2 CIA officers killed in the line of duty

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) disclosed on Monday that two of its officers have died in the line of duty, but the circumstances surrounding their deaths remain classified, indicating that they worked undercover.

The deaths were disclosed as part of the agency’s annual memorial ceremony, which took place on Monday before the Memorial Wall at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The wall is emblazoned with stars to honor fallen officers.

“During the ceremony, CIA added two new stars to the Memorial Wall, commemorating exceptional officers whose legacies will live on and whose service must remain known to only a select few,” the agency said in a statement.

CIA Director William Burns attended the ceremony and presented the families of the most recently fallen officers with marble replicas of their loved ones’ stars.

“Each year, we gather in this sacred place to mourn and remember,” Burns said. “We look upon this Memorial Wall, etched with sacrifice, and honor those Agency officers who gave their lives in the service of our country.”

The CIA’s Memorial Wall was first dedicated in 1974 to honor 31 people who died in the line of duty since the agency’s founding in 1947. A memorial ceremony has taken place each year since 1987 to add new names to the wall, which now has 139 stars.

Four stars were added during last year’s ceremony. Though their names were not released, it may have included Michael Goodboe, a former Navy SEAL who worked for the CIA’s paramilitary unit. Goodboe died in a terrorist attack in Somalia in November 2020.