The Air-Raid Warden Was a Spy , livre ebook

The Air-Raid Warden Was a Spy
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Books by William B. Breuer

An American Saga

Bloody Clash at Sadzot

Captain Cool

They Jumped at Midnight

Drop Zone Sicily

Agony at Anzio

Hitler s Fortress Cherbourg

Death of a Nazi Army

Operation Torch

Storming Hitler s Rhine

Retaking the Philippines

Nazi Spies in America

Devil Boats

Operation Dragoon

The Secret War with Germany

Hitler s Undercover War

Sea Wolf

Geronimo!

Hoodwinking Hitler

Race to the Moon

J. Edgar Hoover and His G-Men

The Great Raid on Cabanatuan

MacArthur s Undercover War

Feuding Allies

Shadow Warriors

War and American Women

Unexplained Mysteries of World War II

Vendetta: Castro and the Kennedy Brothers

Undercover Tales of World War II

Top Secret Tales of World War II

Secret Weapons of World War II

Daring Missions of World War II

Deceptions of World War II
The Air-Raid Warden Was a Spy
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And Other Tales from Home-Front America in World War II
William B. Breuer

John Wiley Sons, Inc.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2003 by William B. Breuer. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Breuer, William B.

The Air-Raid Warden Was a Spy / William B. Breuer.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-471-23488-5
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicated to four-star GENERAL BARRY R. McCAFFREY (Ret.), a valiant warrior who received two Distinguished Service Crosses and three Purple Hearts during four combat tours.
We have a distinct spy menace. The peril is the deep penetration of the United States by subversives.
-J. Edgar Hoover, FBI Director (1941)
Contents

Introduction
Part One-Shock Waves Hit America

On the Ground, by God!

Dispute in the President s Office

Calls for Retreat to Rockies

Submarines Off West Coast

Roosevelt Rallies the Nation

Eavesdropper in the German Embassy

A Television Pioneer

Instant Psychologists

Strange Doings across the Land

A Stop-and-Go Railroad Trip

San Francisco Is Being Bombed!

Watching for Enemy Paratroopers

A Covert Raid into Mexico

Fear for Roosevelt s Life

FBI Joins in Sinking Submarine

Rounding Up Subversive Suspects

A Feud over Wiretapping

Mission: Halt Ambassador s Hara-Kiri

A Field Marshal Is Shocked

Nazi U-Boat in New York Harbor

A Journalist Prowls the Normandie

The Salesman s Luck Runs Out
Part Two-America under Siege

Joe Louis Contributes Huge Purse

A Grieving Father Joins Navy

Self-Appointed Do-Gooders

A Hollywood Victory Committee

Actress Dies for Her Country

Dismantling a Nazi Spy Network

A Debacle in Manhattan

The Battle of Los Angeles

We Poison Rats and Japs

Goal: Coalition of Africa and Japan

Mysterious Malady on Ships

The FBI and the OSS Feud

Hijinks on a Hospital Roof

Suspicions Run Rampant

German Officers Stalk Harbor

Commercial Radio s First War

U-Boats Ruining Tourist Season

Helping a German POW Escape

Strange Scenario in San Francisco

Silencing a Priest Rabble-Rouser

Nazi Agents in Key Industry Posts

Blasts Rock Defense Facilities

Eastern America Set Ablaze

The Mysterious Shangri-la

Comic Strip Puzzles Tokyo Warlords

Disaster Impacts Two U.S. Towns

A Date with Destiny

A Tumultuous Homecoming

Lord Haw-Haw and His Spies
Part Three-A Sleeping Giant Awakens

Invasion Target: California

Washington: Chaotic Capital

A Young Reporter Is Awed

Doll Woman an Enemy Agent

Panic Erupts at Concert

Standard Oil Aids the Nazis

A Guidebook for Nazi Spies

They Came to Blow Up America

Artillery Confrontation in Oregon

German-American Bund Demolished

First Lady Rattles Some Cages

I m Proud of You, Mom!

