MEMORIAL DEDICATED TO ONLY RICHMOND DIVISION FBI SPECIAL AGENT KILLED IN AN ADVERSARIAL ACTION

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Richmond Division

1970 East Parham Road                                              

Richmond, Virginia  23228

                 

MEMORIAL DEDICATED TO ONLY RICHMOND DIVISION FBI SPECIAL AGENT KILLED IN AN ADVERSARIAL ACTION

Seventy-five years ago, on this date, two special agents assigned to the Richmond Division of the FBI attempted to take into custody two United States Army deserters in Pat’s Café is Abingdon, Virginia.  An adversarial action took place and Special Agent Charlie Tignor was shot five times and Special Agent Hubert J. Treacy, Jr. (pictured) was shot and killed.  SA Treacy was the 13^th G-Man to be killed in action.

On March 11, 1942, the two deserters, Army privates Charles Joseph Lovett and James Edward Testerman, had assaulted an Army Sergeant at Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia, then car-jacked an individual before making their way into Abingdon, Virginia.  On March 13, 1942, FBI Special Agents Tignor and Treacy identified two individuals in Pat’s Café that matched the descriptions provided for Lovett and Testerman.  The two agents approached the men and asked for identification, at which time gunfire ensued.  Special Agent Treacy was killed almost instantly and Special Agent Tignor received five gunshot wounds which left him incapacitated and unable to continue pursuit of the subjects.  Lovett and Testerman fled and were pursued by roughly 100 law enforcement personnel from the FBI, Abingdon and local jurisdictions.  Within hours they were captured and taken into custody; both were tried, convicted and sentenced to life in federal prison.

A memorial plaque has been erected near the location where the shooting took place, and was dedicated today with family members and law enforcement officials in attendance.  The location of the plaque is at a point near the Historical Society of Washington County – 306 Depot Square, Southwest, Abingdon, Virginia.

This dedication was made possible by the efforts of the Town of Abingdon, the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI – Blue Ridge Chapter, and the FBI Agents Association.