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Unclassified extracts from Studies in Intelligence Volume 52, Number 4 (December 2008)

What Analysts Need to Understand: The King’s Intelligence Studies Program

The US Guard and OSS Maritime Operations During World War II

Reviews:

Nisei Linguists: Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service during World War II

An Ordinary Spy

The Intelligence Officer’s Bookshelf

Books Reviewed in 2008

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All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed in Studies in Intelligence are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect official positions or views of the Central Intelligence Agency or any other US government entity, past or present. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying US government endorsement of an article’s factual statements, interpretations, or recommendations. CONTENTS

CENTER for the STUDY of INTELLIGENCE Washington, DC 20505

EDITORIAL POLICY Frontispiece: “Rescue on the Plain of Jars” iv Painting by Keith Woodcock Articles for Studies in Intelligence may be written on any historical, operational, doctrinal, or theoretical aspect of intelligence. INTELLIGENCE TODAY AND TOMORROW The final responsibility for accepting or rejecting an article rests with the Editorial Board. Teaching Intelligence Analysts in the UK The criterion for publication is What Analysts Need to Understand: whether, in the opinion of the Board, The King’s Intelligence Studies Program 1 the article makes a contribution to the Michael S. Goodman and Sir David Omand literature of intelligence.

EDITORIAL BOARD HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Carmen A. Medina, Chairperson A. Denis Clift Guardian Spies Nicholas Dujmovic The US Guard and OSS Maritime Operations Eric N. Heller During World War II 13 Robert A. Kandra William C. Liles LCDR Michael Bennett, USCG Jason U. Manosevitz William Nolte Maj. Gen. Richard J. O’Lear, INTELLIGENCE IN RECENT PUBLIC USAF (Ret.) LITERATURE Michael P. Richter Barry G. Royden Nisei Linguists: Japanese Americans Noah D. Rozman Jon A. Wiant in the Military Intelligence Service Ursula M. Wilder during World War II 23 Members of the Board are drawn from the Reviewed by Stephen C. Mercado Central Intelligence Agency and other Intelligence Community components. An Ordinary Spy 29 Reviewed by John Ehrman EDITORIAL STAFF Andres Vaart, Editor The Intelligence Officer’s Bookshelf 33 Compiled and Reviewed by Hayden B. Peake Carey Dueweke, Graphics/Web Current Topics Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA by Melvin A. Goodman In the Common Defense: National Security Law for Peril- ous Times by James E. Baker

Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) i

Spies For Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourc- ing by Tim Shorrock Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-First Centu- ry by Philip Bobbitt Torture and Democracy by Darius Rejali Your Government Failed You: Breaking the Cycle of Na- tional Defense Disasters by Richard A. Clarke

General Intelligence The History of Information Security: A Comprehensive Handbook by Karl de Leeuw and Jan Bergstra (eds.)

Historical Declassified: 50 Top-Secret Documents that Changed His- tory by Thomas B. Allen Exploring Intelligence Archives: Enquiries into the Secret State by R. Gerald Hughes, Peter Jackson, and Len Scott The Final Dive: The Life and Death of “Buster” Crabb by Don Hale The King’s Most Loyal Enemy Aliens: Germans Who Fought for Britain in the Second World War by Helen Fry One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Cas- tro on the Brink of Nuclear War by Michael Dobbs The Real Enigma Heroes by Phil Shanahan The Spy Within: Larry Chin and China’s Penetration of the CIA by Tod Hoffman YEZHOV: The Rise of Stalin’s “Iron Fist,” by J. Arch Getty and Oleg Naumov

Intelligence Abroad SMOKESCREEN: Canadian Security Intelligence after September 11, 2001 by J. Michael Cole

Books Reviewed in Studies in Intelligence 2008 49

ii Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) Contributors

LCDR Michael Bennett, USCG, is Director of Strategic Intelligence Studies at the US Coast Guard Academy. He has done extensive research into the origins and evolution of intelligence in Coast Guard.

John Ehrman serves in the Directorate of Intelligence in CIA and is currently assigned to the Counterintelligence Center. He is a frequent contributor and a win- ner of a Studies annual award.

Dr. Michael Goodman is a senior lecturer in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, where he teaches an MA program “Intelligence and Inter- national Security.” He is the author of Spying on the Nuclear Bear: Anglo-Ameri- can Intelligence and the Soviet Bomb. He is seconded to the Cabinet Office as the official historian of the Joint Intelligence Committee.

