“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
June 5, 2024 — In a recent post, I concluded that the only logical possibility is that Marine Maj. Douglas Alexander Zembiec was honored by a star at the 2010 ceremony. 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]. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
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“As Tropical Storm Higos [September 2008] blew in from the Pacific, Stephen Stanek, a covert CIA operative, faced a decision. It was time to either cancel the operation he was running or go forward with it. The storm was barreling through the Philippines but was then projected to veer north and miss their area of operation.”
The CIA sent a team of 4 operators on a spy mission targeting China. None came back.
Yahoo News
(September 19 2020)
In September 2020, Yahoo News revealed the names of 4 CIA officers who died in a September 2008 during a clandestine mission. According to the story: “In 2008, six anonymous stars were added to the wall. Four of them belong to Stephen Stanek, Michael Perich, Jamie McCormick and Daniel Meeks.”
This information is obviously not true as only two stars were added to the wall in 2008. Yahoo News has reported very good stories about the CIA in the past and I have no reason to doubt this new scoop. But the question remains: When were these four men honored by a star on the CIA wall? Obviously, it must have been after September 2008 but before September 2020. Let us take a good look at the timeline!
TIMELINE
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)
On June 2, 2008, the CIA held its annual ceremony. The Press Release reads: “The Central Intelligence Agency this morning paid tribute to 89 colleagues lost in the line of duty. (…) Two employees represented by new stars were killed in the past year while conducting missions in the war zones.
“Two stars were added in late May 2008. They represent operations officers who lost their lives in the line of duty this year.”
CIA historian Nicholas Dujmovic
Amnesia to Anamnesis.
Commemoration of the Dead at CIA.
On June 1, 2009, the CIA held its annual ceremony. One star was added to the wall, bringing the total to 90. The identity of the star, the time and circumstances of the death were not revealed.
The Press Release reads:
“The Central Intelligence Agency, which recently added a 90th star to the Memorial Wall in its headquarters building, today commemorated the exceptional service and ultimate sacrifice of all employees lost in the line of duty.
Director Leon Panetta also paid tribute to an employee killed in the line of duty last year — CIA’s 90th star. Due to continuing operational sensitivities, neither the name of the employee nor details of his work can be made public.”
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 have concluded that the only logical possibility is that Zembiec was honored by a star at the 2010 ceremony. Indeed, we know that the only 2007 star was added in 2010. Star 91 must be Zembiec’s star! And FOUR STARS remain classified. But I have already concluded that these four person died in 2008.
No star was added to the wall in 2011. On May 22 2012, 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. One star was added to the Memorial Wall.
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 103 : Jeffrey R. Patneau [Yemen — September 29 2008]
On May 20, 2013, four new stars were added to the Memorial Wall. No information was revealed. There were then 107 stars.
Interestingly, the text delivered by CIA Director Brennan at the ceremony was approved for release in August 2020.
Although the 10-pages document is heavily redacted (six pages are fully blanked), it reveals some useful information. The first paragraph reads:
“Good morning, and welcome everyone. We are gathered here this morning to honor 107 extraordinary women and men from throughout our Agency’s history beloved colleagues who will inspire us forever with their unsurpassable devotion to duty and country. We also celebrate the lives of the four men whose stars were added to our Memorial Wall in the past year: Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, [REDACTED] [REDACTED].”
Obviously, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods are two of the four stars initially classified. Both men died in Benghazi on September 12, 2012.
On May 19, 2014, 4 new stars (111) were added to the wall, including one honoring the memory of a CIA officer who committed suicide.
RELATED POST: CIA Memorial Wall — The Mysterious Star : Ranya Abdelsayed (April 28 1979 – August 28 2013)
On May 18 2015, 2 new stars (113) were added, including Nathan Chapman who died on January 4, 2002 in Afghanistan.
During the May 2016 CIA Memorial Ceremony, 4 new stars (117) were carved in the memorial wall.
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 114 : James “Pete” McCarthy
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 115 : Marcell Rene Gough (1965)
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 116 : Ksawery “Bill” Wyrozemski (1967)
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 117 : Charles Mayer (1968)
In May 2017, 8 new stars (125) were added to the wall.
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Stars 118, 119 & 120 : David W. Bevan, Darrell A. Eubanks, and John S. Lewis
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Star 121 : Mark S. Rausenberger (November 7, 1967 – May 23, 2016)
Although 4 stars were classified, Brian R. Hoke (October 21 2016), Nathaniel P. Delemarre (ca. October 21 2016), and George A. Whitney (December 2016) are know to have been honored at the ceremony.
“Next month, we’ll dedicate four new stars on our Memorial Wall to honor colleagues lost in the line of duty. Each one was a current or former member of the military who embodied the very best of our nation.”
Gina C. Haspel (28 May 2018)
On June 12, 2018, 4 stars were added to the wall. They honored three members of the 5th Special Forces Group who were training Syrian rebels in Jordan, when they were shot and killed on November 4, 2016. The fourth star honors George A. Whitney, who was killed in the Jalalabad area of Afghanistan in December 2016.
In May 2019, 4 new stars (133) were carved, and two of these stars were revealed to the public.
RELATED POST: The CIA Book of Honor — Stars 130 & 131 : Daniel Dennett and John Creech [Ethiopia — March 20, 1947]
Finally, on May 25, 2021, the CIA dedicated four new stars on its Memorial Wall, bringing the total to 137. Thus we can infer that no stars were added in 2020.
CONCLUSION
Stephen Stanek, Michael Perich, Jamie McCormick, and Daniel Meeks died on September 28, 2008, when their 40-foot vessel was hit by Tropical Storm Higos in the South China Sea. (I should point out that their bodies were never found. Some relatives believe that they could be alive and held prisoners.)
Based on the above timeline, these four men must have been honored during the 2010 CIA annual ceremony as it is the only plausible date.
In September 2021, The Washington Post reported that CIA had removed its Vienna station chief following criticism of his management, including what some considered an inadequate response to reports of “Havana syndrome” incidents at the U.S. Embassy. The person sacked is regarded as responsible for the disaster that cost the lives of Stanek, Perich, McCormick, and Meeks, as he put pressure on the team despite foreknowledge of the tropical storm.
REFERENCES
The CIA sent a team of 4 operators on a spy mission targeting China. None came back. — Yahoo News (September 19 2020)
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CIA Annual Ceremony — The Mystery of the Higos Four [And a surprising link to Havana Syndrome]
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“There have been only two kinds of CIA secret operations: the ones that are widely known to have failed—usually because of almost unbelievably crude errors—and the ones that are not yet widely known to have failed.”
Edward Luttwak
Intel Today 