This Week in USBP History, Vol. 22

January 30 - February 5

Good morning,
Enjoy this week’s update.  As a reminder, this email is full of links to follow and explore.  The majority of the links lead to HonorFirst pages or the historical source documents.  My signature block has additional links that I think you may find interesting. 

Have a great week!
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Esprit de Corps - (source page here)
The workplace climate resulting from a combination of organizational pride and employee morale. 

• Organizational pride is the positive feeling experienced by employees from being part of a meaningful team that is rich in history, tradition and culture. 
• Employee morale is the feeling experienced by employees based in part on their perception of being valued by the organization, fairly compensated and performing meaningful work.  

Esprit de corps is reinforced through the shared goals, mission and values of the organization and its employees.
The definition turns Esprit de Corps into a simple formula and defines parts that comprise organizational pride and employee morale.  
Esprit de Corps = Organizational Pride + Employee Morale
Esprit de Corps is the key to a healthy organization and engaged employees.
Honor First is foundational to the Border Patrol's organizational pride and integral to its Esprit de Corps.

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USBP History
1918

• This document, written on February 5, 1918, by Father and future Chief of the Border Patrol, Frank Berkshire provides a 10-page summary of the status of the border.  He writes about the main areas from the Gulf of Mexico to California.

1926

• This February 2, 1926, document contains a photograph of an early snowmobile that was in use in Newport, Vermont.

1929

• On February 4, 1929, Assistant Superintendent Antonio Bonazzi of the Montreal District would write a memo that is full of interesting information. 
  • The district was HQ’s in Canada.
  • As a reminder, with the passage of GO61 in 1926, an Assistant Superintendent was the highest-ranking uniformed position in the Border Patrol. See the insignia here.
  • The first person rated in the document is Willard Kelly who would be Chief of the Border Patrol 1933-1943.  Kelly would become the first Chief to have first been a Border Patrol Inspector.  Here is his June 21, 1924, Oath of Office. 
  • As a clear demonstration of Immigration Service hierarchy, an employee would be promoted from a Border Patrol Inspector to an Immigrant Inspector.

1939

• On January 31, 1939, in response to a request from the Central Office (HQ) to send an inventory of all badges and cap insignia, two districts completed their reports; the Seattle District and the St. Paul District.  The San Antonio District would complete their report on February 3rd.
  • I find it very interesting to see that sub-districts (sectors) only contained 3 official positions: Chief Patrol Inspector (CPI), Senior Patrol Inspector (SPI) and Border Patrol Inspector (BPI).  Only one position between a CPI and a BPI.  Fast-forward to today, how many positions are between a CPA and a BPA?

1941

• This February 1, 1941, memorandum discusses constructing a new HQ building in El Paso, replacing Camp Chigas.  The new El Paso HQ would be constructed in the mid-1950’s.  However, with the change in the border with the Chamizal Treaty construction, that building is now located in Mexico.

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Newton-Azrak Award Actions 
(Follow this link to see examples of USBP employees Upholding Honor First)

• An organization’s values are codified in its awards system. Recognizing the achievements, service and heroism of employees is important.  It is critical for those in positions of leadership to value the workforce.  Awards are a fundamental manner for leaders to demonstrate appreciation to the workforce for upholding the organizational values. – U.S. Border Patrol Honorary Awards

There are no known Newton-Azrak Award anniversaries for the week.

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USBP Fallen 
As of December 8, 2021, the U.S. Border Patrol has suffered 151* fallen.
Titles

• 3 Mounted Watchmen fell before 1924 and are carried as Border Patrol fallen
• 48 Border Patrol Inspectors fell between 1924 and 1970
• 99 Border Patrol Agents have fallen since 1970
• 1 Enforcement Analysis Specialist

The names that appear below hold a place of honor. They have made the ultimate sacrifice in an effort to fulfill the oath each officer took to protect and defend the United States of America.
 
The facts regarding each officer are presented without major editing of the "language of the day" found in the reports detailing the circumstances of each event. This is done to provide the reader an association with historical timeframes.

Employees who died in the line of duty due to being exposed to deadly illnesses will not have the cause of death listed.

*With the exception of two of the fallen immediately below, all names are listed (or in the process of being included) on the official Honor Roll of U.S. Border Patrol fallen and inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.  The U.S. Border Patrol should fix these discrepancies. HonorFirst.com honors both of the fallen.

• Joe R. White - He is recognized as officially fallen by the U.S. Border Patrol but his name is not inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial.
• John Charles Gigax - His name is inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial (see link) but he is not recognized as officially fallen by the U.S. Border Patrol.  His EOW was November 7, 1999.

 
Edwin C. Dennis
Date of Birth:                March 3, 1912
Entered on Duty:           April 17, 1941
Title:                            Senior Patrol Agent
End of Watch:                February 4, 1974
Details:
At 7:10 p.m. on February 4, 1974, Senior Patrol Agent Edwin C. Dennis was in a van driven by Border Patrol Agent Richard Marroguin with one alien in custody. They were enroute from Ysleta to El Paso, Texas, on the border highway. They were traveling without lights when the vehicle struck some rocks that had been left by a construction crew. The vehicle turned over and Dennis was thrown out of the van and it rolled over him, crushing the upper part of his body. The other occupants in the vehicle were shaken up but not seriously injured.
 
Donna M. Doss
Date of Birth                  November 6, 1969
Entered on Duty:           November 3, 2003
Title:                              Border Patrol Resident Agent
End of Watch:                February 2, 2019
Details:
On February 2, 2019, Border Patrol Agent Donna M. Doss responded to a request for assistance from a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper regarding a suspected illegal alien.  After affecting the arrest of the subject at mile marker 276 on Interstate 20 near Tye, Texas, Agent Doss was struck by a passing vehicle.  She succumbed to her injuries at the scene.
Agent Doss entered on duty with the U.S. Border Patrol on November 3, 2003, graduated as a member of the 584th session of the Border Patrol Academy, and was subsequently assigned to the Brackettville Station in Del Rio Sector.  On March 6, 2017, Agent Doss transferred to Abilene, Texas, as a Resident Agent responsible for enforcement operations in eight Texas counties.  Agent Doss served with the U.S. Border Patrol for more than 15 years.