Border Patrol Memorial Honors Fallen Agents

The U.S. Border Patrol honored the 113 agents who have given their lives in defense of our border Thursday morning at the Border Patrol Museum in Northeast El Paso.

The memorial included families of the fallen, including some from El Paso, paying respects to those who defend the border and should never be forgotten for their duty to this country.

The keynote speaker for the Border Patrol Memorial was national Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher, who has been chief for just over a year. Fisher offered words of encouragement to the families.

After the reading of the names of the fallen agents in an honor roll call, there was a 21-gun salute, the playing of taps for those who have paid the ultimate price, as well as a flyover by Border Patrol helicopters.

All of that led up to the walking of the Riderless Horse, with boots backwards in the stirrups, representing agents who have been killed in the line of duty.

Afterward ABC-7 spoke briefly with the family of Luis Aguilar, Jr., a Border Patrol agent from El Paso who was run over and killed by a drug-runner in Yuma, Arizona, back in 2008.

“It just feels great to know that they still haven’t forgotten my son,” Luis Aguilar said, “and all I ant is my son’s memory to be alive. He was a good boy and a good man and I appreciate it so much that people don’t forget about him and we still need their prayers, everybody’s prayers.”

Aguilar’s brother, who is stationed with the Border Patrol in Fort Hancock, was also in attendance.

“I lost my best friend,” Marco Antonio Aguilar said through tears. “It’s tough, you know. I go through it every single day and it’s still real tough. It’s gotten better, but it’s still tough. I miss my brother so much, you know.”

The man driving the truck which struck and killed Aguilar, Jr., was recently convicted of drug smuggling and second degree murder. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 1.