Notable Passings

by **Pat Holscher** » Wed May 10, 2006 8:36 pm

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by kerry savee
 Jeff, wasn't it Vice-President Nixon under President Eisenhower who exposed Alger Hiss as a communist spy? Did Nixon have access to Venona or did Carter tip him off?

Kerry

"ride your horse forward and set him straight" Gustav Steinbrecht

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Venona actually remained a clandestine project, I think, until the late 1980s. The reason is that so much material was gathered that the government was still working on trying to decypher it. By the late 80s, it had either decyphered all it could, or figure that there wasn't much point on keeping the effort secret.

Even when the material was released, not all of it was, as a lot of it hadn't been decyphered. And not all of the individuals identified by the project had their identities revealed at the time it was released, as the government had privacy concerns about some of them, or felt they would be unduly subject to embarrassment.

So when the story did break in the late 1940s, it came through other sources, principally, early on, from those who had been Soviet spies and defected. Some of these people were subject to public condemnation for their statements, while it was unbeknownst to everyone that Venona confirmed what they had testified too. It was only in the late 80s when it was revealed that it was then realized how accurate their testimony had been. Subsequent to that, Soviet sources, released post 1990, further confirmed their accuracy.

The whole story is fascinating. There's more material than anyone can handle, and a lot of it remains cyphered. What is decyphered, still identifies a lot of people by codenames, not all of which have been broken by any means. It doesn't all deal with the US, but also deals with Mexico and South America.

Pat

by **Pat Holscher** » Wed May 10, 2006 9:00 pm

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Subotai
 [size=3][font=Book Antiqua]Kerry,

It was Whittaker Chambers who exposed Hiss in 1948. It wasn't easy though. The Department of Justice acting on presidential orders did all they could do to discredit Chambers. The justice department in fact tried very hard not to try Hiss. Between the Communist Party in the US and the justice department Hiss almost got away scot free.
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Chambers actually tried to reveal Hiss' identity to the government as early as 1938 or so. He couldnt' get anyone to take any interest. So in actuality, when the news broke, it was actually the government becoming aware of information Chambers tried to reveal a decade prior.

Chambers was an interesting character. He wasn't the only significant informant. A female Communist defeactor was also important, but Chambers is almost typical for those who had been Soviet spies. He was intelligent, and had some significant personal flaws. That often characterized Soviet spies of that era. They were often committed intellectuals without moorings.

Chambers, however, had never stopped thinking and was horrified by the Soviet alliance with Nazi Germany. He left the Communist party at that time, and tried to get Hiss to leave too.

Luckily for Chambers, he'd kept some of the information he had been running for the spy network as insurance. He went on to become a dedicated anti Communist, and worked for Time magazine.

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Hiss was almost unmasked as a spy in 1941 by a General Krivitsky who before he could talk was found to have committed suicide in a room in Hotel Bellevue in Washington DC. A .380 automatic was found under his hand. The rooms on both sides of his were occupied at the time of his death yet no one heard the shot. The only handgun Krivitsky was known to own was a revolver and was not found. The conclusion the Washington DC police failed to draw was that he had been murdered by a silenced pistol. His death was ruled a suicide. He had defected and was the former chief of Soviet military intelligence for Western Europe. Knowing Soviet methods, he had previously told his wife he would never commit suicide and if he did it was the Soviets. The wording of his suicide note is consistent with the idea that he was trying to leave a message that he didn't want to die.

Harry Dexter White was the next to die. Three days after testifying before the House Committee on Un-American Activities on 13 August 1948 he died suddenly at his home in New Hampshire. The doctor who stated the cause of death to have been a coronary heart attack made that determination without seeing the body. His remains were hastily rushed across the state line to Boston where they were cremated. Interesting considering that New Hampshire law forbids cremation unless it s specifically authorized in the decreased's will. There was no such authorization in White's will. The ashes were disposed of by White's brother-in-law, Dr. Abraham Wolfson, a Russian born dentist. Wolfson subsequently died of a heart attack and both Whittaker Chambers and the FBI maintained that Wolfson was a fanatical communist.

