Room dedicated to student killed in car accident

by | Mar 7, 2025 | News

The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center dedicated a conference room in the Russian schoolhouse March 6, 2025, to Pfc. Maddie Fletcher, a Russian language student who was killed late last year in a hit-and-run.

“Today, as we rename this conference room in her honor, we affirm that Maddie Fletcher’s story does not end here,” said Elen Meliksetyan, Fletcher’s Russian instructor, during the dedication ceremony. “From this moment forward, her name will be present in a space where ideas are shared, decisions are made, and the future of this institute is shaped.”

“The Fletcher Conference Room will stand as an everlasting reminder of the impact she had to all of those in the Russian Schoolhouse, 229th MI Battalion, and DLIFLC,” said Lt. Col. Benjamin Griffin, commander of the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion.

Earlier in the day, Michael and Ginger Fletcher, Maddie’s parents, as well as her sister Sarah, accepted a posthumous diploma during a DLIFLC graduation ceremony for Fletcher’s classmates.

Institute commemorates former commandant

Institute commemorates former commandant

The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center honored the memory and legacy of Col. Sue Ann Sandusky, a former commandant, during a special memorial ceremony held at the Weckerling Center June 17, 2025. The event not only paid tribute to Sandusky, who passed away in 2024, but also formally dedicated a room in her name: Colonel Sandusky Bay View.