Memorandum

DATE:             September 11, 2012
TO:                 All Lockheed Martin Employees    
FROM:            Bob Stevens, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
                      Chris Kubasik, Vice Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer
 
SUBJECT:      Honoring the Service and Sacrifice of Six of Our Own

In the 11 years since the tragedy of September 11, 2001, which will forever be in our memories, we have seen the enduring strength of the American spirit.  We have also been reminded that living in liberty requires vigilance, service and sacrifice.  The men and women of U.S. and allied forces have stepped forward time and again to protect that liberty, often at great personal risk and sometimes sacrificing everything.

Many of our colleagues are equally engaged in the mission of protecting our freedom.  They have stepped forward into harm’s way to work side-by-side with the courageous troops serving on the front lines.  Sadly, in some cases, they too have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Today, we will dedicate a memorial to six colleagues who gave “the last full measure of devotion” in the fight for our freedom.  Our “We Never Forget” memorial wall, located in the Center for Leadership Excellence in Bethesda, Md., will be a lasting tribute to their service and sacrifice.  Being honored are:

• Robert “Bob” Ploger III, who died with his wife, Zandra, on September 11, 2001, when terrorists crashed the plane they were on into the Pentagon.
• Paul M. Johnson, Jr., who was killed by terrorist abductors on June 18, 2004, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Geraldine Marquez, who died February 27, 2007, when a suicide bomber detonated near her post at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.
• Santa Gracia Ramirez, who was killed when a suicide bomber attacked her convoy near Kabul, Afghanistan, on June 28, 2007.
• Teofilo Evans and Sidney Hanspard, who died in a rocket attack on April 28, 2011, at a forward-operating base in Afghanistan.

We’ve invited their families and friends, the survivors of those attacks, and employees in the area to join us for a special dedication ceremony this afternoon where we’ll celebrate the American spirit and honor six of our own … six patriots … who served others in the cause of freedom.  We’ll ask attendees to observe a moment of silence during the ceremony, and we would ask you – wherever you are – to observe a moment of silence sometime today, too.

Thank you for the work you do every day in support of our freedom.  Your steadfast dedication to our mission is the greatest tribute we can pay to our fallen colleagues.  With their names engraved in stone and their memories etched in our hearts, we will never forget them.