Uniformed personnel stood at attention May 16 as agents and officers escorted the families and loved ones of each of CBP’s fallen heroes honored this year at the CBP Valor Memorial and Wreath Laying Ceremony in the Woodrow Wilson Plaza outside CBP headquarters in Washington, D.C.
CBP honored 11 employees – seven from recent years and four from the agency’s earliest years – lost in the line of duty and added their names to the Valor Memorial. CBP gathers annually during National Police Week to honor the now 369 agents and officers of CBP and its legacy agencies who died in previous years while protecting the U.S. and its citizens.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Secretary Kristie Canegallo, and CBP Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner Troy A. Miller addressed attendees during the ceremony.
“‘Never forget’ is more than a mantra for us,” Miller said. “It’s a sacred promise. That’s why we’re always working to collect new information about line of duty deaths — as research uncovers details we thought were lost to history. Sometimes this leads to individual cases being recategorized as line of duty deaths.”
Miller added that CBP’s Valor Memorial Ceremony also recognizes the families, friends, and colleagues who mourn them and that it should also serve as a reminder of their lives of service and a reminder of the service the approximately 60,000 CBP employees continue to display.
CBP honored the following employees lost in the line of duty.
CBP Officer Edgard Garcia
CBP Officer Mario C. Di Chiara
Deputy Director, Air Operations Scott D. Ritchey
Supervisory CBP Officer Jacqueline Montanaro
Aviation Enforcement Agent Esteban G. Peña
Agriculture Specialist Anna M. Burakowski
Border Patrol Agent Freddy Ortiz
This year, CBP honored four individuals whose deaths were recently recognized as in the line of duty. They are:
U.S. Customs Inspector Peleg Palmer
U.S. Customs Officer Kuntz Stahlberger
U.S. Customs Officer Patrick Black
USBP Patrol Inspector Orin Hush
