21 May 2019

Today, the Central Intelligence Agency held its annual Memorial Ceremony to remember, honor, and celebrate the courageous CIA officers who died serving their country.

This year, there are four new stars on the Memorial Wall, each commemorating a distinguished officer. Two of those stars honor officers whose names and contributions remain classified even after their deaths.

The other two stars honor Lieutenant John W. Creech and Daniel C. Dennett, Jr., who were on a mission to Addis Ababa when their plane crashed in bad weather. John and Daniel worked for the Central Intelligence Group (CIG)—the immediate predecessor to CIA.

In her remarks to those assembled before the Memorial Wall, Director Haspel said, “We honor the men and women of this Agency who perished in the line of duty. The cause to which they devoted their lives—the freedom and safety of Americans—endures.”

During the ceremony, Director Haspel presented the families of the four fallen officers with a marble replica of their loved one's star.

CIA’s Memorial Ceremony began in 1987 and is attended each year by hundreds of employees, retirees, and family members of the officers who died serving the CIA. In 1974, CIA dedicated the Memorial Wall with 31 stars to honor those who had fallen since the Agency’s founding in 1947. There are now 133 stars on the wall.

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