prior to September 11 2001, 78 stars were chiseled into the CIA marble Memorial wall. Today, the number of stars had grown to 135. Before 9/11, the number of stars per year was 78/54 = 1.4. After 9/11, the rate greatly increased. Actually it doubled to 57/20 = 2.8. What is behind this inflation? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 79 : Johnny Micheal Spann

RELATED POST:  CIA Honors its Fallen in Annual Memorial Ceremony (May 21 2019) — [UPDATE : 135 STARS?]

“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)

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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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When the Memorial Wall was created in July 1974, 31 stars were chiseled into the marble.

When the first Memorial Ceremony was held in 1987 with Deputy Director Robert M. Gates presiding, the number of stars on the wall had grown to 50.

Johnny Micheal “Mike” Spann (March 1, 1969 – November 25, 2001) was a paramilitary operations officer in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Special Activities Division (renamed Special Activities Center in 2016).

Spann was the first American killed in combat during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. He died at the Qala-i-Jangi fortress in a Taliban prisoner uprising.

Spann’s star was the 79th carved on the Agency’s Memorial Wall and his name appears in the CIA Book of Honor. (Annual ceremony May 31 2002)

Who are the first 78 stars? When, where and how did they died? These questions are not easily answered.

Of course, there is quite a bit of secrecy surrounding these stars. But decades later, some names have been declassified.

Also, some people have been added to the initial list after the rules were modified in recent years.

Today, I will just post the list of these stars with the name and the date of death. Notice that three of them remain classified. I also added in parenthesis the year when the information was declassified by the CIA.

“Johnny Micheal Spann’s star was the 79th carved on the Agency’s Memorial Wall and his name appears in the CIA Book of Honor. He received the Intelligence Star and the Exceptional Service Medallion posthumously.” — CIA Website

The First 78 Stars

Douglas Mackiernan — April 29, 1950
Jerome P. Ginley — January 11, 1951
Norman A. Schwartz — November 29, 1952
Robert C. Snoddy — November 29, 1952
Wilburn S. Rose — May 15, 1956 [1974]
Frank G. Grace — August 31, 1956 [1974]
Howard Carey — September 17, 1956 [1974]
William P. Boteler — June 16, 1956

Chiyoki Ikeda — March 17, 1960
Nels L. Benson — April 13, 1961
Leo F. Baker — April 19, 1961
Wade C. Gray — April 19, 1961
Thomas W. Ray — April 19, 1961
Riley W. Shamburger — April 19, 1961
John G. Merriman — July 26, 1964
Barbara Robbins — March 30, 1965 [1974] (2011)
Eugene “Buster” Edens — April 26, 1965 [1974]
John W. Waltz — June 6, 1965
Edward Johnson — August 20, 1965
Louis O’Jibway — August 20, 1965 [Note 1]
Michael M. Deuel — October 12, 1965
Michael A. Maloney — October 12, 1965
Unidentified 1965
Walter L. Ray — January 5, 1967
Billy J. Johnson — February 1, 1968
Wayne J. McNulty — August 15, 1968
Richard M. Sisk — August 20, 1968
Jack W. Weeks — June 4, 1968

Hugh Francis Redmond — April 13, 1970
David L. Konzelman — October 24, 1971
Paul C. Davis — 1971
Wilbur M. Greene — April 28, 1972
Raymond L. Seaborg — September 27, 1972
John Peterson — October 19, 1972
John W. Kearns — December 15, 1972
Raymond C. Rayner — November 23, 1974
Richard Welch — December 23, 1975
William E. Bennett — January 1975
James A. Rawlings — January 1975
Tucker Gougelmann — March 1976 (2001)
Denny Gabriel — July 13, 1978
Berl King — July 13, 1978
Unidentified 1978

Robert Ames — April 18, 1983
Kenneth E. Haas — April 18, 1983
Phyliss Faraci — April 18 1983 (2012)
Deborah M. Hixon — April 18 1983 (2012)
Frank J. Johnston — April 18 1983 (2012)
James Lewis — April 18 1983 (2012)
Monique Lewis — April 18 1983 (2012)
William Richard Sheil — April 18, 1983
Richard Spicer — October 18, 1984
Scott J. Van Lieshout — October 18, 1984
Curtis R. Wood — October 18, 1984
Unidentified 1984
William Francis Buckley — June 3, 1985
Richard D. Krobock — March 26, 1987
Matthew Gannon — December 21, 1988 (2012)
Robert W. Woods — August 7, 1989 (2012)
Michael Atkinson — November 27, 1989
George Bensch — November 27, 1989
George V. Lacy — November 27, 1989
Pharies “Bud” Petty — November 27, 1989
Gerhard H. Rieger — November 27, 1989
Jimmy Spessard — November 27, 1989
Unidentified 1989

Barry S. Castiglione — July 19, 1992 (2012)
Lawrence N. Freedman — December 23, 1992 (2012)
Lansing H. Bennett M.D. — January 25, 1993
Frank Darling — January 25, 1993
Freddie Woodruff — August 8, 1993 (2012)
Jacqueline K. Van Landingham — March 8, 1995 (2012)
James M. Lewek — April 3, 1996
John G.A. Celli III — November 17, 1996
Leslianne Shedd — November 23, 1996 (2012)
Thomas M. Jennings Jr — December 6, 1997 (2012)
Tom Shah — August 7, 1998 (2012)
Molly C. H. Hardy — August 7, 1998 (2012)

Newly added stars

Please, keep in mind that some CIA officers who died before 2001 were honored by a star after 2001.

James J. McGrath — January 1957 [2007 – *84]
Stephen Kasarda, Jr. — May 1, 1960 [2007 – *85]

James “Pete” McCarthy Jr.– 1954 [2016 – *114]
Charles Mayer — 1968 [2016 – *115]
Marcell Rene Gough — November 29, 1965 [2016 – *116]
Ksawery “Bill” Wyrozemski — February 15, 1967 [2016 – *117]

David W. Bevan — August 13, 1961 [2017 – *118]
Darrell A. Eubanks — August 13, 1961 [2017 – *119]
John S. Lewis — August 13, 1961 [2017 – *120]

REFERENCES

Note 1 — The CIA’s Book of Honor incorrectly lists O’Jibway’s date of death as 1966.

Johnny Micheal Spann — Wikipedia

Remembering CIA’s Heroes: Johnny Micheal Spann — CIA website

DCIA Haspel Visits Auburn University — CIA Website

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The CIA Memorial Wall — The First 78 Stars