“We never take for granted the safety of our people, and we go to great lengths to prepare for every eventuality. But danger is part of the job, and it has never deterred us from our vital mission…From our very first operation, CIA has never shied away from the difficult, the demanding, or the dangerous.”
CIA Director Bill Burns
May 17, 2024
May 20 2024 — On May 17, 2024, the Central Intelligence Agency held its annual ceremony to remember, honor, and celebrate courageous CIA officers who died serving their country. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the CIA wall, which was carved in July 1974. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
RELATED POST : CIA Memorial Wall — How many CIA officers died during Trump’s Presidency? [Disinformation]
RELATED POST : CIA Memorial Wall — The powerful ending of “13 HOURS” [‘Powerful end scene’ is DEAD WRONG]
RELATED POST : CIA Honors its Fallen in Annual Memorial Ceremony (May 23 2023)
“Fifty years ago, #CIA created the Memorial Wall to honor its fallen heroes. Today, CIA remembered 140 lives lost in service to their country during the annual Memorial Ceremony.”
CIA Facebook
May 17, 2024
The wall currently bears 140 hand-carved stars, each representing a fallen officer. No new stars were added to the wall this year.
My readers will not be surprised. Although, there is credible RUMINT that several CIA employees have been killed in Ukraine over the last twelve months, I did not expect the CIA to honor their memory with an anonymous star on the wall.
The Press release reads:
“At the time of the Memorial Wall’s dedication in 1974, it bore 31 stars. CIA began holding the Memorial Ceremony in 1987 and started the tradition of inviting families of fallen officers to the ceremony in 1990. The practice of reading fallen officers’ names aloud began in 1995.
Today the Memorial Wall is an important part of CIA’s culture. New officers take the oath of office in front of the wall, and stories of the fallen officers inspire and instruct officers throughout their careers.”
I would like to point out a small but important correction. The title of the Press Release [CIA Honors Fallen Officers in Annual Ceremony Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Memorial Wall’s Dedication] is dead wrong!
In July 1974, Harold Vogel carved the CIA Memorial Wall. There was no Memorial Wall’s dedication!
“If you know your history, then you would know where you coming from, then you wouldn’t have to ask me, who the heck do I think I am.”
Bob Marley
No pictures were taken. In fact, I have never seen a picture of the original wall with 31 stars. As a CIA historian would recall: “Thirty-one stars just appeared on the wall.”
Nowadays, the CIA Memorial Wall has become the symbol of the institution, and the power of this symbol has not been lost on either US presidents or Hollywood filmmakers. However, the powerful symbolism attached to the CIA Memorial Wall is a very recent tradition.
CIA officers had long suggested the idea of a memorial to honor the memory of their colleagues who had died in Southeast Asia. In the early 1970s, the CIA was fighting for its survival as a wave of great scandals (Watergate, Family Jewels, etc.) were revealed to the American public, and two committees (the Church Committee, led by Senator Frank Church, and the Pike Committee, led by Representative Otis Pike) began to investigate the agency. In this very tense environment, the CIA director probably accepted the idea of a memorial, hoping that it would improve morale and public image. Of course, there was also likely a genuine desire within the agency to acknowledge the bravery and sacrifices of its personnel. But it is certainly not accidental that the decision was made during a period when the agency was under intense public scrutiny. The hypothesis that the memorial was built for public consumption is supported by the fact that there was no dedication ceremony of the CIA wall in 1974. Interestingly, the ritual of an annual ceremony began in 1987, when the American people discovered with horror the most incredible scandal in modern US history: the Iran-Contra affair. This timing can hardly be considered another coincidence. Fool me once, shame one you. Fool me twice…
The symbolism of the Memorial Wall was born when George W. Bush visited the CIA on September 26, 2001, just 15 days after the 9/11 attacks, to voice confidence in George Tenet’s abilities when many critics, including U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Richard Shelby, questioned his competence.
Speaking in front of the Memorial Wall, Bush stated:
“George and I have been spending a lot of quality time together. There’s a reason. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him and I’ve got a lot of confidence in the CIA. And so should America.”
And the rest is History… During the run-up to the Iraq war, Tenet issued his notorious “slam dunk” line regarding the intelligence on Saddam Hussein’s supposed weapons of mass destruction. It remains a matter of debate whether the error was the result of politicization or of sincere, if equally damaging, misjudgment. The reader has probably a strong opinion regarding this question…
“The folks who conducted to act on our country on September 11th made a big mistake. (…) They misunderestimated the will and determination of the Commander-in-Chief.”
President George W. Bush
Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters
September 26, 2001
Since that day, every US president has spoken at least once in front of the Memorial Wall. During the Cold War, not one president ever did so… When they visited the CIA Headquarters, they spoke in the auditorium or even outside the building (on the steps of the main entrance).
Interestingly, the CIA Memorial Wall was first depicted in the Hollywood movie “The Recruit,” which was released around the same time (2003).
The film stars Al Pacino and Colin Farrell. In the movie, the Memorial Wall appears in scenes set at the CIA headquarters, providing a backdrop that emphasizes the serious and often perilous nature of the work done by CIA officers.
In recent years, the CIA Memorial has appeared in many Hollywood movies. [“Homeland,” season 3, episode 12, “The Star.” (2013); Covert Affairs, season 2, Episode 9, “Sad Professor,” (2011)]
These movies quite often provide the viewers with incorrect information. For instance, as I have explained, the final scene of the movie “13 Hours” is dead wrong!
The wall shown in the end scene of “13 Hours” has 83 stars. Thus, this is a picture of the wall taken in 2004 after three stars were added to honor Gregg Wenzel (Star 81 –July 9, 2003 – Ethiopia), Christopher Glenn Mueller (Star 82 – October 25 2003 – Afghanistan), and William “Chief” Carlson (Star 83 – October 25 2003 – Afghanistan).
Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods died in Benghazi on September 12, 2012. Their stars were added to the CIA wall prior to the 2013 ceremony.
Quiz Time — Can you guess which presidency was the less dangerous for CIA officers? Which one was the deadliest? And finally, who was the first president ever to organize a press conference in front of the CIA memorial wall? The answers to these questions would probably surprise you!
REFERENCES
CIA Honors Fallen Officers in Annual Ceremony Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Memorial Wall’s Dedication — CIA Website
=
CIA Annual Ceremony — 50th Anniversary of the Memorial Wall (May 17, 2024)
“Keep in mind that approving a new star on the wall is very much a political decision. According to well-informed sources, a dozen of CIA officers/contractors have died in Ukraine in recent months.
Will the CIA honor their memory during the next ceremony which will also mark the 50th anniversary of the Memorial Wall? Don’t bet on it just yet…”
Intel Today
April 18, 2024
Intel Today 