First SEALs
Page 23
20“Under the direction . . . half mile inland.” “History of the Maritime Unit.”
20“killing the enemy . . . raised the alarm.” Ibid.
20“The students got . . . were poor shots.” Ibid.
21“1) You are . . . your boat effectively” Ibid.
21“the instructors encouraged students to take risks.” Ibid.
21“of a daring type.” Ibid.
21“rendezvous at an . . . bearing 152°.” “Training Problem No. 4,” NARA.
21“POSITION OF . . . east of beach.” Ibid.
CHAPTER 3: THE RACE TO DESIGN A REBREATHER
23“Almost weekly reports . . . Maritime Unit.” “History of the Maritime Unit.”
23“With the possibilities . . . the harbor.” Woolley memo, dated 1942, NARA.
25“Soon after I . . . mock-up unit.” Commander H. Woolley to Colonel M. Preston Goodfellow, “Underwater Swimming Units,” November 23, 1942, NARA.
25“for thirty minutes . . . ten feet.” Commander H. Woolley, “Using Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus,” October 25, 1942, NARA. The memo is significant because it is one of the first times a near version of the term “SCUBA” is used.
26“might possibly be . . . apparatus.” Ibid.
26“appeared to have . . . underwater swimming.” Ibid.
27“To learn about . . . hypercapnia.” R. D. Vann “Lambertsen and O2: Beginnings of operational physiology,” UHM 2004, Vol. 31, No. 1—Lambertsen and O2. Also from author interviews.
27“Chris was impressed . . . of ventilation.” Ibid.
27“The demonstration was . . . done that.” Ibid.
28“My pressure tests went . . . a goner.” Ibid.
28“As one of my professors . . . my education.” Ibid.
28“tests were carried out . . . with it.” Woolley memo, NARA.
29“apparatus in a proper . . . by the diver.” “History of the Maritime Unit;” also various OSS technical memos by Woolley, Taylor, and Duncan, dated 1942, NARA.
29“The Diving Unit . . . with respiration.” Ibid.
29“[When Frank] had heard about this . . . as possible.” Woolley memo, 1942, NARA.
29“that cash would be paid for them.” Ibid.
30Early OSS documents referred to the LARU as the Browne-Lambertsen rebreather.
CHAPTER 4: COMBAT SWIMMERS
31“made it impossible to stay in longer.” Jack Taylor, “Report on Ocean Trials of Browne Lung,” 1943, NARA.
32“the regulator in the oxygen . . . to burst.” Ibid.
34“coach and advisor . . . Navy Dep,” Lt. Robert Duncan to Commander Woolley, letter, May 19, 1943, NARA.
34“We will need . . . that time.” Ibid.
34“specially trained force . . . trench mortars,” Lt. Robert Duncan to Commander H. Woolley, interoffice memo, May 8, 1943, NARA.
35“the boards can . . . chambers.” Ibid.
35“there is no question . . . at sea.” Ibid.
35“In general, I . . . the beach.” Lt. Jack Taylor, “Comments on Aqua-Marines,” May 13, 1943, NARA.
36“With reference to . . . one assignment.” Lt. J. H. Duncan to Taylor via Commander Woolley, memo, July 1, 1943, NARA.
36“a good man . . . the game.” Maritime Unit Assessments, Area D, 1943, NARA.
36“A very good . . . the average.” Ibid.
37“enough wind to . . . folbots.” Area D training memos, 1943, NARA.
37“I believe that . . . very little.” Commander H. Woolley, memo, “OSS Surfboards,” 1943, NARA.
38John P. Spence’s description of the origin of the term “frogman” comes from Patrick Kiger, “John Spence: Fighting Frogman,” AARP blog, posted November 5, 2013, http://blog.aarp.org/2013/11/05/john-spence-fighting-frogman/. The author also interviewed Spence in 2003. (Over the course of twenty-two years, he has conducted more than four thousand interviews with World War II veterans, including interviews with five hundred operational members of the OSS. The interviews were cross-checked with the documents in the National Archives. He has spent more than a decade researching hundreds of thousands of records for the OSS and has written four books on the subject. Thousands of documents were used to write this book.)
38“shape . . . vertical fins.” “History of the Maritime Unit.”
38“transferred in great secrecy.” Ibid.
38“other flaws developed.” Ibid.; also from other OSS internal documents at NARA.
39“both hand and foot.” Ibid.
39“The significance of the order . . . the field.” Ibid.
40“if he was not . . . the U.S. Navy.” Taylor to Woolley, 1943, NARA.