Sir David Omand, GCB, is a visiting professor at the Department of War Stud- ies, King’s College London. He has been his government’s Security and Intelligence Coordinator, director of GCHQ, and permanent secretary of the Home Office and policy director of the Ministry of Defence. He had seven years of service on the Joint Intelligence Committee.

Stephen C. Mercado is an analyst in the DNI Open Source Center, specializing on East Asia. He is a frequent contributor. He is the author of The Shadow War- riors of Nagano: A History of the Imperial Army’s Elite Intelligence School.

Hayden Peake is the curator of the CIA Historical Intelligence Collection. He served in the Directorate of Science and Technology and the Directorate of Opera- tions.

Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) iii Guardian Spies The US Guard and OSS Maritime Operations During World War II

LCDR Michael Bennett, USCG

As the Intelligence Community continues its transformation and the Coast Guard intelligence program experiences enormous growth, members of both communities would be well-served by reflecting on the contributions Coast Guard intelligence has made in the past. From its beginning as the Revenue Marine in 1790, the Coast Guard’s unique authorities, industry access, and organizational culture of adaptability have allowed it to make great contributions to intelligence and to important military successes in our nation’s history.

Archived documents, many originally classified, and published his- tories show that Coast Guard intelligence officers have turned up in some unlikely places—sometimes by design, sometimes by acci- The Coast“ Guard’s dent, but most by dint of the nature of Coast Guard operations and contribution to the missions. Examples include scouting and information gathering by Maritime Unit of OSS has revenue cutters during the War of 1812; Rum War cryptanalysis been barely noted. and code breaking in the 1920s; HF/DF decryption work under the Office of Naval Intelligence before and during World War II, including the work of Field Radio Unit Pacific; contributions to ULTRA; and the Maritime Unit of the Office of Strategic Services. The Coast Guard’s contribution to the latter effort was barely noted in the offi- ” cial history of OSS written after the war’s end.1 This article is intended to illuminate this little known aspect of intelligence history.

Since its inception, the Coast Guard has been involved in the collection and maintenance of information that might today be equated to intelligence . In performing duties involving the security of the homeland, the Coast Guard has charted local coastlines and collected information on the movement of ships and other vessels, ship

1 Kermit Roosevelt, War Report of the OSS (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1949). Originally classified Top Secret, the book was partially declassified in 1976 and reprinted commercially. One declassified version was published by Walker and Co. of New York with an introduction by the historian of WW II intelligence Anthony Cave Brown.

All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed in this article are those of the authors. Nothing in the article should be construed as asserting or implying US government endorsement of its factual statements and interpretations.

Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) 13 The Coast Guard and OSS

