Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity, and a Long, Long Memory: The FBI Turns 100!

FBI Director Mueller honors fallen FBI agents at a centennial memorial wreath at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial July 17 in Washington, D.C.---FBI Photo Gallery

"Last year, the FBI announced it had identified 100 truly cold cases from the Civil Rights era for review.

'We have a very, very long memory,' Mueller said."---ABC News

A very, very long memory! That is just so cool! Be scared, bad guys! Be very, very scared!

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will turn 100 on July 26, 2008. President Bush has proclaimed July 26 FBI Day:

For 100 years, the committed men and women of the Federal Bureau of Investigation have worked diligently to deliver justice and keep Americans safe. On FBI Day, we recognize the Bureau's many accomplishments and pay tribute to all who have served in its ranks with valor and dedication.

The FBI traces its origins to 1908, when under the leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt and Attorney General Charles Bonaparte, a force of Special Agents was created, later to be called the Bureau of Investigation. As a Federal agency with the power to investigate crimes across State lines and enforce Federal law, the FBI has protected our country against threats from abroad and caught dangerous criminals like "Baby Face" Nelson, John Dillinger, Ted Kaczynski, and Ramzi Yousef. Today, the FBI is charged with guarding our Nation from terrorist attacks, combating public corruption and organized crime, resisting cyber attacks, and opposing other high-technology crimes. The FBI also has a deep commitment to civil rights, helping protect the values we cherish.

With an abiding respect for the Constitution, the men and women of the FBI bring strength, impartiality, and devotion to their pursuit of justice. They continue to uphold their motto of "Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity." On FBI Day, we especially remember the fallen agents [see here] who paid the ultimate price in serving our country and keeping our Nation safe.

The FBI has posted an article about how they will commemorate their history called "FBI 100: Let the Celebrations Begin." One of the articles in the FBI 100 series is called "The Top Ten Moments in FBI History."

Here is a listing of their commemorative articles:

FBI 100 Series:- "FBI Day" Celebrations Gallery- The Kansas City Massacre- Bonnie and Clyde- The Unabomber- The Lindbergh Kidnapping- First Strike: Global Terror in America- An Odd Couple of Crime- The FBI History website

National Geographic News profiles the FBI in an article called "Inside the FBI."

ABC News has an article on the FBI called "Cold Cases Are Not a Thing of the Past: As Bureau Turns 100, Director Mulls Open Cases":

The Federal Bureau of Investigation will turn 100 on July 26. Through the years the FBI has nabbed some of America's most notorious gangsters, but there are plenty of cold cases that have eluded them...

If you visit the FBI office in Washington, D.C., you'll see a remarkably real looking wax figure of J. Edgar Hoover leaning over a desk. The FBI has tried to retain the bulldog, "never give up" attitude of the former director when it comes to unsolved cases.

In speaking about the unsolved case list, [FBI historian] Fox said, "You can't forget these things. The crimes are horrendous. Justice needs to be served."

Mueller said there are "a number of the Civil Rights cases that we are taking another look at, with Civil Rights organizations, ones that I would love to see solved, even though maybe 40 to 50 years have gone since the incident."

The FBI recently saw one such case resolved. In 1967, a jury had found Edgar Ray Killen, among 17 others, not guilty in the murder of three Civil Rights workers, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman. The case, which the FBI named "MIBURN" for "Mississippi Burning," finally ended with a manslaughter conviction for Killen in 2005, exactly 41 years to the day that the three men first disappeared.

Last year, the FBI announced it had identified 100 truly cold cases from the Civil Rights era for review.

"We have a very, very long memory," Mueller said.