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Darren James LaBonte was married and had a daughter. The 35-year-old grew up in Connecticut. |
Family sheds light on CIA officer’s life
Operative was one of 7 killed at Afghan base
WASHINGTON — A last photo shows Darren James LaBonte on an all-terrain vehicle in Khost, Afghanistan, days before his death. He’s smiling.
Athlete, soldier, husband, father — and determined CIA officer.
LaBonte’s family had promised him they wouldn’t talk about his work. They kept that pledge as they mourned in private after he died along with six other CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer in the suicide bombing at a US base in Afghanistan in late December.
Even now, months after his burial, they will not detail the dangerous work he did for the agency. “We made that promise to him,’’ said LaBonte’s parents, David and Camille.
But his family did decide over Memorial Day to acknowledge that he was among the bombing victims — and they decided to tell the world a bit about the man behind the name.
All but two of the CIA employees killed in the blast had previously been identified publicly. That includes Harold Brown Jr. of Bolton, Mass.
The seventh victim, the agency’s chief of base, a 45-year-old mother of three and an Al Qaeda analyst, remains anonymous.
Indeed, anonymity is part of the trade-off for a career in intelligence. CIA families have grieved in silence for decades.
“It’s hard to understand,’’ said Ted Gup, author of “The Book of Honor: The Secret Lives and Deaths of CIA Operatives.’’ “It’s hard for our entire culture to grasp the nature of this sacrifice. We live in a culture of celebrity where what is not recognized doesn’t exist.’’
Spies, he added, “come out of a culture where what is recognized ceases to exist. The light is lethal.’’
The CIA would not discuss LaBonte, but his parents and wife agreed to shed some light about his death. And over the Memorial Day weekend, a historic B-17 plane dropped flowers over the Statue of Liberty in a tribute to the seven slain Americans.
LaBonte was 35 when he died, ending a career that included service in the military and a series of law enforcement jobs.
“He was a pretty talented guy,’’ said his father, who described the son as “intelligent, complex, and an incredible athlete.’’
LaBonte grew up in Connecticut. He played baseball and football at Brookfield High School. He turned down a shot at professional baseball with the
LaBonte earned the celebrated black and yellow Ranger patch and was assigned to First Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, one of the toughest units.
In 1999, LaBonte met his wife — Racheal — on a blind date to a Ranger ball in Savannah, Ga., where he was stationed. The following year, they married and he left the Army. But after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, LaBonte wanted to get back into the fight.
“He was hellbent on making this 9/11 thing right,’’ his father said. “That really affected him badly.’’
LaBonte decided not to reenlist in the Army, choosing to pursue an education and a career in law enforcement. He graduated from Columbia College of Missouri and received a master’s degree in May 2006 from Boston University, where he studied criminal justice.
He worked as a police officer in Libertyville, Ill., and as a US marshal before joining the FBI. He moved to the CIA in 2006.
His parents declined to discuss what he did for the agency. “I don’t think he feared death,’’ David LaBonte said. “He faced it.’’
“He was a Spartan,’’ his wife said. “He had to do these things. I respected him and honored him.’’
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.
