LOS ANGELES : 7 Federal Agents Honored for Valor by Bar Assn.

Seven federal agents, including one killed in the line of duty, were awarded medals of valor Tuesday by the Los Angeles chapter of the Federal Bar Assn.

The awards, which are the highest honor accorded by the association, went to FBI Special Agent James B. Snow II for his infiltration of Los Angeles street gangs, Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Edward Follis for his work in toppling a major marijuana and heroin smuggling organization, and to four agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, who survived a shootout with a man they were trying to arrest.

The final medal was presented to the widow of Alan Howard Winn, a DEA helicopter pilot who died last year during an emergency landing in Hawaii. Winn managed to save the three agents he was carrying, but died when the helicopter rolled over on landing and burst into flames.

“One of Alan’s ambitions was to be a pilot, and he did that,” his father, Howard Winn, said in a statement read by actor Ernest Borgnine during Tuesday’s ceremony. “Another was to serve his country as best he could, and he did that.”

In addition to the medal of valor winners, outstanding agents from each federal law enforcement agency received distinguished achievement awards.