A Quick Look at Coast Guard History manifests, cargoes, and crews, most of which was passed to 1790: Founded as the Revenue Marine Service by Secretary of the Trea- customs collectors in ports and sury Alexander Hamilton to “combat illicit shipping in and out of US ports to Treasury Department head- and along US coasts.” quarters. More than 122 cus- 1791–1801: In a quasi-war with France, revenue cutters organized as a toms inspectors and surveyors naval force alongside privateers and later the US Navy. Revenue cutters and 10 revenue cutters in ports captured 18 of 22 French vessels it attacked. up and down the coast of the young United States supplied 1789–1862: Revenue cutters took part in efforts to suppress slave trade Treasury Secretary Alexander after its abolition in 1808. Hamilton “an unending stream 2 War of 1812: Cutter Jefferson made the first capture of a British war ship of intelligence.” In effect, of the war. After the war revenue cutters were used to chase down pirate Hamilton possessed an overt ships in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean and to identify pirate human information and intelli- strongholds. gence collection system that spanned the entire length of the 1836–42 and 1846–48: The Revenue Marine Service was engaged in the eastern seaboard and into the Seminole War and Mexican War, respectively. Caribbean. 1861–65: Most cutters sided with the North and were used to blockade southern ports. This type of collection took on an almost modern appearance 1915: Life Saving Service combined with Revenue Cutter Service to form when, during the War of 1812, the modern day Coast Guard. New service officially included a “chief intel- the officer commanding the ligence officer.” defenses of Wilmington during the British blockade of Dela- 1917–18: During WW I the Coast Guard, attached to the Department of the Navy, did patrol and convoy duty and had the highest percentage loss ware Bay issued instructions— of life among among military services. collection guidance today—to the revenue cutter General 1941–45: During World War II, the Coast Guard engaged in large range of Green to obtain information on actions, including first contact with the enemy before Pearl Harbor and the size and disposition of the seizure of German radio installations in Greenland. It was also involved blockading squadron, the in amphibious landings in both theaters. involvement of local pilots, Moments in Coast Guard Intelligence History landings on the bay’s shores, the status of provisioning and 1904: The Coast Guard pioneered ship to shore radio communication, water, and so on. The order also which later became the foundation for HF/DF, often referred to as Huff- instructed the cutter to get Duff, communications intercepts during the Rum War and World War II. information about British behavior from local watermen 1915: The law establishing the modern Coast Guard authorized “securing of information which is essential to the Coast Guard in carrying out its and to examine local boats for duties; for the dissemination of this information to responsible officers, British contraband and collabo- operating units of the Coast Guard, the Treasury Department and other rators. collaborating agencies; and the maintenance of adequate files and records of law enforcement activities.” The duties of the intelligence officers This combination of informa- included “obtaining and disseminating to proper officials information of tion gathering, scouting, and the plans and movements of vessels and persons engaged and suspected of reporting would form the foun- being engaged in the violation of laws, the enforcement of which is charged to the US Coast Guard.” Additional language stated that the Coast Guard would be constituted as part of the military forces and operate as part of 2 Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton (New the Navy in time of war or when the president shall so direct. York: Penguin Press, 2004), 341.

14 Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) The Coast Guard and OSS

dation not only for how infor- delphia Plan” designed to use The Creation of Area D and a mation was collected and OSS personnel to train the New Marine Section organized in ports across the newly formed Coast Guard It took nearly 17 months for the United States but also dictated Auxiliary for antisabotage oper- OSS Maritime Unit to move the conduct of law enforcement ations at East coast ports. from conception in early 1942 to intelligence collection until Pro- its first operational assignment hibition and the war against In these maritime activities, in Europe in late July 1943. the rum runners in the early Coast Guard men recruited for During this time a British 1920’s, when the use of HF/DF their swimming, diving, boat- naval officer, CDR B.G.A. Wool- spotting and location technol- handling, and signaling skills ley, was brought in to organize ogy introduced an early form of were at the heart of the OSS and train its operatives. Accord- COMINT to the Coast Guard Maritime Unit (MU) and Oper- ing to a history of the Maritime and US intelligence. These ational Swimmer Group (OSG) Unit prepared late in the war practices ideally placed the operations. After they were by its chief: Coast Guard in a position to organized and trained, these respond to executive orders men were deployed with the Comdr. Woolley was assigned President Franklin Roosevelt OSS MU to Europe and the by General Donovan to assist issued in 1941, before and after China, Burma, India (CBI) The- in a study of British methods the attack on Pearl Harbor, to ater of Operations and to the of training operatives and raiding forces. Thus far in the bring the Coast Guard into a Navy’s Underwater Demolition Team 10 in the Pacific. war, the British had been con- wartime footing under US Navy spicuously successful in command. By August 1944, OSS had 226 infiltrating agents by sea and executing acts of maritime men assigned to its Maritime sabotage. Details of their Guardian Spies of WW II 3 Unit. Of these, according to equipment and experience declassified personnel rosters, were obtained by Comdr. The Coast Guard would have almost 75 were from the Coast Woolley and in great part myriad duties under the Navy Guard. Another 40 were formed a basis for O.S.S. that would eventually involve it attached to the West Coast future maritime activities.5 with Colonel Donovan as Coor- training schools.4 This small dinator of Information and later contingent was part of the larg- as the head of the Office of est expansion of the Coast Strategic Services (OSS). The Guard in its history, one that history of OSS has been well transformed the small peace- 4 Office of Strategic Services (OSS), West documented. What remains lit- time Coast Guard fleet into a Coast Training Center (WCTC), Roster of tle known, however, is the rela- force of “160,000 men, manning Station Compliment, Avalon, CA, 2 April tionship between OSS and the 1945 and OSS WCTC Memorandum titled 30 destroyer escorts, 75 frig- “Present Status of Boat Division Person- Coast Guard, including the for- ates, 750 cutters, 290 Navy ves- nel,” dated 13 February 1945. LCDR merly classified history of the sels, and 255 Army vessels, Howard Shelby (USCGR) listed as Com- use of Coast Guard signals among scores of smaller craft.” mand of Boats and Crews with an addi- intelligence; Coast Guard men tional 35 Coast Guard men assigned under his command. National Archives attached to OSS West Coast College Park, M: , Record Group 226-134- Schools and Training; Domes- 8 accessed by author on 21 July 2007. OSS tic Coordination at Area D on 3 LT Dennis Roberts, USN, “Maritime Detachment 404 Headquarters South the Potomac River using the Unit History,” 1944. The history was com- East Asia Command, “Personnel Roster” piled for Roosevelt’s OSS history project. ated 1 March 1945. National Archives Coast Guard’s Captain of the The declassified report is in the posses- College Park, MD: Record Group 226- Port authority for “protection sion of Mr. Tom Hawkins of the Naval 165A-5-9. Roster listed Coast Guard offic- zones”; and the secret “Phila- Special Warfare Foundation. Provided to ers and enlisted men attached to 404. author via e-mail on 22 January 2007. 5 Roberts.

Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) 15 The Coast Guard and OSS

A location on the Potomac destine maritime training in River, designated Area D, had OSS Maritime Unit the United States. The training been acquired for Woolley’s Chronology center also went on to pioneer activities—even before a unit (From Roosevelt’s War Report) new equipment and methods in was officially established. The Feb 42: British Naval Officer (pre- the maritime environment that site was located in an area of sumably Woolley) loaned to OSS were exported to several the- about 1,200 acres just south of aters between 1943 and 1945. Quantico, Virginia, with Aug 42: First maritime operations roughly two miles of water training class begun. The arrangements lasted until frontage on the south bank of late in 1943, when new train- 20 Jan 43: Marine Section estab- ing sites were located and the river. lished. camps organized. In November Because his marine section was 18 Feb 43: Underwater swimming 1943, a Special Maritime Unit, not officially a stand-alone groups okayed by Donovan. consisting of approximately 40 branch of OSS, CDR Woolley officers and men was recruited had to “beg, borrow, and steal” 24 May 43: First underwater swim and commenced training at necessary resources for his training in Annapolis. Camp Pendleton, California. By start-up operation. He did not 9 Jun 43: Maritime Unit formal- this time, Donovan had get control of the grounds from ized. approved the use of Coast the OSS component that had Guard men for OSS operations, controlled it until March 1943, July 43: First MU officer dis- moving the OSS–Coast Guard along with supplies and equip- patched to run caique service for relationship from one of cooper- ment.6 clandestine supply and infiltra- ation to participation. tion. Cabin cruisers had to be The warm water off southern acquired for training. Their California had a great deal to acquisition was no small mat- do with the decision to relocate ter because the Coast Guard and yacht clubs in the DC area phases of MU training from the and the Navy had already were obtained. In addition, the East to the West Coast. In Feb- acquired many cabin cruisers boats received special COTP ruary 1944, another camp was suitable for service at the protection for maritime train- established on Catalina Island. beginning of the war, and a ing missions, which often were Two months later, in May, a shortage existed. OSS had to conducted at night and inevita- training base was set up in conduct an extensive search to bly looked suspicious. Nassau, British Bahamas, after identify vessels 70–90 feet in tests proved that these warm length for its purposes. OSS As intensive training was about waters and exceptional weather files show that this process took to begin in the summer of 1943, conditions made it ideal for about 10 months. CDR Woolley worked with swimming exercises. Severe Washington area Coast Guard pollution in the Potomac was Navy and Coast Guard officers Captain of the Port H.G. Hem- also a factor in relocating swim- eventually identified two suit- mingway to establish special ming activity. able cabin cruisers, the Mari- protection zones for maritime bel and the Marsyl, which were training, obtain documenta- From Coordination to Frogmen: licensed by Coast Guard Cap- tion, and provide security. Becoming Operational tain of the Port (COTP) author- These pioneering arrange- Coast Guard involvement in ity, and slots at local marinas ments and the training prac- operations had been formally tices CDR Woolley imported broached in a 3 September 1943 became the foundation for clan- confidential letter from chief of 6 Ibid., Chap. 1.