CHAPTER 5: SILVER SPRINGS
41“The Champ.” The opening scene comes from an interoffice memo from Duncan to Sexton, “Trips to Florida,” September 7, 1943,” NARA.
42“I remember showing him . . . favorite things!” KTVZ.com news sources, “‘America’s first frogman’ dies in Bend at 95,” KTVZ.com, October 30, 2013, www.ktvz.com/news/americas-first-frogman-dies-in-bend-at-95/22721664.
42“exchanged ideas with . . . underwater equipment.” Lt. Duncan to Lt. Com. Sexton, letter, October 2, 1943, NARA; also, “COMBAT DEMOLITION UNIT (U.S. NAVY) Proposed Joint Action with MARITIME UNIT,” September 2, 1943, NARA.
42“Every man . . . potential use.” Ibid.
43“a discussion with . . . demolition unit.” Ibid.
43“the training of . . . duplicating effort.” Ibid.
43Additional detail on the trip to Silver Springs comes from several memos located in the NARA: Duncan to Woolley, August 23, 1943; Sexton to Woolley, August 26, 1943; Sexton to Duncan, September 7, 1943; Sexton to Lichtman, September 14, 1943.
43“I received one . . . useless orders.” Lt. Duncan to Lt. Com. Sexton, “Report on Trip to Ft. Pierce, FL. and Silver Springs, FL,” October 2, 1943, NARA.
44“As I have discussed . . . under guard.” Captain Alfred Lichtman to Lt. Commander Sexton, “Work at Silver Springs,” September 17, 1943, NARA.
44“Experimentation under Lt. Alexander . . . all matters.” Ibid.
CHAPTER 6: CRAZY YANKS: THE MARITIME UNIT’S BEACHHEAD IN EGYPT
47Opening scene comes from author interview with Lloyd Smith and internal OSS memos.
48“six foot five . . . his thigh.” Hayden, Wanderer, 312.
49“Haven’t [I] seen . . . Oh.” Ibid., 310
49“the chiefs of . . . hair.” Ibid.
49“oddly chilling guy.” Persico, Piercing the Reich, 124.
49“To be truly challenging . . . of life” Hayden, Wanderer, 23–24.
50“like a duck to water.” OSS training memo, Hayden personnel file, NARA.
51“To complete my . . . John Hamilton.” Hayden, Wanderer, 310.
52“I developed a system . . . be killed.” O’Donnell, Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs, 4.
52“To break a bear hug . . . Ruin him.” Ibid., 5.
52“Unfortunately, his insults . . . his arms.” Henrik Kruger, Hans V. Tofte Den Danske Krikshelt (Aschehoug Danish Publisher, 2005), from Clint Sporman, who provided translation.
53“In a sense . . . out alive.” Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs, 5
53“every bit as . . . a bayonet.” Author interview.
54“means of a piratical war.” Wilson to Churchill, September 9, 1943, NARA; also, author interview.
55“protection from the . . . base camp.” Taylor to HQ, memo, August 1943, NARA.
55“it was absolutely . . . Middle East.” Taylor to Woolley, cable, August 1943, NARA.
56“Daffy intolerable. . . . hasn’t heard.” “History of Maritime Unit in Cairo,” NARA.
56“was completed two . . . exasperating delays.” Jack Taylor, memos on Samothrace, September 1943, NARA.
56“borrowed a Jeep . . . some sailing.” Hayden, Wanderer, 310.
56“Some of these . . . and goldbricking.” “History of the Maritime Unit in Cairo,” NARA.
57“they were wasting . . . maritime ma
tters.” Ibid.
CHAPTER 7: PIRATE YACHTS AND SPIES OF THE CLOTH
60“urgently needed medical . . . from Cairo.” Taylor to Deputy Director of ME, “Maritime Ferrying Service—Report on Trip to Samos and Turkey,” October 13, 1943, NARA.
60“Samos being dead . . . impossible situation.” Ibid.
60“grab any fast . . . and speed.” Ibid.
60“good use.” Ibid.
60“blew a fuse.” Ibid.
60“U.S. was not . . . very unappreciative.” Ibid.
62“dive-bombed and strafed . . . starboard.” Ibid.
62“Nine Junkers circling . . . debris column.” Ibid.
CHAPTER 8: “HAGGLING, BRIBING, FINES, DELAYS, INSPECTIONS, BULLSHIT”
65“If that crazy . . . take you.” Taylor to Deputy Director of ME, “Maritime Ferrying Service—Report on Trip to Samos and Turkey,” October 13, 1943, NARA.
65“three hours of . . . plain uncooperativeness.” Ibid.
66“checked with the . . . British hands.” Ibid.
