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© University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. CONTENTS Acknowledgments, ix List of Abbreviations, xv Introduction, 1 1. A Remarkable Weekend, 7 2. Jones and Stott, 18 3. The Balloon Went Up, 33 4. Rothschild Is Coming, 54 5. Art Goes to London, 68 6. Ostrich, 81 7. A Fool’s Errand, 90 8. South of the Border, 106 9. The Man from Buffalo, 126 10. Breach of Faith, 141 11. The Count from New York, 161 12. Japs, Aspirin, and Pep, 173 13. ND98, 184 14. Gaston DeChant, 212 15. Koehler, 232 16. Peasant, 248 Conclusion, 268 Appendix A. FBI Radio Relay Station between BSC and MI6, 277 Appendix B. FBI Special Intelligence Service Coverage, 278 Appendix C. Money Given by the German Nazis to Its Agents Operating in the United States, 279 Appendix D. Genuine and Fictional FBI Double Agents, 280 Notes, 281 Selected Bibliography, 315 Index, 325 © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There is an old aphorism that describes life as a journey on a winding and often bumpy road. You think you know where you’re going but more often than not you don’t. Over the past decade, since I started a second career as a historian, I’ve discovered that the journey of life and the writing life are very similar. One tries to make a plan, have a goal in mind, start out with enthusiasm, carefully trek along, often slip off the trail or go down dead- ends, turn around again, go back to the main road, start over, and hope you make it to your destination wherever that may be. This has been my experi- ence, anyway. It is always fraught with frustration but also filled with fun. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I suspect that all writers will agree with me that the greatest pleasures of the writer’s journey are the people you meet and the adventures along the route. And I have been blessed over the five years of this project to experi- ence both. There are more than I can even recall, but I’ll try my best. A special appreciation goes to Mary McFarland of the Franklin and El- eanor Roosevelt Institute for her assistance in the processing of an Isador Lubin/John G. Winant Research Grant, which helped offset my travel and living expenses at Hyde Park. Our world could not function without the selfless dedication of archi- vists and librarians. I start with the staff of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library for their remarkable generosity of time and infinite patience guiding me through FDR’s wartime life in papers and photos: senior archivist Robert Clark, the late Karen Anson, who sadly succumbed to cancer in 2010, Vir- ginia Lewick, and Matt Hanson. Elsewhere, I was ably assisted by Alicia Vivona and Spencer Howard, archivist technician at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum and Library; Sophie Chevalier-Forget, historian at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; James Wintel, research librarian in the Music Division of the Library of Congress, who assisted me in my hunt for information about Alexander Semmler; Norman Davis, the head of the Englewood, New Jersey, Historical Society; Bob Woodworth of the Natick, ix © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. x acknowledgments Massachusetts, Historical Society; Judith Clark of the San Marino, Califor- nia, Historical Society; and the staffs of the Tennessee Historical Society, the Hawaii Historical Society, the British National Archives, the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Naval Historical Center, the FBI Academy Library, the Chester Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy, the J. Edgar Hoover Foundation, the Al- deman Library at the University of Virginia, the George C. Marshall Library in Lexington, Virginia, the Hornbake Library at the University of Maryland, the American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives at the Catholic University of America, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, the Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Radio & Television Museum in Bowie, Maryland. Particular thanks are extended to the staff of the FBI’s Freedom of Infor- mation Section, whose thankless toil is often met with the question “Why did they redact that?” In fact, such reviewers are an essential cog in the wheels of our democracy, balancing the nation’s need for secrecy with the citizen’s right to be informed. Some of the most important breakthroughs occur by accident. That’s what happened one day while I was having lunch with a good friend and historical storehouse, Dan Mulvena. While discussing the recent publica- tion of the Guy Liddell diaries, he casually mentioned the rich collection of diary entries that remained unpublished. Within days Dan reproduced them for me. The story they tell and the gaps they fill are fascinating. One of the blessings for a historian is the professional and personal friendships with scholars who have devoted their entire lives to a particular field. In my case, I have been fortunate to know Rupert Allison, a historian of intelligence and a highly regarded British writer who offered immeasur- able support to me and this project. Available for a question or a theory at any time, Rupert always expanded on his answers by offering different approaches, which more often than not were spot on. I am very grateful for his help. Christopher Andrew, former chairman of the History Depart- ment at Cambridge University, graciously allowed me to partner with him on a panel at a London conference on the occasion of the publication of his official history of the British Security Service. Thad Holt, who broke new ground with The Deceivers, gave graciously of his time, discussing his work while pointing me to key documents in his papers lodged at the U.S. Army Historical Center. In the process we have become good friends as well as colleagues. © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. acknowledgments xi My gratitude is also extended to the archival and graphics staff of the Newseum in Washington, who let me tag along while they took measure- ments of Hoover’s office suite for a display they were planning to honor the one hundredth anniversary of the FBI. The dozens of charts and photos of everything from parquet floors to doorknobs proved very helpful. In that regard, I want to recognize my frame-maker pal from Stuart, Florida, Peter Craft, for introducing me to Bill Adair, a world-renowned picture frame restorer and owner of one of Washington’s secret treasures, Gold Leaf Stu- dios. After patiently educating me on the beauty and complexity of Greco- Roman architecture and design, Bill suddenly announced that he was a “Cogswellian” and then introduced me to the mindless hilarities of a Cogs- well Society luncheon. (Great lunch—terrible jokes.) Their motto: “Tem- perance, I’ll drink to that.” I also want to recognize a good friend, Keith Redmond, who lives in Paris and accompanied me on a wonderful “Redmondian” walking tour of the city, locating historical sites used by the Abwehr during the war and en- suring quality photos; and my wife, who accompanied me on my historical journey south from Paris through southern France by train to Barcelona, Spain, in an attempt to capture the feel of intelligence officers and agents alike in their missions to the United States through the Iberian Peninsula. Very special appreciation goes to Ernest Porter, Lean Lecari, daughter of Dwayne Eskridge, and Amy Bertheaux, daughter of Art Thurston, for their personal recollections as well as family photos and correspondence; Melvin Barrett for his insights into life in Honolulu in the months after the Japanese attack; George Grotz and the members of the San Francisco chapter of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI; Larry Langberg, the late Art Thurston, and Dennis Flinn, who generously allowed me to interview them; Ian Chadburn for his reminiscences of his father, Fred Chadburn; Ileana Semmler for assistance in the research of her father’s musical career; Gerry Richards, a former FBI agent and owner of Richards Forensics Services, who analyzed Dwayne Eskridge’s seventy-year photo of the Honolulu radio room; and Linda James and Sally Jenkins of East Hampton, New York, who shared their reminiscences of Dudley Roberts over cool drinks on Sally’s patio. I have been greatly assisted by a series of bright and talented interns from the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C. I want to particu- larly recognize Mike Watson from the University of Virginia, David Fer- kulak, a graduate of Cedarville College in Ohio, and Drew Sotelo from the © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. xii acknowledgments University of South Florida. I also want to recognize Allison Hogarth, one of my students at George Washington University, who discovered some new information concerning the Bernard Kuehn case. Today the “Benson House” in Wading River, New York, serves as the administrative offices for the DeWolfe Center, a summer camp and confer- ence center, operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. A study of this type could not have been completed without a visit to the site, which once bulged with radio equipment and technicians whose only mission in life was to deceive the Germans. When Kathleen Loomis Ward, the center’s director, learned of my interest she quickly arranged a luncheon for my wife and me in the sun room overlooking Long Island Sound, followed by a tour where I took dozens of photos.