16 Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) The Coast Guard and OSS

The Security Arrangements and OSS from one of coordination to full use of Coast Guard Classified letters exchanged on 15 June and 16 June 1943 between Captain men in all aspects of MU train- Hemmingway and Commander Woolley outline the coordination arrange- ing, education, mission sup- ments.1 port, and operations, including those involving the Opera- Commander Woolley to Captain Hemmingway, 15 June 1943: tional Swimmer Groups. “It would be appreciated if you would kindly issue the necessary permit for the vessel to pass up and down the river Potomac while she is in government ser- When OSS asked the Coast vice with the Office of Strategic Services. The work performed by the vessel is Guard to provide personnel for of a secret nature which has been explained to your predecessor” its operational swimmer program, it got a mixed response. Captain Hemmingway to Commander Woolley, 16 June 1943: The assistant commandant of Agreeable to your request of this date, a renewed license for the MARIBEL to the Coast Guard, RADM L. T. cruise the Potomac River is enclosed herewith. This office will depend on you Chalker, wrote to the executive personally to comply with the first paragraph of your letter of this date, in case officer of the OSS, LTC O.C. it becomes necessary to do so [regarding transfer of the MARIBEL from gov- Doering, that the Coast Guard ernment service]. In case of your detachment from your present duty it is could not provide the number of requested that you bind your successor to the same requirements” officers requested:

On 17 June, CAPT S. E. Barron, Chief of Staff for the Coast Guard District For some time the Coast Potomac River Naval Command, sent Commander Woolley a copy of the pro- Guard has been faced with an tection order stating that: acute officer situation which The “MARIBEL,” a flush-deck type gas screw motor yacht, 66.8 feet in length, has been brought about by 16.3 beam, official number 2251123, is engaged in special government work. manning a considerable num- Patrol vessels of the Coast Guard Patrol Base, Washington, are to give her free ber of Naval craft in addition passage and are not to board her. She operates often at night, blacked out, in to taking care of our own the vicinity of Clifton Beach. Such patrol vessel commanders are to bear this expanding needs. For this in mind and are to keep clear of her. In directing other vessels, such patrol reason the Commandant is commanders, shall see that such vessels stay clear of her.”

1 All cited exchanges can be found in National Archives, College Park, MD: Record Group 226-328-92-9 7 CAPT Ward Davis (USN) letter to CAPT Carl O. Hoffman (USA), 3 September 1943. National Archives, College Park, OSS Special Operations CAPT sidearms. If wherever possi- MD. Record Group 226-Entry No.146A- ble we can draw our men Box 14. War Report of the OSS stated that Carl O. Hoffman (USA) to “OSS Naval Com was responsible for the CAPT Ward Davis (USN), chief from the Coast Guard we recruitment, processing and management of OSS Naval Command. Cap- have gained in time as more of Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard tain Hoffman stated: than half their training is Personnel. Officers were administratively complete.... Many of the Coast detailed to OSS as an activity of the Office of Chief of Naval Operations; enlisted men I have proposed to the Gen- Guardsmen are likewise trained in Small Boat Han- were nominally assigned to the Potomac eral [Donovan] the use of River Naval Command. In May 1943, Coast Guardsmen for OSS dling which will prove useful when OSS Naval Command was estab- 7 work.... The reason for the in an emergency. lished, the orders of all officers and proposal is that most Coast enlisted me were amended to specify Guardsmen are well trained This letter was critical in mov- assignment to it…. The Naval Liaison in communications and inci- ing the organizational relation- Officer in the OSS Nav Com was the offi- ship between the Coast Guard cial contact between the branches of OSS dentally trained in the use of and various naval intelligence units.”

Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) 17 The Coast Guard and OSS

loath to make any commit- taken from the declassified counted as “Navy” personnel, ments involving officer Maritime Unit Manual of June most likely because of Execu- personnel. 1945, highlights the recruit- tive Order 8895, which ment and training of men from attached the Coast Guard to Enlisted men could be detailed, all military services, including Navy for the duration of the however. The Coast Guard the Coast Guard. war. will make available the In his Maritime Unit History, The Final Test: enlisted men asked for…. It is Lieutenant Roberts noticeably regrettable that circum- Operation Cincinnati stances make it inadvisable to overlooks (as did Roosevelt) the Operation Cincinnati was a supply the officer personnel as Coast Guard contribution, writ- full-scale exercise conducted by the Coast Guard always has ing, “On August 31, 1944, the LT John Booth’s OSG II, just tried to cooperate with the date which marks the close of after it completed its team [Office of Strategic] Services this history, the Maritime Unit training in Nassau. The objec- whenever it has been able to had total personnel of 226. tive of the exercise was to pene- do so.8 These included: Officers and trate US Navy harbor defenses enlisted men, Army-60; Navy in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and In the end, a few officers were 143; and Marines-19. In addi- just before OSG II deployed to assigned to OSS duty. But tion, there were 4 civilians.”9 CBI. The exercise served both these men had leadership roles: Declassified records, however, to test Navy defenses and to LCDR Howard Shelby and clearly highlight the role of evaluate the effectiveness of the CWO Wilfred Keil commanded Coast Guard men, who, as of new group’s ability to conduct boats and crews at West Coast August 1944, constituted reconnaissance, infiltration, Schools and Training at Camp almost a third of the Maritime and sabotage operations from Pendleton; LT John Booth Unit and almost half of the 143 the sea before it was to deploy became the commander of OSG Navy men Lieutenant Roberts to Asia in the fall of 1944. II in the CBI Theater; CWO Thomas Medlicott also in OSG As the leader of an attacking II; CWO Robert Butt led a land- 9 Roberts. “Red Group,” Lieutenant Booth ing unit and OSG III in the South East Asia Command (SEAC); and ENS Arthur Gar- rett led OSG I and UDT 10 in the Pacific.

The men recruited for OSS MU operations were trained and worked in joint teams that combined Coast Guard, Navy, Army, and Marine Corp coun- terparts. The below graphic,

8 Letter from RADM L.T. Chalker, Assis- tant Commandant USCG to LTC O.C. Doering, Executive Officer of OSS in reply to a request for additional officer personnel. National Archives Record Group 226, Entry No. 136, Box 133, File 1418 (accessed by author 28 February 2008).

18 Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) The Coast Guard and OSS

was in command of the operation, including the assault group and the mother ship. According to the operational order for the exercise, each man of the Red Group

shall be equipped with wrist watch, waterproof compass, sheath knife, fins, sneakers, and face plates. Each group shall carry waterproof flash- lights. Each anchorage detail...shall carry M-3's in waterproof covers. Anchorage detail of Red shall carry sidearms. Waterproofing of all Operational Swimmer Group II, a truly joint force, shown in Cuba in 1944. Unit demolitions shall be inspected commander, LT John Booth, is standing at the far left. Of the 32 men posing in by LT French (USA).10 this image, 16 were members of the Coast Guard. Of the remainder, seven were from the Army, five from the Navy, and four from the Marine Corps. The dog’s service of origin is unknown. Photo Source: RM1/C John Harrigan (USCGR). The exercise was the first of its kind in an actual maritime environment and took place ment to be used in forthcoming as long as 90 minutes, allowing almost 40 years before the undersea warfare operations. time to swim almost a mile. Navy commissioned a US Navy One key piece of equipment was Other significant contributions officer from SEAL Team Six to an underwater breathing appa- included development of the set up Red Cell teams in 1984 ratus invented by Dr. Chris- two-man kayak, two-man surf- to ascertain the Navy’s vulnera- tian Lambertsen.12 Although board, and use of the British bility to terrorist attacks. other self-contained diving submersible unit referred to as Roosevelt gave Operation Cin- equipment was under develop- the “Sleeping Beauty,” which cinnati a good evaluation in his ment, the Lambertsen enabled swimmers silently to War Report: Rebreathing Unit (LARU) was move agents past enemy the first unassisted diving capa- defenses in either infiltration or In these tests, the lengthy bility employed operationally by exfiltration operations. training showed commend- the United States. It allowed able results, because the MU swimmers to stay under swimmers were able to cir- water at a depth to 50 feet for Field Operations cumvent the net defenses in each instance. An additional Europe point of value was proof that In January 1944, the first Mari- 12 Lambertsen was more than an inventor. time Unit members began to the Navy sound detection gear He was also the mentor and trainer for did not reveal the presence of OSS Maritime Unit personnel. In the year deploy to Europe and CBI. In underwater swimmers.11 2000, Dr. Lambertsen was designated as the Mediterranean, highly suc- the Father of US Combat Swimming by the cessful clandestine ferrying Operation Cincinnati also pro- Navy’s UDT/SEAL community. His life’s operations were carried out in vided proof of concept for equip- work has included significant contributions to the US Coast Guard Air/Sea Rescue Pro- the Aegean Sea, as agents and gram, Navy SEALs, the US Army, and supplies were landed and NASA. He is the creator of most of the downed fliers and refugees 10 Operation Cincinnati OPORDER. technology used for Combat Swimming evacuated. In Italy the MU sup- 11 Roosevelt, 227. Operations in the United States today.

Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) 19 The Coast Guard and OSS

ported the operations of the Italian amphibious group, the San Marco Battalion (see text box), and trained in maritime sabotage and sneak attack operations; in the United King- dom, MU coordinated the use of PT boats and submarine chas- ers.” L-Unit I and II were part of the original MU Operational Swimmer training that began earlier in the war and deployed to the UK and European The- ater of operations during Janu- ary–June of 1944.

China, Burma, India In January 1944, after training in Coronado, the Bahamas, and Guantánamo Bay, OSG II deployed to Burma, Ceylon, and Kandy as part of Detachment 101 and Detachment 404 of the OSS (January 1944–April 1945). The “Arakan Field Unit” was a combination of OSS Operational Group and MU men in which the latter were to This map from Kermit Roosevelt’s declassified War Report illustrates the impor- provide coastal intelligence to tance of maritime operations in the Scandinavian region. the British-led XV Indian Corps for an advance south along the One example of the many oper- Coast Guard were involved (the Burmese coast and to provide ations conducted in CBI was an two are shown returning in the maritime services to all operation called “Cleveland” on image to the right).14 An enemy branches in theater. 25 January 1945. Although agent was, in fact, captured, OSG III trained in the Baha- many of the missions con- exfiltrated, and interrogated by mas and deployed to Ceylon, ducted by OSGs were danger- OSS personnel. In addition, a the Southeast Asia Command, ous and often far behind enemy survey of the coastline, terrain, and Detachment 101 (October lines, Operation Cleveland was and status of enemy forces was 1944–January 1945). By 1944 nevertheless unique in that its accomplished for the com- 15 and early 1945 many of the objectives were to obtain intelli- mander of CBI. Coast Guard men attached to gence of a target area; to cap- the MU were deployed to the ture a native for the purposes of OSS missions and sub-mis- interrogation; and to ascertain generally, enemy strength in sions in both theaters of the 13 Operational Summary for Operation 13 war. the area. Several men of OSG Cleveland. National Archives Record II, including LT Booth and Group 226. File labeled SEAC Operations. Chief James Eubank of the 14 National Archives Record Group 226. File labeled SEAC Operations.

20 Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) The Coast Guard and OSS

Of the 22 missions listed in the Maritime Unit Diary, Coast Excerpt from OSS War Report on Maritime Unit Operations 1 Guard men participated in all with San Marco Battalion in Europe but two. The chief of the Mari- In February 1944 an arrangement had been concluded between OSS and time Unit in the China, Burma, the Duke of Aosta to make available to OS the techniques and services of India Theater said in his July the Italian San Marco Battalion, an elite corps of Italian naval personnel 1945 report to OSS HQ in specializing in amphibious operations and maritime sabotage. A volunteer Washington DC that: group of five officers and 50 men from the battalion was assigned to OSS, along with the latest items of Italian maritime equipment. Included were enough cannot be said in the swimming gear, two man “mattresses” with silent electric motors to permit praise of these [Coast Guard] clandestine landings, and other assault, reconnaissance, and demolitions men and the remainder of the equipment. group which joined on 13 January [1945], for the The San Marco were placed under the direction of OSS Maritime Unit Branch personnel. In May, they were based at Fasano, south of Bari, sub- spirit in which they took up sequently moved to Falconara, north of Ancona, and after the capture of their new assignment and the Ravenna in December 1944, set up an advance base near that city. US PTs cooperation and loyalty that and British MTBs were used alternately with Italian MAS or MS boats they gave us. Their lot was under British Navy control. By the spring of 1945, the MU staff had been not an easy one, but their pre- reconstituted as the Maritime Detachment of Company D and had added vious training proved various locally procured fishing craft and speedboats to its equipment. invaluable. They were engaged in the infiltration of The first mission took place on 19 June 1944, a sabotage operation that suc- agents where the existence of ceeded in blowing a railroad bridge along the coast 100 miles behind enemy the enemy was known and in lines. A second such operation was carried out late in July. In the August working their way many moon period, the first operation for intelligence purposes was run, at Eighth miles into enemy lines Army request, to exfiltrate agents and an Italian with plans and photographs through mangrove swamps of a section of the Gothic Line in the Pesaro region. Several carefully briefed under enemy outposts, and partisan guides and San Marco officers were infiltrated and returned success- dodging enemy M.L’s. We can fully four days later. The material reached the Eighth Army four days before be thankful that no men were its attack on the Gothic Line in the Pesaro Sector. lost through enemy action.16 A total of 10 clandestine maritime patrols on Lake Comacchio were accomplished, several small islands in the lake occupied, and a series of small offensive forays run against the enemy-held northern shore of the lake. By mid-April, partisan groups south of Chioggia were contacted and, with the more clement spring weather conditions, rapidly supplied both by air and by sea. Several other operations were run jointly with an Eighth Army detachment to infiltrate and recover agents and couriers.

