The Parallel Universe

Mark Culpepper wrote:Look at the sort of things that Mr. Twigsnapper says regarding the papers account. Basically, "don't believe everything you read"

So! Help me out here!

Mikado, what do you think?

Elizabeth Helen Drake wrote:Mkado,

which Photo are you referring to here?

Elizabeth

Mikado14 wrote:

Elizabeth Helen Drake wrote:Mkado,

which Photo are you referring to here?

Elizabeth

There are two of them from 1937 that show Dr. Brown standing and another of him seated with his left hand in view.

Paul S. wrote:

Mikado14 wrote:

Elizabeth Helen Drake wrote:Mkado,

which Photo are you referring to here?

Elizabeth

There are two of them from 1937 that show Dr. Brown standing and another of him seated with his left hand in view.

Those two photos, originally dated 1937, show all the fingers on both hands intact. Photos showing the missing finger don't show up until much later.

--PS

After the war Stephenson and Donovan went into the concrete business in the islands.

Wild Bill and Intrepid: Donovan, Stephenson, and the Origin of CIA by Thomas F. Troy. Yale University Press, P.O. Box 209040, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-9040, 1996, 259 pages, $30.00.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officially began with the National Security Act of 1947. The story behind the development of a national intelligence organization began a decade before, as related in Thomas F. Troy's Wild Bill and Intrepid. In this outstanding, thoroughly researched account of the origins of an intelligence organization, Troy analyzes the beginnings of the Office of Coordinator of Information (COI) and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).

Troy interviewed such key players as William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan and William S. Stephenson-the legendary "Intrepid." Stephenson's role in establishing an American intelligence organization comes under much scrutiny, especially his ties with Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), starting in 1939. At that time, Britain was fighting the Germans in World War II while simultaneously entertaining the idea of gradually bringing in the United States, a neutral party. How did the United States come up with the idea of starting a central intelligence organization with proposed British involvement?

Before answering that question, let's examine the Interdepartmental Intelligence Conference (IIC), created to provide a semi-informative gathering of the agencies and organizations responsible in some way for America's intelligence information. Chaired by J. Edgar Hoover, the conference included the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Army's Military Intelligence Division (G-2), the Office of Naval Investigation (ONI), and the State Department. The IIC got word that the British Purchasing Commission wanted to set up an intelligence service in the United States. Stephenson enters the picture in 1940 with his selection to the position of British passport control officer in New York City. Troy implies that this position carried the underlying job title of British intelligence and security systems chief in the Western Hemisphere. Another of Stephenson's jobs was nurturing the relationship between the FBI and SIS, the particulars of which came to light much later and are still questionable.

Citing the need for an office to coordinate the American intelligence effort, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the COI on 11 July 1941. At the helm was Major General Donovan, America's intelligence idealist and possibly a "good friend" of Stephenson. In 1942 the COI was restructured into the OSS. On 1 October 1945, the OSS was abolished, leaving only a few organizations of the American intelligence establishment to become the foundation for the CIA in 1947.

Troy, a retired CIA analyst and staff officer, examines the relationship between Donovan and Stephenson during the creation of the American intelligence effort, as well as many other controversies surrounding that main issue. In later chapters, Troy touches on reports of a British offer to run the FBI and accusations that Donovan was a British spy.

Wild Bill and Intrepid is truly an intelligence treasure. Rich in information about World War II, declassified documents, and charismatic personalities, this book is recommended reading for World War II buffs and intelligence aficionados alike. It should be studied as a classic in the history of the beginnings of American national security.

1st Lt Barry H. Crane, USAF
Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio

twigsnapper wrote: But then, the American on the street at the time did not know many things. For example, that Hitler had already been talking with the Japanese about working with them to cut the United States in two after a drive up through Mexico rendered this nation in those two halves. That the Japanese were building super subs that were designed to carry bombers on board especially designed to launch and carry out a strike against the Panama Canal. That agents in Mexico were readying to work with an German invasion force destined for that country. Once England fell the plan was to immediately move westward. The " American on the Street" had no concept of these threats and so based his isolationist views on inadequate information.