66“he had thought . . . was gone.” Ibid.
66“The operator assured . . . could get.” Ibid.
66“We prepared to . . . to go.” Ibid.
66“It seemed all . . . them short.” Ibid.
67“Departing, we were . . . the island.” Ibid.
67“more knots than . . . and sail.” Ibid.
67“Bomb burst and . . . Turkish coast.” Ibid.
68“Lieutenant Taylor has . . . to Maritime.” Acting Chief, Maritime Unit, to Lt. Col. William P. Davis, III, “Background Report as of September 30, 1943,” November 29, 1943, NARA.
68“Provisionally tried underwater . . . destruction.” Jack Taylor, “Outline of Maritime Operations Proposed by Maritime Unit of OSS,” September 10, 1943, NARA.
69“Underwater operatives and . . . enemy defenses.” Ibid.
70“his appreciation for . . . medical supplies.” Taylor, “Maritime Ferrying Service.”
70“It was experience . . . Yugoslav partisans.” “History of the Maritime Unit.”
70“sign for it . . . their mind.” Taylor, memo to OSS HQ, October 1943, NARA.
70“a formidable sheaf . . . complex situation.” Hayden, Wanderer, 310.
70“a group of escapees . . . Greek Islands.” Ibid., 311.
70“The British . . . fistful of orders,” Ibid.
CHAPTER 9: TREASURE ISLAND
74“I was a lifeguard . . . I volunteered.” Author interview.
75“who was jokingly . . . his tail.” Ibid.
75“a certain amount of consternation.” Ibid.
75“ideal for planting . . . underwater demolitions.” “History of the Maritime Unit.”
77“The first few . . . being detected.” Author interview and John Booth, “Report on Operation Cincinnati,” NARA.
78“In these tests . . . underwater swimmers.” Roosevelt, War Report of the OSS, 227.
78“The exercise was . . . terrorist attacks.” LCDR Michael Bennett, USCG, “The US Coast Guard and OSS Maritime Operations During World War II,” last updated January 8, 2009, www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol-52-no-4/guardian-spies.html.
CHAPTER 10: THE YANKEE, OPERATION AUDREY, AND THE BOOT
81Opening scene from author interview with Lloyd Smith.
82“everything was in . . . first impossible,” Carl Hoffmann, Chief SO, OSS Partisan Supply Operations, 1944, NARA; numerous internal documents on the operation were also sourced.
83“It has simply . . . vessels running.” Ward Ellen, “Report on ‘Audrey’,” March 25, 1944, NARA.
83“virtually without a rest.” OSS Partisan Supply Operations, 1944, NARA.
83“Within the next . . . boats arrived.” Ibid.
83“Within three weeks . . . to receive.” Ibid.
85“battered, leaking fishing schooners.” Ibid.
85“quite remarkable since . . . not risk.” Ibid.
85“responsible for the . . . except communications.” Ibid.; also War Report of the OSS.
85“By plunging through . . . weather served.” Hayden, Wanderer, 313–314.
86“repeatedly asked the . . . surface craft.” “History of the Maritime Unit.”
CHAPTER 11: “THE LITTLE PEARL HARBOR”
87“A mob of . . . ran madly.” Hayden, Wanderer, 312.
87“pumped tracers over . . . effect whatever.” Ibid.
88Scene of Hayden’s interaction with the Yugoslav partisans. Ibid., 312–313.
CHAPTER 12: THE ULTIMATE RESCUE
91The scene on the C-53 comes from various excellent survivor accounts, including Lawrence O. Abbott and Clinton W. Abbott, Out of Albania: A True Account of a WWII Underground Rescue Mission, and Agnes Jensen Mangerich, Albanian Escape: The True Story of U.S. Army Nurses Behind Enemy Lines. The author also wrote about the escape in Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs and conducted interviews with their rescuer, Lloyd Smith.
93“It was learned . . . in Albania.” OSS Memo on Stranded Nurses, 1943, NARA.
94“When the brass . . . the States.” Hayden, Wanderer, 312.
94“like we were . . . a bank.” Ibid.
95“I arrived at . . . partisan territory.” Lloyd Smith, “Report on Rescue of Nurses,” Smith Personnel File and Albanian operations, NARA.
96“We have people . . . your help.” Ibid.
96“It was still . . . out again.” Ibid.
97“Crawl up. . . . rope tight!” Lawrence O. Abbott and Clinton W. Abbott, Out of Albania: A True Account of a WWII Underground Rescue Mission (Lulu Press, 2010), 173–176.
97“to find out . . . landing forces.” Hayden’s Silver Star Award and memo from Tofte, NARA.
