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Stealing the codes from the Spanish Embassy (Book 'n Dagger)
During WW II, OSS chief Gen. Donovan suspected that several neutral embassies were transmitting information to the enemy. To get access into the Spanish Embassy, he hired a Spanish teacher from a prominent women's college.

When there was an advertisement for a secretary from the embassy, the teacher was slipped into position. While she had language skills and now access to the embassy, but she didn't have safe-cracking or burglary skills.

So the OSS hired one of the best safe crackers, G. B. "Sadie" Cohen, in the business. He had done numerous stints in Sing Sing and had a locksmithing shop in the Lower East Side (NYC). "Sadie" Cohen gave the OSS a small rubber hammer. The secretary was supposed hide the hammer in her bosom and smuggle it into the embassy and smack the dial, disabling the lock and necessitating a call for a locksmith.

When the embassy called for a locksmith, the OSS naturally had the company send Sadie as one of their employees in to effect repairs. This of course necessitated Sadie to examine the lock (learn the combination) and an opportunity to make a duplicate key.

Now the OSS had an agent inside but they needed an opportunity for her to work unattended.

While the embassy staff was distracted at a party hosted in an apartment in a fancy hotel that happened to be hosted by two socialites (who at OSS' behalf had befriended the staff), the secretary could open the safe and copy the codes for the OSS without fear of being caught. Real Mission Impossible television stuff.

When asked how much Cohen wanted to be paid he was indignant.

"Paid!" Paid! You come into my place to insult me? Don't I have two nephews in the army? Ain't I an American as much as you? Aren't you ashamed? Pay me? You can't even t(h)ank me. Even a ticket to Vashington you can't buy me, or a Coca-Cola."

 

Finished Book and Dagger about the OSS's use off academians and researchers to ferret out information on Germany. Some were deployed overseas as "academians" to collect information and even manage spy rings (Istanbul). One fellow helped people escape Vichy France by issuing American passports.

Afiero's 12th SS Panzer Division Hiterjugend.

 

Finished the second volume of Aliero's 12 SS Panzer Div.

Now onto Kyosuke Fukunaga's Account of the Future United States-Japan War, 1933. Pre-World War II Japanese account of a conflict between the two Pacific powers. Just started it but I already know it doesn't end the way Fukunaga's foresaw. He expected the American Nisei to rally to Japan and form a fifth column (LOL).

 

Forcible relocation was nothing but a disguised land grab. In all fairness, it was not just the Japanese Americans and an Italian farmer was forced off his land in Alameda Island (California Alameda Naval Air Station) in the SF Bay Area to expand the base.

There was a case in Gilroy where a caucasian neighbor promised to care for the farm of his Japanese neighbors. The caucausian tended to and harvested the crops, deposited the funds into their bank account (after paying expenses), got shot at when he slept at their house and when the family returned, he handed them back their keys. There are good people everywhere.

 

Pre-crime convictions!

 

DBL tap

 

Political expediency makes not for enduring laws. Seatte's tolerance of CHAZ/CHAD yielded nothing good, nor kneeling b/c of Bowel Loose Moment and recently the embracing of the disrupttive marxist lgbtq are but recent examples.

Coworker told me his father (Special Service Force/Devil's Brigade) felt that incarceration of Nisei was for their protection.

 

Returning to the book, here's some humerous incidents:

1) Three Japanese Americans board the USS Patoka and cast the airship Macon adrift which is never found. Guess sailors didn't stand watch back then. LOL.
2) Black sailors aboard many ships have planted explosives in the powder magazines of American warships, blowing up the USS Oklahoma while it was in transit in the Panama Canal. Black sailors were limited to either messman or cook positions and probably never venture that deep into the ship and certainly would be challenged by Y-T. "What are you doing here Boy?"
3) US submarine shells and destroys a Japanese train, killing a Japanese general and the 700 men he was traveling with (Eugene Fluckey and the USS Barb did shore engagements and blew up a choo-choo; but with a bomb).

 

4) Japanese cruiser force of eight cruisers engage an American heavy cruiser force of ten ships plus two carriers. The Japanese lose six cruisers but managed to sink two American cruisers and both American carriers.
5) One of the Lexingtons class CV is sunk in a night battle.
6) American air arm is severely reduced when faced by the Japanese. Both surviving American carriers are sunk and the Japanese lose the Akagi.
7) Surface engagement between battleships the Japanese lay a smokescreen and the Americans can't do aircraft spotting (no air superiority). American fleet surrenders.

Fun easy ready but LOL. American Navy conducted itself exactly how the Japanese envisioned 1905. Sail out and git beat badly.

 

Slight correction regarding the New Navy.

From the post-Civil War until the New Navy American blacks could be petty officers in the engineering spaces and they could command whites. When the New Navy began (steel ships circa 1880s to replace the ironclads) it became policy for minorities to be relegated to Messmen (stewards) or cooks. Same rule applied to Chinese & Filipinos. This has been mentioned in several books (Messmen Chronicles, Better than Good and maybe even The Golden Thirteen). My Uncle (Asian) was offered either messman or cook when he tried to enlist in WW II. He insisted that as he was a trained and experienced airplane mechanic (pre-war he climbed into the wings to tune the engines on Pan Am's China Clippers), he finally got enlisted as an aircraft mechanic. Despite his spotless record, he was never promoted once during WW II. Navy still had issues with minorities.

During WW II blacks were allowed to man AA guns aboard some ships and become part of the fighting crew. Imagine that since there was a black in Roger's Rangers, the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry in the Am Rev., Seminole War (but on the side of the Seminoles), Civil War (Port Hudson and elsewhere).

My own opinion if some one wants to get shot at, let 'em. I'm more along the lines of Bill Mauldin's Canteen Commando.

 

Stipulated, but Messman Miller stepped up to the moment and operated the MG but was not per se an AA gunner. He received the Navy Cross. Even Tora! Tora! Tora! protrayed Miller manning a 50 cal AA. Sad thing is Miller got sunk and killed aboard another ship. Should have been put on a recruitment tour instead. Done got himself on a postage stamp too.