16-03-2025
Deseret News archives: CIA boss William Buckley taken by Hezbollah in 1984
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On March 16, 1984, William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, was kidnapped by Hezbollah militants; he would be tortured by his captors and killed in 1985. In the Deseret News' story of the day, Buckley was listed as an American diplomat.
One year later to the day, Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson was kidnapped in Beirut by Hezbollah militants; he would spend nearly seven years in captivity before being freed in December 1991.
One man made it home, the other did not.
Per Deseret News investigative reporters Jack Anderson and Dale Van Atta, Buckley was seized by three gunmen as he headed for his office in the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. The most reliable intelligence now places his death about Oct. 4, 1985. But not until the following Dec. 5 was the CIA certain he was dead.
'We broke the news on Dec. 13, 1985, reporting that Buckley was the victim of savage torture that had induced a heart attack. The CIA, paralyzed by this unprecedented capture and abuse of one of its key officials, could not decide how to respond. So CIA officials denied our story.
'The following February, President Reagan admitted to us, off the record, that Buckley was dead. But it was a full year after we broke the story that his death was publicly acknowledged, and the CIA has continued to suppress the details,' the pair reported.
In reality, even today, little is known about Buckley, what information he gave up to his captors and about CIA activities.
At CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, the Memorial Wall is located in the Original Headquarters Building lobby on the north wall. There are 140 stars carved into the marble wall, representing CIA employees who have died in the line of duty.
In front of the wall is a glass-encased 'Book of Honor.' It lists the names of 106 officers who died while serving their country. The names of the remaining 34 officers must remain secret, even in death; each of these officers is remembered in the book by a star. This wall memorializes those men and women who served and sacrificed in silence.
Here are some Deseret News articles about Buckley, the CIA and its operatives and how it acknowledges its own:
'CIA official tortured to death, gave secrets'
'CIA remembers fallen covert operatives'
'CIA officers marks death of spy with rare request'
'Higgins' body flown back to base in U.S.'
'Veil of secrecy shrouding dead CIA officer lifted'
'CIA defector dies in Moscow'
'CIA has a brutal history of assassination attempts'
'Former CIA officer shares tools, tricks to protect self, family in 'Spy Secrets''