15 Interview of LT John Booth by author, 1 Roosevelt, 228–29 April 2006, confirmed in interview with Maj. Christian Lambertsen, October 2006. 16 National Archives. OSS Files. Record Group 226,Entry No. 549, Box 92, File 13. Conclusion dation for future Coast Guard “Burma War Diary.” Drafted by LT Jon operations and for defense orga- Babb, Chief Maritime Unit, India, Burma A Past Finally Recognized nizations yet to come. The train- Theater. July 1945. The “Burma War The Coast Guard men attached ing, tactics and procedures Diary” provides a summary of the activities of the MU in Burma, listing names, to the OSS during World War II pioneered by the OSS MU and missions and responsibilities of the men all are part of the long blue line OSGs of which Coast Guard men conducting covert and sabotage operations of Coast Guard history. But even were such a big part would help in that theater up until the MU received more, they helped lay the foun- build the foundation for future orders to disband on 15 June 1944.

Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008) 21 The Coast Guard and OSS

covert diving operations, US • Monitor the development, pro- Navy SEALs concepts, and Spe- curement, and management cial Operations Command com- of tactical intelligence sys- bat swimming operations. tems and equipment; Indeed, in a ceremony at the Special Forces Command in • Conduct related research, 1998, the Coast Guard frogmen development, and test and and the men of the OSS Mari- evaluation activities; and time Unit were inducted as hon- orary members of the Special • Conduct foreign intelligence Forces, more than 50 years after liaison relationships and their service in war. intelligence exchange pro- grams with foreign intelligence services, security Looking Ahead services, or international organizations. In the summer of 2007 the Coast Guard reestablished, for the first Until the reintroduction of the time since WW II, the intelli- intelligence speciality, intelligence specialty for enlisted per- gence duties were often personnel and brought into the formed by officers and enlisted Coast Guard people who special- personnel from other special- ize in all-source, human, commu- ties in the service, a policy that nications, signals, and left the Coast Guard at a disad- counterintelligence missions. vantage in building long-term The Coast Guard’s new crypto- expertise to perform national logic program is the service cryp- intelligence duties. tologic element for the Department of Homeland Secu- Ironically, the reinvigoration of rity, and, under revisions to intelligence responsibilities in Executive Order 12333 intro- the Coast Guard since 9/11 has duced by President Bush in July almost brought the Coast 2008, intelligence and counterin- Guard back to its intelligence- telligence elements of the Coast related work of WW II. In the Guard were authorized to: summer of 2008, the commandant of the Coast Guard • Collect (including through announced a partnership with clandestine means), analyze, Naval Special Warfare in which produce, and disseminate Coast Guard men will be foreign intelligence and trained as US Navy SEALs. counterintelligence including defense and defense- The original guardian spies related information and would be pleased.17 intelligence to support national and departmental 17 missions; Readers can find more detail, including a bibliography of literature on the Coast Guard and its historical role at: • Conduct counterintelligence www.uscg.mil/history and www.guardian- activities; spies.com.

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22 Studies in Intelligence Vol. 52, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2008)