Ed Seitz, Special Agent of the Diplomatic Security Service, killed in Iraq this morning.
Ed was a former officer of the Cleveland Police Department and was assigned to the Diplomatic Security Service's Chicago Field Office.


Special Agent Killed in Iraq

U.S. Diplomat Killed in Iraq Attack
Sunday, October 24, 2004

Ed Seitz, an agent with the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, was killed about 5 a.m. at Camp Victory, embassy spokesman Bob Callahan said. Camp Victory is the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition's ground forces command.

An undetermined number of people were injured in the attack but none with life-threatening injuries, Callahan said.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is on a tour of Asia, said, "The Department of State and I mourn the loss of one of our own today in Baghdad."

"Ed was a brave American, dedicated to his country and to a brighter future for the people of Iraq," Powell said. "Ed's death is a tragic loss for me personally, and for all of his colleagues at the Department of State."

"Ed Seitz died in the service of his country and for the cause of liberty and freedom for others. There is no more noble a sacrifice."

In Memoriam: Edward J. Seitz
Edward J. Seitz, 41, a special agent with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, was tragically killed in Baghdad on October 24, 2004, in a mortar attack at Camp Victory.

Ed joined the Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security in June 1988. He spent his first tour as a special agent at the Washington Field Office. From 1989–1990, he served as a diplomatic courier at the Washington Regional Diplomatic Courier Office.

Ed went to the Chicago Field Office early in 1990. He transferred to the Detroit Resident Agent Office in late 1991.

Ed became Assistant Regional Security Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, in 1994. He returned to the Chicago Field Office in 1996. Following this tour, Ed was the Bureau of Diplomatic Security's representative to the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Denver from 1998–1999.

He then served as the Regional Security Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Shenyang, China, from 1999–2000.

Ed represented Diplomatic Security on the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Detroit from 2000–2004. In July 2004, he became Assistant Regional Security Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

During Ed’s career he received numerous awards, including a group superior honor award for his efforts in response to the terrorist bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi (1999), a group meritorious honor award for his work on the protective detail for Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (1997), and a meritorious service increase for outstanding performance as a diplomatic courier (1990).

Ed was born in Parma, Ohio. He attended Holy Name High School in Cleveland, and graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. Prior to joining the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Ed was a police officer for the Cleveland Heights Police Department and the East Cleveland Police Department.

During his 16-year career with Diplomatic Security, Ed was an outstanding agent, and we shall all remember his honor, courage, selflessness, dedication to duty, and his sacrifice.

He is survived by his wife, his parents, and one brother.

Notice of Arrangements for Special Agent Ed Seitz.