Horse Racing Flourishes

Psychological Saboteurs at Work

Hollywood Superstars Sign Up to Fight

War Hero Meets Joe Kennedy

Wants to Spotlight U.S. Spies

Government Censors Movies

Navajo Code-Talkers

Popular Orchestra Disbanded

Gone with the Wind in Chicago

Nasty Bartenders and Redneck Cops

Plane Bombs Pacific Northwest
Part Four-A Nation in Total War

Covert Project on Constitution Avenue

Patton Calls on the President

Weapons Mysteriously Vanish

A Huge Bounty on Hitler s Head

A Tempest in a Teapot

Press Conference for Women Only

Secret Plan to Draft Females

Women in Combat Experiment

Jailbreak for a Boyfriend

Megabucks for Jack Benny s Violin

Mom, Keep Your Chin Up!

Firm Gets Big Payoff

A Glamorous Nazi Agent

Marine Commander s Dilemma

A Patriotic Heroine s Long Ordeal

A Platinum Smuggler s Demise

Get Going! Time Is Short!

Women Flock to War Plants

Recruiting the Blind and the Deaf

Offer to a Striptease Artist

The FBI Arrests Good Old Ernie

America s Least-Known Boomtown

Hello, America! Berlin Calling!

A Picture Stuns the Nation

A Tragedy in St. Louis

Legal Kidnapping by Soviet Thugs

Spy Nabbed a Second Time

Scoundrels in the War Effort

Bomb Japan Out of Existence

War Hero Bounced from Air Corps

An Overseer of GI Morals

Top-Secret Projects Opened to Women

Roosevelt: Chloroform Drew Pearson

An Ace German Operative
Part Five-On the Road to Victory

Hoodwinking Hitler from New York

A Spy in Allied Headquarters?

Two Broadcast Rivals Called Up

Tributes to a Fallen Female Pilot

Cheers for a Lady

D Day Anxieties and Prayers

A Virginia Town Is Jolted

Calamity at Port Chicago

Secret Project in a Movie Studio

WASPs Test New B-29

The Fable of Fala

Roosevelt s Foe Keeps a Secret

A Father-and-Daughter Spy Team

Stumbling into a World Series

A Riot Erupts in New York City

Dark Intruders Sneak Ashore

Robot Bombs Threaten East Coast

The F hrer Staggers America

Back Home for Christmas

Episode on a Florida Bus

A GI Changes His Mind
Part Six-The Lights Go On Again

A Blaze of Glory

A Byrne-out Hits the Nation

It Was His Duty

A Battered Warrior Limps Home

Visit by a Navy Chaplain

Will I Be Able to See?

Franklin Died Like a Soldier

Mama Truman Visits the White House

GIs Best Friend Dies in Battle

Restrained Joy Breaks Out

Two Old Friends Meet

Poll: Hang Hirohito

Your Son Is Close to Death

A Rain of Explosive Balloons

Paratroopers in Operation Firefly

A Purple Heart Parade

Plane Crashes into Skyscraper

An Invasion of German Scientists

Curious Happenings in Utah

A Haunting Prediction

Proposed Use of Disabling Gas

I Was Thinking about Our Boys

Let s Take a Second Day Off!

A Nation Goes Wild

A GI Refugee Returns

Experts Visualize Crime Wave

Notes and Sources

Index
Introduction
D URING WORLD WAR II , few civilians realized that home-front America was under seige, that the German and Japanese warlords had planted a large number of spies, saboteurs, and propagandists who were bent on wreaking as much havoc as possible.
Many of these subversives were sleepers, who had been recruited by the Germans or the Japanese years earlier and ordered to blend in with their communities until it was time to spring into action.
To hold down panic on the home front, the U.S. government slickly covered up the fact that these predators were blowing up factories and key installations, causing enormous damage and loss of life, and that they had set ablaze millions of acres of forests. These fires were attributed to careless smokers.
At the same time the saboteurs were striking blows at home-front America, German spies were radioing reports on departing convoys to submarines lurking off the eastern seaboard, resulting in the sinkings of hundreds of merchant vessels. Nazi submarine skippers had become so bold that one even took his und