“The fifth paragraph seems to be a yet-undefined system that may require an unusual plain-text key. This part may be unbreakable.”
CIA KRYPTOS
Sculpture Study Group
NSA Memorandum
18 November 1991
July 14, 2026 — A Very Special Post for Our 10th Anniversary — Over the last three decades, I have devoted much time to several distinct stories: the CIA Memorial Wall (and the associated Book of Honor), the KRYPTOS sculpture, and the Lockerbie tragedy. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that these stories would one day converge. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
RELATED POST : Lockerbie 30th Anniversary — PT/35(b) : MEBO TELECOM and the Story of the MST-13 Timers
RELATED POST : CIA Annual Ceremony — 50th Anniversary of the Memorial Wall (May 17, 2024) [UPDATE — Earliest known photo of the CIA Memorial Wall]
This article is the third installment in our series. Readers may benefit from reviewing the previous articles for a better understanding of the topics discussed here.
RELATED POST : The Holy Grail — The CIA Wall, The KRYPTOS Sculpture, & The Lockerbie Tragedy
“Chance favors the prepared mind.”
Louis Pasteur
In our last post, we concluded that six stars were added to the Memorial Wall between 1985 and January 1994, including the two commemorating Bennett and Darling.
And we know that the four missing stars must be among the following fourteen:
1993 — Freddie Woodruff
1984 — One officer whose identity remains classified
1987 — Richard D. Krobock
1988 — Matthew K. Gannon
1989 — Eight stars: Robert W. Woods, six officers killed in Angola, and one officer whose identity remains classified
1992 — Barry S. Castiglione and Lawrence N. Freedman
However, without additional information, we cannot make further progress. Strangely enough, the next clue comes from Kryptos, the iconic sculpture by American artist Jim Sanborn on the grounds of Central Intelligence Agency Headquarters.
A NSA Memo about Kryptos written by George C. Dalmas (dated 18 Nov. 1991) suggests a connection with the Book of Honor!
And this NSA document — sent to KRYPTOS amateurs — provides a very rare information.
At that time of this Memo, the Book of Honor had 53 names (23 disclosed) and a simple comparison with the 1984 version implies that the 3 stars added since the 1987 ceremony are:
1984 — One officer whose identity remains classified
1985 — Richard D. Krobock
1988 — Matthew K. Gannon
Therefore, these three stars are necessarily stars 51, 52, and 53. Of course, I can not assert that they were added in that specific order, but logic and chronology strongly suggest that they were.
About Matthew Gannon
Gannon’s father-in-law, Tom Twetten, was Director of Covert Operations at the CIA during the infamous disinformation campaign targeting Qaddafi.
This campaign began with the infamous Fuller Memorandum (May 17, 1985) and was finally exposed by Bob Woodward on October 2, 1986.
Graham Fuller suggests that it would be wise to use Libya as a geopolitical punching bag (Nothing to fear and nothing to lose) while playing nice with the Iranian Ayatollah.
“The study was instrumental in persuading some top-ranking Reagan Administration policy makers to begin considering covert contacts with Iranian leaders. It eventually led to the covert sale of United States weapons to Tehran in what became the Iran-contra affair.” [New York Time, 15 February 1988]
RELATED POST : On This Day — Gaddafi Target of U.S. Disinformation (October 2 1986 — Bob Woodward) [Disinformation Goes Mainstream]
Tom Twetten was the architect of the CIA plan for the airstrikes on Tripoli on April 14, 1986.
The mysterious Swiss timer that allowed investigators to link Lockerbie to Libya appeared under highly suspicious circumstances during a coup in Togo on September 23, 1986.
During the Lockerbie trial, Tom Twetten told CBS News that he had “assured himself the two Libyans on trial were the right guys.”
Although he was speaking in cloak-and-dagger parlance, Tom Twetten came close to admitting that he had indeed framed those two Libyans.
As a wise man noted long ago, the CIA does not look for a culprit. They pick their most suitable villain.
REFERENCES
Bob Woodward. Gadhafi Target of Secret U.S. Deception Plan. Washington Post. October 2, 1986
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The Holy Grail — The CIA Memorial Wall, the KRYPTOS Sculpture, & the Lockerbie Tragedy — Part III: Hitting the Jackpot — NSA MEMO to Crypto Amateurs
“The government’s secrecy can’t close off my mind.The last time [I called Susan Gannon], I was accused of opening my mouth too much.”
Beulah McKee
Mother of Major Charles Dennis McKee
Intel Today 