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Inside the FBI highlights news, cases, and people from around the Bureau—in audio form. For more information, visit fbi.gov.
[A musical track prominently featuring strings and with a serene mood begins.]
Narrator: We’ll never forget our fallen FBI Family members. And here at the Bureau, we take special care to remember the stories and honor the sacrifices of those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
These employees are recognized on the FBI’s Wall of Honor. This permanent memorial, located at FBI Headquarters, pays tribute to personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice while supporting the mission.
New names are added to the wall during National Police Week each May.
On this episode of our podcast, FBI Historian Dr. John Fox will share the story behind this solemn monument, and we’ll explain how you can learn more about the lives and careers of those it honors.
This is Inside the FBI.
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[A new musical track begins. It has a peaceful mood, and features strings and synthesizers. It repeats, in part, through the end of the episode.]
Dr. John Fox: The Wall of Honor is our way of recognizing those FBI personnel who have died in the line of duty, whether it's from adversarial action or connected to their official duties for the FBI.
Narrator: That’s Dr. Fox.
Dr. John Fox: And it's important to recognize their sacrifice.
Narrator: The first name that appears on the wall is Special Agent Edwin Shanahan, who was killed in the line of duty in 1925.
Fox: He was an agent who'd been in the Bureau several years. He was working an automobile theft case in Chicago, and he was surprised by the car thief who, rather than simply getting out of the car, got out of the car and started to shoot at him.
And although Shanahan got a shot or two off, he was fatally wounded and died soon after.
Narrator: Tragically, many other names followed.
Fox: We've had people die in plane crashes—whether traveling on official duty or transporting a prisoner. We've had people who've died [on] surveillance. We've had agents who were ambushed in police offices by someone else coming in and just starting to shoot.
And of course, we've added more than two dozen people since the 9/11 attacks because of those many diseases that our agents and other first responders across the United States are getting because of the heroic work they did in the aftermath.
Just as we recognize our soldiers and sailors and others who die in the line of duty for our country, recognizing those people who are willing to put their lives on the line to protect the lives and liberties of the American people is important.
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Fox: We don't know the exact year that the Wall of Honor was created. It happened in the early 1930s. It was a time when, at that point, we'd had several agents who had been killed in the line of duty.
And as a remembrance of their sacrifice, the FBI first installed a commemorative plaque listing their names and dates of death on the wall outside of J. Edgar Hoover's office at FBI Headquarters, which was then in the Department of Justice building. It was the place where most people would see it.
Narrator: The modern Wall of Honor lives in The FBI Experience at the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C. It features plaques with the names and birth and death dates of these fallen colleagues.
Fox: It also has pictures and other things that their families have shared with us so that we can tell more about who they were as a person and their service to the U.S. people through the FBI.
Narrator: You can also explore the wall online by visiting fbi.gov/wallofhonor.
There, you can view the names and photos of every fallen Bureau employee who is memorialized on the wall. You can also click into their individual entries and read their biographies to learn more about the legacies they left behind.
Lastly, you can visit fbi.gov/history to learn more about the people, world events, and investigations that have shaped the Bureau since its founding in 1908.
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Narrator: This has been another production of Inside the FBI.
You can follow us on your favorite podcast player, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. You can also listen to our show via the myFBI Dashboard ap p. Learn more at fbi.gov/dashboardapp.
And to subscribe to email alerts to learn more about new episodes, visit fbi.gov/podcasts.
On behalf of the FBI's Office of Public Affairs, thanks for tuning in.
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