I'm honored to
be with all of you today -- with Mayor Murphy; with Mr. Roddey and
Mr. Matter; with the family of Special Agent Martha Dixon whom we
honor today; with the former Director of the FBI and the dedicated
men and women of our Pittsburgh field office; and with our many other
special guests.
This is a proud moment for all of us the FBI. We are thrilled, of
course, to have this new building. This is exactly the kind of state-of-the-art
facility we need to do our jobs better -- to protect our cities,
to fight terrorism, to support our partners in local law enforcement,
and to handle the other responsibilities that are part and parcel
of our mission. So my thanks to everyone in the Oxford Development
Company and the city of Pittsburgh for making it reality. You've
done a great job.
I also want to thank and congratulate our team of Special Agents
and support staff here in Pittsburgh, led by the very capable and
professional Jack Shea. Historically, you've been leaders. Over
the years, you've pioneered the FBI's first high-tech computer crimes
task force and one of our first fugitive task forces, both of which
now stand as national models.
In just the eleven weeks I've been with the Bureau, I've seen you
do some exceptional work. Your investigation of United Airlines
Flight 93 was outstanding. So were your efforts to track down and
arrest a number of individuals with fraudulent HazMat licenses.
Now, with this new facility and with the new computer technologies
that we plan to give you and other field offices in the not-too-distant
future, I'm looking forward to seeing you shine even brighter in
the weeks, months, and years to come.
I want to commend you for naming this building for a dedicated and
courageous Agent -- Martha Dixon. I remember very clearly the day
that Martha and two of her colleagues were lost. I was in D.C. at
the time, and was deeply shocked and horrified that such a thing
could happen. It made me sad and angry, but also proud that we have
such brave men and women putting their lives on the line every day
to protect our precious freedom. As it turns out, less than a year
after that tragedy I took a job prosecuting homicide cases in the
U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia. I found myself
working closely with the same Cold Case Squad that Martha had been
part of, the team of FBI Agents and DC police that investigates
unsolved homicides. It's sad to think that I probably would have
gotten to know Martha, Special Agent Mike Miller, and Police Sergeant
Hank Daly had it not been for the events of November 22, 1994.
Little did I know then that we would be here today paying tribute
to Martha and feeling her loss as much as ever. Martha was an outstanding
Special Agent. She was smart, talented, and hardworking. She was
SWAT certified and trained in electronic surveillance. She did exceptional
work across a range of violent crime and drug investigations. And
on that dark day seven years ago when she came face to face with
danger, Martha was as strong and courageous as they come. She went
down fighting, making the ultimate sacrifice to protect her partners
in law enforcement. In both life and death, she epitomized the values
that the FBI stands for -- fidelity, bravery, and integrity. She
is a credit to this city, to the FBI, and to our nation. And we
are honored that this facility now bears her name, an enduring monument
to her legacy of service and sacrifice and an inspiration to us
all.
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