News Secrets of WWII Revealed

Slayer Diablo · 08-15-2008, 09:57 AM

Sounds like we can finally figure out that rumor about Mr. Rogers...
----------

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,1415513.story

By Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 15, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Before she became a famously untidy television chef, Julia Child had a secret career as an American spy, winning praise for her attention to detail as she managed the flow of classified communications from remote posts in Ceylon and China during World War II.

Long before he appeared on screen as a lunatic general in "Dr. Strangelove" and a corrupt cop in "The Godfather," Sterling Hayden was parachuting into fascist Croatia as a secret operative for America's fledgling espionage service.

And decades before he was named CIA director, William J. Casey was running clandestine operations for the agency's predecessor -- the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS -- from its European headquarters in London.

The U.S. government pulled back the covers on these careers in espionage and thousands of others Thursday, granting public access for the first time to previously classified personnel files of Americans who served in the OSS.

The records on Child, Hayden and Casey were among 35,000 personnel files made available at a National Archives facility in suburban Washington. Archives officials said the records cover the careers of more than 24,000 OSS employees.

The documents offer new insights into the inner workings of what many consider the nation's first formal spy service. There is still debate over whether the OSS was effective in hastening the end of the war. But the service, which was launched in 1942 and shut down three years later, accounts for one of the most colorful periods in U.S. espionage -- a time before intelligence agencies were burdened with bureaucracies or forced to answer to congressional committees.

The personnel records, many of them discolored and crumbling, are stored in a climate-controlled chamber on the archives' second floor. Much of the material is mundane -- records of when people were hired, how much they were paid and where they were sent.

They generally do not reveal significant details about sensitive operations; much of that information is in a separate collection. But they do provide often fascinating glimpses into the backgrounds, and even personalities, of thousands of Americans who spent at least a short part of their lives working in the cloak-and-dagger world of spies.

The new documents "add a human face to the story of this organization," said Steven Tilley, a director at the National Archives. Tilley said the documents were released in large part because of historical organizations' pressure on the CIA, which held the files until 2001 and spent two years reviewing them before agreeing to their declassification.

"These records will certainly be of interest to researchers," Tilley said. "They go to the personal [backgrounds] of the individuals who joined and fill in some of the gaps of what they did and how they did it."

For example, Child -- then Julia McWilliams -- sought employment with the OSS after becoming bored with her duties as a typist for the Office of War Information. In one document she lists as her reason for leaving that organization: "typed over 10,000 little white cards and put in for a transfer to OSS."

Child, a Pasadena native, is also disarmingly honest about other blemishes on her resume. Explaining why she had left an advertising job at a Beverly Hills department store, she wrote: "Fired, and I don't wonder."

She goes on to explain how she had made a tactical error that upset her supervisors and regretted that she hadn't "been older and more experienced" so that she could have handled the situation better.

After being hired at OSS headquarters in Washington, she was sent to clandestine stations in Asia, where she was responsible for "registering, cataloguing and channeling a great volume of highly classified communications." Child, who met her husband, Paul, in the OSS and who died in 2003, was given an award for her resourcefulness as well as her "inherent cheerfulness."

Casey's file is also illuminating. As director of the Central Intelligence Agency under President Reagan, he was a deeply controversial figure, credited with rebuilding the agency's spy ranks but criticized for rogue operations and tainted by his suspected ties to the Iran-Contra scandal. His records indicate that his stint in the OSS was also marked by a penchant for risk-taking and daring operations.

In Europe, Casey developed a system for dropping operatives behind German lines during "the moonless period of the month." His agents were so well prepared that by the time they shed their parachutes, they could blend in seamlessly with the local population, armed with cover identities that "would stand up under the closest Gestapo scrutiny."

Among other prominent people whose OSS records were released were historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., CIA directors Allen Dulles and Richard Helms, major league baseball catcher Morris "Moe" Berg, Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Goldberg and millionaire philanthropist Paul Mellon (who, on his resume, listed "trustee" and "horse breeder" as prior occupations).

