“Consistent with long-standing practice, we do not comment on who may or may not have been honored anonymously with a star on the agency’s Memorial Wall.”
Todd Ebitz
CIA spokesman
May 11, 2024 — Zembiec was serving in the Ground Branch of the CIA’s Special Activities Division in Iraq when he was killed by small arms fire while leading a raid in Sadr City, a neighborhood of Baghdad, on May 11, 2007. His CIA employment was confirmed by his widow and former U.S. intelligence officials. Intel Today concluded that he was honored by a star on the CIA wall during the June 7, 2010 ceremony. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
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“Never forget those that were killed.
And never let rest those that killed them.”
Marine Major Douglas Alexander Zembiec
aka
The Lion of Fallujah
Michael R. Gordon and Gen. Bernard E. Trainor first reported in their book, “The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama,” that Zembiec was working for the CIA when he was killed in Baghdad in 2007.
In July 2014, The Washington Post confirmed that information:
“Weeks after his death and his burial in Arlington National Cemetery, Pam and the rest of Doug Zembiec’s family were invited to a private ceremony in then-CIA Director Michael V. Hayden’s office on the seventh floor of headquarters in Langley. Hayden quietly thanked them for Zembiec’s service.”
According to Wikipedia:
“Shortly after his death, he was honored with a star on the CIA Memorial Wall, which remembers CIA employees who died while in service.”
Thomas Gibbons-Neff wrote:
“For 2007, there is a single, anonymous star. It belongs to Marine Maj. Douglas Alexander Zembiec.”
I never doubted that information. Nevertheless, no one ever stated when he was honored with a star? I came to the logical conclusion that Zembiec was honored during the June 7, 2010 ceremony. Let me explain.
During the 2007 CIA Memorial Ceremony, 4 new stars were added to the wall, bringing the total number to 87.
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 84 : James McGrath (October 24, 1927 – January 1957)
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 85 : Stephen Kasarda (c. 1930 – May 1 1960)
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 86 : Gregory R. Wright (June 29 1973 – December 7 2005)
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 87 : Rachel A. Dean (April 10 1981 – September 30 2006)
According to people interviewed:
“Later, the CIA’s next director, Leon E. Panetta, presented Pam Zembiec with the anonymous star that was subsequently chiseled into the Memorial Wall and inscribed into the Book of Honor.”
Leon Panetta served as the 3rd Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from February 13, 2009 to June 30, 2011.
If Leon E. Panetta indeed presented Pam Zembiec with the anonymous star, Zembiec cannot be one of the two stars added in 2008. [I believe that the two stars added in 2008 honor CIA employees who had died in 2008. I will explain why in a short update to this post.]
But Zembiec cannot be star 90 either as the 2009 CIA Press Release states that Star 90 is an employee killed in the line of duty last year, thus 2008. And Zembiec was killed on May 11, 2007. [I have already independently concluded that the sole star added in 2009 honors a CIA employee who had died in 2008. I will explain why in another short update to this post.]
The last ceremony attended by Director Panetta was held on May 23, 2011. No new star was added to the Wall.
On June 7, 2010, the CIA held its annual ceremony. Twelve stars were added to its Memorial Wall, which at the time commemorated the lives of 102 employees.
Seven of the 12 new stars honor those killed during the previous December in eastern Afghanistan.
The identity of the five other stars were not revealed. The 2010 Press Release reads:
“Five of the (12) new stars honor those who have died in recent years while engaged in clandestine assignments. Continuing operational sensitivities require that the details of their work remain classified.”
We therefore conclude that the only logical possibility is that Zembiec was honored by a star at the 2010 ceremony.
Indeed, the only 2007 star was added in 2010. Star 91 must be Zembiec’s star!
PS — Relying on this new piece of information, it becomes straightforward to solve the mystery of the four CIA operators who died on a spy mission during Tropical Storm Higos [September 2008].
Stay tuned!
“The agency’s unwillingness to inscribe the names of its anonymous stars in the Book of Honor, particularly those dead 20, 30, even 40 years, contributes to a perception, among some family members, that the CIA is an institution mired in bureaucracy, a vast machinery that finds it easiest to classify first and ask questions later — if ever.”
Ted Gup
Washington Post
(September 6, 1997)
REFERENCES
Douglas A. Zembiec — Wikipedia
Legendary Marine Maj. Zembiec, the ‘Lion of Fallujah,’ died in the service of the CIA By Thomas Gibbons-Neff – Washington Post (July 15, 2014)
CIA Honors Fallen Colleagues – CIA Press Release (June 7, 2010)
==
The CIA Book of Honor — Star 91 : Douglas Alexander Zembiec (April 14, 1973 — KIA May 11, 2007)
“Be a man of principle. Fight for what you believe in. Keep your word. Live with integrity. Be brave. Believe in something bigger than yourself. Serve your country. Teach. Mentor. Give something back to society. Lead from the front. Conquer your fears. Be a good friend. Be humble and be self-confident. Appreciate your friends and family. Be a leader and not a follower. Be valorous on the field of battle. And take responsibility for your actions. Never forget those that were killed. And never let rest those that killed them.”
Douglas Alexander Zembiec
Intel Today 