97“Captain [Hayden] managed . . . the 25th.” Ibid.
98“However, Captain [Hayden] . . . the Jeep.” Ibid.
98“After a hazardous . . . 27 December.” Ibid.
98“No Allied aircraft . . . by hand.” Hayden, Wanderer, 316.
98“On the way . . . to be.” Ibid.
99“immediate steps were . . . temporary standstill.” Hans Tofte, Hayden’s Silver Star Commendation, NARA.
99Scene with British general and Yugoslav partisans. Hayden, Wanderer, 315–316.
CHAPTER 13: BACK TO ALBANIA
101“We’re sending you back in.” Author interview with Smith.
102“This cousin was . . . entirely theirs.” Lloyd Smith to Chief, Special Operations, Cairo Section, “Evacuation of Three American Nurses from Albania,” March 29, 1944, NARA.
102“We always tell . . . to do.” Ibid.
103“We waited in . . . just shivering.” Ibid.
103“If my cousin . . . on him.” Ibid.
103“was awakened . . . bring them.” Ibid.
104“in the best . . . had received.” Ibid.
104“The coast was . . . German-held shore.” Ward Ellen memo and commendation, NARA.
104“about thirty of . . . in circles.” Hayden, Wanderer, 316–317.
105“No one said . . . a time.” Ibid., 317.
105“I had agreed . . . We go!” Ibid., 325.
106“were suddenly relieved . . . figure heads,” Ellen memo on MU Italy, 1944, NARA; also “History of the Maritime Unit.”
106“Since the British . . . to them.” Ellen memo on MU Italy, 1944, NARA.
106“18,932 rifles, . . . American divisions.” Hoffmann, OSS Partisan Supply Operations.
107“the cost of . . . of OSS.” Ibid.
CHAPTER 14: NO PICNIC
109“supplying ten tons . . . starving islanders.” Taylor, résumé of activities, 1944, NARA.
109“using British pinpoints . . . greater independence.” Commanding Officer, Hq. SBS to Operations Officer, OSS Algiers, “Report on ‘Picnic’ Operation,” April 5, 1944, NARA.
109“strongly recommended that . . . practically over.” Ibid.
110“because he had . . . and judgment.” Ibid.
110“We discovered th
at . . . yards apart.” J. H. Taylor, “Outline of Duties with Office of Strategic Services,” October 4, 1945, NARA.
110“Since the sector . . . everything possible.” “Report on ‘Picnic’ Operation,” NARA.
111“pyrotechnic signal flare . . . port side.” A. C. Young to the Commanding Officer, “Report on Picnic II,” April 4, 1944, NARA.
111“The vessel returning . . . without water.” Taylor, “Outline of Duties.”
111“At all times . . . radio transmitter.” “Report on ‘Picnic’ Operation”; also documents relating to Taylor’s Navy Cross commendation, Taylor personnel file, NARA.
112“dodging Germans and unfriendly Albanians.” Taylor, “Outline of Duties.”
112“The enclosed communications . . . in advance.” Taylor, Mission Report, 1944, the cover letter from Donovan is also included in the report, NARA.
113“Full political . . . into consideration.” Ibid.
CHAPTER 15: THE KELLY PLAN
116“Realizing: (a) The superb . . . Italian personnel.” Richard M. Kelly, “Kelly Project,” NARA.
116“MU-OSS is the . . . the British.” Ibid.
116“would in a . . . any theater.” Ibid.
117“suggesting methods not . . . Majesty’s Navy” “History of the Maritime Unit.”
117“the sinking or . . . temperature, etc.” Ibid.
117“a large swimming . . . an hour.” OSS Documents on Decima MAS, NARA.
118The operators intensely trained for a year. Greene and Massignani, The Black Prince, 26.
118“Thus, by proper . . . by sabotage.” “History of the Maritime Unit.”
118“1. A close-fitting rubber . . . to swimming.” Ibid.
119“Italian divers and . . . while closed.” Ibid.
120“make available the . . . Marco Battalion.” Ibid.; also various documents associated with MU and the Mediterranean theater.
120“about fifty years . . . the Allies.” Morde letter, NARA.
120“fanatic in the . . . mysterious guile.” Doug Henwood, “Spooks in Blue,” in Namebase.org., accessed March 2014, www.namebase.org/campus/henwood.html.
121“take over the . . . the Pacific.” MU memo dated 1944, NARA.
121The OSS cataloged . . . the Pacific. Frank J. Rafalko, ed. Counter Intelligence in World War II, A Counterintelligence Reader, Vol. 2. (National Counterintelligence Center), www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/docs/ci2/.