Of course, the vast majority of the files reflect the OSS careers of Americans whose names never achieved such recognition, and four were on hand Thursday for the opening of their own personnel files -- including Elizabeth McIntosh, 93, who followed her OSS service with a lengthy career at the CIA.

McIntosh said her time in the OSS was largely devoted to "morale operations" -- not boosting the morale of U.S. forces, she pointed out, but eroding the morale of Japanese troops. Her unit used radio broadcasts and leaflet drops to spread worry among Japanese forces.

At one point, she said, her group intercepted postcards that Japanese troops were sending home, erasing the reassuring messages the soldiers had written and replacing them with complaints about the lack of food and ammunition. Notes to sweethearts were modified to say that the soldier had met a beautiful Burmese woman and would not be coming home.

After reviewing her file, McIntosh, who lives in Woodbridge, Va., said she was thrilled to see that her supervisors had given her glowing marks. Asked whether she was comfortable seeing such information released to public view, she said, "I think it's all right. It's been a long time. There's nothing to hide anymore."

Redrum_69 · 08-15-2008, 10:00 AM

Yeah but who killed JFK?

Redrum_69 · 08-15-2008, 10:01 AM

Was Lin Elliot paid to miss the field goals by the Las Vegas mafia?

Gambling controls all sports.

**Rausch** · 08-15-2008, 10:03 AM

Apparently the list of agents is a mile long.

Back when our intel didn't consist of Forest Gump and Corky...

**BigRedChief** · 08-15-2008, 10:24 AM

This is a cool story though. Could you imagine Brad Pitt or some TV star working for the CIA to gather some info and then they would agree to do it and then it would stay quiet?

Nada chance

Slayer Diablo · 08-15-2008, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

This is a cool story though. Could you imagine Brad Pitt or some TV star working for the CIA to gather some info and then they would agree to do it and then it would stay quiet?

Nada chance

Didn't ya know True Lies really happened? Oops.

**Donger** · 08-15-2008, 01:31 PM

I've known that she was OSS for years, but it wasn't clear what she did. That's neat.

Stewie · 08-15-2008, 01:33 PM

Where was Chuck Barris?

Fairplay · 08-15-2008, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slayer

Elizabeth McIntosh, 93, who followed her OSS service with a lengthy career at the CIA.

McIntosh said her time in the OSS was largely devoted to "morale operations" -- not boosting the morale of U.S. forces, she pointed out, but eroding the morale of Japanese troops. Her unit used radio broadcasts and leaflet drops to spread worry among Japanese forces.

At one point, she said, her group intercepted postcards that Japanese troops were sending home, erasing the reassuring messages the soldiers had written and replacing them with complaints about the lack of food and ammunition. Notes to sweethearts were modified to say that the soldier had met a beautiful Burmese woman and would not be coming home.

Heh, that's cold. But funny.

Fairplay · 08-15-2008, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slayer

In Europe, Casey developed a system for dropping operatives behind German lines during "the moonless period of the month." His agents were so well prepared that by the time they shed their parachutes, they could blend in seamlessly with the local population, armed with cover identities that "would stand up under the closest Gestapo scrutiny."

That is some cool stuff there.

FAX · 08-15-2008, 02:00 PM

This is completely fascinating. I wonder if they've compiled this information and made it available somewhere. I'd love to read more about our WWII espionage efforts. There was an enormous amount of trickeration taking place on both sides, they say. It was really the beginning of the "high secrecy" we live with to this day.

FAX

Frazod · 08-15-2008, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fairplay

Heh, that's cold. But funny.

It's not nearly as cold as somebody dropping 1,000 bombs on your ship when you're trying to sleep off a hangover on a Sunday morning.

Fairplay · 08-15-2008, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FAX

It was really the beginning of the "high secrecy" we live with to this day
FAX

Yes, WW2 ended. And the beginning of the cold war.

