12 June 2018

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

CIA added four stars to its Memorial Wall this year to commemorate four distinguished officers who can be known to the public not by their names or the circumstances of their deaths, which remain classified, but by a star.

During the ceremony, which occurred before the Memorial Wall, Director Haspel remembered the fallen, saying, “They live on in our thoughts and prayers and remain forever among our ranks—a constant source of pride, inspiration, and strength for those of us who carry on their mission.”

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 129 stars on the wall.

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