Meredith Thompson (12 August 1961 – 27 August 1994) was a special agent in the
Drug Enforcement Administration. She was killed in 1994, along with four other agents, during
Operation Snowcap when her plane crashed in Peru.
DEA Officer Down Memorial Page
Early life
Meredith Thompson was born in
Long Beach, California to Jack and Adelaide Thompson. She was the third of five children. Her father was an officer in the U.S. Navy and so they traveled around the country. She was raised in
Fairfax, Virginia. In Fairfax she went to Kings Park Elementary School. While in high school at
Robinson Secondary School she played for the women's basketball and softball teams.
Education
After high school Meredith went to the
University of South Carolina from 1981 to 1983. At USC she played varsity basketball and softball. She earned a degree in Criminal Justice.
Early DEA
After college Thompson worked as a security guard at a hotel in Fairfax for a year and a half.
On September 4, 1985 she joined the DEA and graduated from 40th DEA Basic Agent Class on
January 31, 1986. She was sent to
Columbia, South Carolina before being transferred to Miami in April 1986. While at Miami she got outstanding performance evaluations and was called a "tireless worker".
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Operation Snowcap
Meredith along with 14 other agents volunteered and were selected for Operation Snowcap. To meet the requirements for Op. Snowcap Meredith completed jungle training and six months of Spanish. She volunteered for two tours in Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
and one in Peru. After completing the tours in Bolivia she was sent to Peru. On Saturday, August 27, 1994 while she and four other agents were on a reconnaissance mission in an airplane, the plane crashed and all five agents were killed. The other special agents killed were Frank Fernandez, Jr., Jay W. Seale, Juan C. Vars, and Frank S. Wallace, Jr. The plane is thought to have crashed because of heavy fog in the mountainous area. Their bodies were recovered a day later and brought back to the U.S. The crash site is near Puerto Pisana, Peru.[
]
Dedication
Meredith's name is inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington D.C. There is also her name and picture on the "Wall of Honor" at the DEA headquarters in Pentagon City. At USC there is a "Meredith Thompson Criminal Justice Scholarship". Meredith's name is remembered in an annual golf tournament.
Meredith Thompson was posthumously awarded with the DEA Purple Heart Award
The DEA Purple Heart Award is an award given by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration to honor individuals who had lost their lives or been seriously injured enforcing the drug laws of the United States.
History
On January 5, 199 ...
. [https://museum.dea.gov/wall-honor/meredith-thompson]
References
Further reading
1. Dr. William Wilbanks
William Lee Wilbanks (May 30, 1940 - October 9, 2018) was an American criminologist and former professor of criminal justice at Florida International University.
Education
Wilbanks graduated from Belton High School in Belton, Texas in 1958. At B ...
, ''True Heroines: Police Women Killed in The Line of Duty Throughout The United States'', p. 182-184 (Turner Publishing Company: Paducah, Kentucky, 2000)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Meredith
1961 births
1994 deaths
Drug Enforcement Administration agents
University of South Carolina alumni