To think in the 50's the people in america were more in fear of an atomic/nuclear attack then present age. Interesting.

BIG_DADDY · 08-15-2008, 02:57 PM

Now we put a little cyanide in the sauce.

**Iowanian** · 08-15-2008, 06:05 PM

I'd like to hire some former OSS to work for the Chiefs.

Intercept letters from other AFCW team training camps, tell their women they've found local hotties and believe they may have contracted VD.....maybe intercept their voice mail and send false info FROM their women suggesting they are leaving and think they suck at football....and then shut off their phones.

08-15-2008, 09:57 AM
Slayer Diablo Cross with me Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Kansas City, MO Casino cash: $9994900	Secrets of WWII Revealed Sounds like we can finally figure out that rumor about Mr. Rogers... ---------- http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,1415513.story By Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 15, 2008 WASHINGTON -- Before she became a famously untidy television chef, Julia Child had a secret career as an American spy, winning praise for her attention to detail as she managed the flow of classified communications from remote posts in Ceylon and China during World War II. Long before he appeared on screen as a lunatic general in "Dr. Strangelove" and a corrupt cop in "The Godfather," Sterling Hayden was parachuting into fascist Croatia as a secret operative for America's fledgling espionage service. And decades before he was named CIA director, William J. Casey was running clandestine operations for the agency's predecessor -- the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS -- from its European headquarters in London. The U.S. government pulled back the covers on these careers in espionage and thousands of others Thursday, granting public access for the first time to previously classified personnel files of Americans who served in the OSS. The records on Child, Hayden and Casey were among 35,000 personnel files made available at a National Archives facility in suburban Washington. Archives officials said the records cover the careers of more than 24,000 OSS employees. The documents offer new insights into the inner workings of what many consider the nation's first formal spy service. There is still debate over whether the OSS was effective in hastening the end of the war. But the service, which was launched in 1942 and shut down three years later, accounts for one of the most colorful periods in U.S. espionage -- a time before intelligence agencies were burdened with bureaucracies or forced to answer to congressional committees. The personnel records, many of them discolored and crumbling, are stored in a climate-controlled chamber on the archives' second floor. Much of the material is mundane -- records of when people were hired, how much they were paid and where they were sent. They generally do not reveal significant details about sensitive operations; much of that information is in a separate collection. But they do provide often fascinating glimpses into the backgrounds, and even personalities, of thousands of Americans who spent at least a short part of their lives working in the cloak-and-dagger world of spies. The new documents "add a human face to the story of this organization," said Steven Tilley, a director at the National Archives. Tilley said the documents were released in large part because of historical organizations' pressure on the CIA, which held the files until 2001 and spent two years reviewing them before agreeing to their declassification. "These records will certainly be of interest to researchers," Tilley said. "They go to the personal [backgrounds] of the individuals who joined and fill in some of the gaps of what they did and how they did it." For example, Child -- then Julia McWilliams -- sought employment with the OSS after becoming bored with her duties as a typist for the Office of War Information. In one document she lists as her reason for leaving that organization: "typed over 10,000 little white cards and put in for a transfer to OSS." Child, a Pasadena native, is also disarmingly honest about other blemishes on her resume. Explaining why she had left an advertising job at a Beverly Hills department store, she wrote: "Fired, and I don't wonder." She goes on to explain how she had made a tactical error that upset her supervisors and regretted that she hadn't "been older and more experienced" so that she could have handled the situation better. After being hired at OSS headquarters in Washington, she was sent to clandestine stations in Asia, where she was responsible for "registering, cataloguing and channeling a great volume of highly classified communications." Child, who met her husband, Paul, in the OSS and who died in 2003, was given an award for her resourcefulness as well as her "inherent cheerfulness." Casey's file is also illuminating. As director of the Central Intelligence Agency under President Reagan, he was a deeply controversial figure, credited with rebuilding the agency's spy ranks but criticized for rogue operations and tainted by his suspected ties to the Iran-Contra scandal. His records indicate that his stint in the OSS was also marked by a penchant for risk-taking and daring operations. In Europe, Casey developed a system for dropping operatives behind German lines during "the moonless period of the month." His agents were so well prepared that by the time they shed their parachutes, they could blend in seamlessly with the local population, armed with cover identities that "would stand up under the closest Gestapo scrutiny." Among other prominent people whose OSS records were released were historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., CIA directors Allen Dulles and Richard Helms, major league baseball catcher Morris "Moe" Berg, Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Goldberg and millionaire philanthropist Paul Mellon (who, on his resume, listed "trustee" and "horse breeder" as prior occupations). Of course, the vast majority of the files reflect the OSS careers of Americans whose names never achieved such recognition, and four were on hand Thursday for the opening of their own personnel files -- including Elizabeth McIntosh, 93, who followed her OSS service with a lengthy career at the CIA. McIntosh said her time in the OSS was largely devoted to "morale operations" -- not boosting the morale of U.S. forces, she pointed out, but eroding the morale of Japanese troops. Her unit used radio broadcasts and leaflet drops to spread worry among Japanese forces. At one point, she said, her group intercepted postcards that Japanese troops were sending home, erasing the reassuring messages the soldiers had written and replacing them with complaints about the lack of food and ammunition. Notes to sweethearts were modified to say that the soldier had met a beautiful Burmese woman and would not be coming home. After reviewing her file, McIntosh, who lives in Woodbridge, Va., said she was thrilled to see that her supervisors had given her glowing marks. Asked whether she was comfortable seeing such information released to public view, she said, "I think it's all right. It's been a long time. There's nothing to hide anymore."
Posts: 11,673

