“David Lee Konzelman was a bright, confident, and engaging young CIA officer working in one of the most complicated and dangerous areas in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. He died on October 24, 1971, from injuries suffered several weeks earlier, when a phosphorus grenade exploded in his hand. He is one of the original 31 stars on the CIA Memorial Wall.”

“Currently, there are 117 stars carved into the marble of the CIA Memorial Wall. The wall stands as a silent, simple memorial to those employees who gave their lives in the service of their country.” Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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“The CIA has released the names of 84 employees; the names of the remaining 33 officers must remain secret, even in death.”

David Lee Konzelman

Dave joined the Agency in 1963 as a 22-year-old document analyst. He was assigned to the Records Integration Division in the Directorate of Plans (DDP)—today’s Directorate of Operations. He remained a document analyst during his first three years at the Agency. His job involved reviewing field operational correspondence, primarily in support of the Central European Division in the DDP.

“I heard one day that one of our local operations had gone awry, that a helicopter had been forced to make an emergency landing, hurting someone in the process. It turned out to be much worse than that. Dave had been horribly burned by a white phosphorous grenade. It was a windy day, and the helicopter pilot had apparently requested that a smoke grenade be thrown to show him wind direction as he landed in a small area. A white phosphorous grenade had been used by mistake.”

Severely injured with burns over more than 45 percent of his body, Dave was medically evacuated to the Army’s burn treatment center at Brooke Army General Hospital in Texas. The staff who treated Dave remarked often on his amazing courage and his repeated expressions of gratitude to those seeking to ease his pain. [CIA News & Information]