View a slideshow of the Border Patrol memorial
By Stephanie Sanchez
El Paso Times
EL PASO, Texas — Chief Border Patrol Agent Victor M. Manjarrez Jr. thinks about the day he had to tell an agent’s parents their son had died in the line of duty.
The emotions that came with delivering that news were uprooted Wednesday, as he honored the fallen agent and others who have died on the job.
Since the Border Patrol’s inception in 1924, a total of 104 agents nationwide have died while performing their duties. Two agents, Luis “Louie” Aguilar Jr. and Jarod Dittman, were killed last year.
All of the fallen agents were remembered during the annual Memorial Observance ceremony at the National Border Patrol Museum. The service comes days before Memorial Day, which commemorates men and women who have died in military service to their country.
Manjarrez, of the El Paso sector, said the Border Patrol’s ceremony ensures that those agents who have made the ultimate sacrifice are not forgotten. With each passing year, he said, he hoped pain eased for families of fallen agents.
“I know it’s tough. It brings back painful memories. I only hope over time those painful memories are softened a little,” he said. “They will never go away. I know that. But they’re softened a little and replaced with the fond memories of friends that meet here on these days.”
Manjarrez said he would never forget meeting with Aguilar’s parents to tell them their son was dead.
“I remember very clearly that day, January 19, 2008. It was a Saturday afternoon. ... It’s burned in my memory.”
Aguilar’s father Luis Aguilar Sr., who was sitting in the audience, held a red rose and slightly pulled his head back, as if trying to hold back tears. His son’s wife, Erica Aguilar, and children, Louie and Arianna, wore child-size Border Patrol uniforms.
Luis Aguilar Jr., a senior agent with the Yuma, Ariz., sector, died when he attempted to stop a smuggling suspect who had illegally entered the country from Mexico near Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. The agent was trying to place tire spikes in the path of two vehicles when one driven by a smuggling suspect hit and killed him.
Luis Aguilar Sr. said it seemed like just yesterday his son was killed.
“There’s no closure, I know for a fact. We miss him today as much as we did from day one,” he said. “Nothing has changed. We grieve every day for him. He was our baby.”
Luis Aguilar Jr., 32, was an El Paso native who graduated from El Paso High School. He became a Border Patrol agent in 2002 and was assigned to the Yuma sector. His brother, Marco Antonio Aguilar, is a senior Border Patrol agent with the Tucson sector.
Dittman died after being thrown from his patrol car in a crash in San Diego on March 30, 2008. He had been an agent for a year and previously served in the Pennsylvania National Guard.
Copyright 2009 El Paso Times