08-15-2008, 10:00 AM	#2
Redrum_69 Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: your nightmares Casino cash: $10004900	Yeah but who killed JFK?
Posts: 6,358

08-15-2008, 10:01 AM	#3
Redrum_69 Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: your nightmares Casino cash: $10004900	Was Lin Elliot paid to miss the field goals by the Las Vegas mafia? Gambling controls all sports.
Posts: 6,358

08-15-2008, 10:24 AM	#5
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $2909627 VARSITY	This is a cool story though. Could you imagine Brad Pitt or some TV star working for the CIA to gather some info and then they would agree to do it and then it would stay quiet? Nada chance __________________ Time is worth more than money.
Posts: 79,192

08-15-2008, 01:31 PM	#7
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $10129900 VARSITY	I've known that she was OSS for years, but it wasn't clear what she did. That's neat. __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
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08-15-2008, 01:33 PM	#8
Stewie MVP Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: West of the Equator Casino cash: $1679901	Where was Chuck Barris?
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08-15-2008, 02:00 PM	#11
FAX testing ... 1, 2, 3 Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Tennessee Casino cash: $6753759	This is completely fascinating. I wonder if they've compiled this information and made it available somewhere. I'd love to read more about our WWII espionage efforts. There was an enormous amount of trickeration taking place on both sides, they say. It was really the beginning of the "high secrecy" we live with to this day. FAX
Posts: 44,492

08-15-2008, 02:57 PM	#14
BIG_DADDY THE RED MENACE Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Texas Casino cash: $4988410	Now we put a little cyanide in the sauce. __________________ The diabolical genius of Marxism-Socialism is that it provides the emotional and intellectual road map for autocrats to persuade millions of people to support their own enslavement to government. ~Mark Levin April 15, 2019
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08-15-2008, 06:05 PM	#15
Iowanian Supporter Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Utopia Casino cash: $4658454	I'd like to hire some former OSS to work for the Chiefs. Intercept letters from other AFCW team training camps, tell their women they've found local hotties and believe they may have contracted VD.....maybe intercept their voice mail and send false info FROM their women suggesting they are leaving and think they suck at football....and then shut off their phones.
Posts: 61,554