Matthew Kevin Gannon (August 11, 1954 – December 21, 1988) was a
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
officer who was killed in the bombing of
Pan Am Flight 103 over
Lockerbie,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
in 1988.
Gannon was an
Arabist who spent much of his career serving in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
. He married Susan Twetten, daughter of
Thomas Twetten (later Deputy Director of Operations at CIA). Matthew and Susan met while her father was Matthew's immediate supervisor.
He is buried at
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
and honored with a star on the
CIA Memorial Wall
The Memorial Wall is a memorial at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It honors CIA employees who died in the line of service.[Abdelbaset al-Megrahi
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi ( ar, عبد الباسط محمد علي المقرحي, ; 1 April 1952 – 20 May 2012) was a Libyan who was head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Tripoli, Li ...]
was convicted of 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing and was sentenced to life imprisonment; his co-accused,
Lamin Khalifah Fhimah
Lamin Khalifah Fhimah ( ar, الأمين خليفة فحيمة, ''al-Amīn Khalīfah Faḥīmah''; born 4 April 1956) is a former station manager for Libyan Arab Airlines at Luqa Airport, Malta. On 31 January 2001, he was acquitted of 270 cou ...
, was acquitted.
In May 2012, the CIA officially confirmed that Gannon was a CIA officer.
Diplomatic postings
* Yemen 1979
* Jordan 1981
* Syria 1984-1987
* Lebanon 1988
Bibliography
* Bainerman, J. The Crimes of a President. 1992 (205-6)
* Chasey, W. Pan Am 103: The Lockerbie Cover Up. 1995 (350)
* Covert Action Information Bulletin 1990-#34 (42)
* Geheim Magazine (Germany) 1988-#9 (33)
* Goddard, D. Coleman,L. Trail of the Octopus. 1993 (83, 85, 143)
* Gup, T. The Book of Honor. 2000 (311)
* Intelligence Newsletter (Paris) 1989-03-29 (1)
* Intelligence Newsletter (Paris) 1989-07-19 (5)
* Nair, K. Devil and His Dart. 1986 (119)
* Perry, M. Eclipse. 1992 (161-4, 167-70, 176-7)
* Thomas, K. Keith,J. The Octopus. 1996 (93)
* Time 1992-04-27 (31)
* Washington Times 1988-12-26 (A8)
* West, N. Games of Intelligence. 1990 (12)
References
External links
Remembering CIA's Heroes: Matthew Kevin Gannon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gannon, Matthew
1954 births
1988 deaths
Murdered CIA agents
People of the Central Intelligence Agency
Pan Am Flight 103 victims
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
American people murdered abroad
American terrorism victims
People murdered in Scotland
Deaths by improvised explosive device in the United Kingdom
1988 murders in the United Kingdom