White was under investigation for espionage and was to due to reappear before the House Committee.

Justice department lawyer W. Marvin Smith testified before the House Committee as to his having notarized the transfer-of-title on Hiss' old car to one William Rosen, a communist organizer. This was the first indication to the House Committee of Hiss' perjury for which he was ultimately convicted.

On 20 October 1948, Smith was found dead in the bottom of a Department of Justice stairwell. Smith left no suicide note and no one saw Smith fall; he worked on the 5th floor and apparently fell from there. Smith was the only witness to the car transfer which proved Hiss had perjured himself. Hiss actually tried twice to interrupt the congressional hearing to talk to Smith outside of the room but failed.

Then was Laurence Duggan, former chief of the Latin Division of the State Department and a good friend of Hiss. He was killed as a result of a fall from the 16th floor window of his Manhattan office at the foundation he headed, the leftist Institute of International Education which had ties to Moscow University. The New York Police let it go as either an accident or a suicide but Duggan's three life insurance companies investigated and determined it was not at least suicide and paid the death benefit to Duggan's widow.

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One of the things Venona revealed is the extent of the Smersh efforts in the US. Smersh was a Soviet program which assassinated defectors. The most notable example of this sort of thing was the assassination of Trotsky in Mexico. Trotsky, of course, was a bigger loon than Stalin, so that is perhaps understandable. However, the Venona material reveals that the Soviets were so paranoid about defectors, they even went so far as to hunt down a female sailor who had jumped ship, and ultimately married a cab driver in San Francisco. They kidnapped her and returned her to the USSR, where her fate is unknown.

Pat

by **kerry savee** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:11 pm

Sounds like a much more interesting fare for a screenplay than that smear-job on Joe McCarthy, "Good Night and Good Luck". Also sounds reminiscent of the Friends of Bill stories. Thanks for the history lesson.

Kerry

"ride your horse forward and set him straight" Gustav Steinbrecht

by **Harve Curry** » Thu May 11, 2006 9:16 am

So when FDR said words to the effect of "whats all this fuss about communists, some of my best friends are communists", he didn't realize he was surrounded by them?

yours,
Bill Weddle
Black Range Mnts.of New Mexico

by **Joseph Sullivan** » Thu May 11, 2006 10:10 am

Jeff Wall is absolutely right.

Everyone should read Chamnbers' book WITNESS as not only a historical document, but also a moving testimant to the human spirit.

An acquaintance of mine with excellent literary credentials has for many years been researching a book on McCarthy and his era. He has spent years in the Verona files, and also in the Soviet files from Russia. In a speech last spring to a society to which we both belong he told the story of the refused loan to Chang. In a nutshell, the issue was put to Treasury Secretary Morganthau. On the day he formed his final recommendation to the President, he spent quite a bit of time mulling it over with two senior officials BOTH OF WHOM WERE SOVIET AGENTS.

Say what you will about Joe McCarthy's tactics, the fact remains that he didn't know the half of it. Things were worse than he thought. And the left is still trying to cover that up half a century later.

Joe

by **Pat Holscher** » Thu May 11, 2006 10:19 am

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Harve Curry
 So when FDR said words to the effect of "whats all this fuss about communists, some of my best friends are communists", he didn't realize he was surrounded by them?

yours,
Bill Weddle
Black Range Mnts.of New Mexico
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He probably really didn't, or didn't appreciate that it was significant in any fashion.

On that quote, it's circulated on the net quite a bit, but I wonder what the context and situation was. Even Winston Churchill, who was always a staunch anti-Communist, was willing to get along with Stalin during WWII, and made a comment about being willing to be allied with anyone in order to defeat Germany. So the context of the statement does matter. And FDR had sort of a wry, odd, sense of humor that might make a difference as well. Asked once if he was a Socialist by a reporter, he stated he was a Christian, American, and Democrat in that order.

That last comment might be relevant here as I think history might suggest that FDR was very cognizant of the dangers posed by the Nazis and the Japanese, but not really that aware that the Soviet Union or the Communist would ever be a problem. He doesn't seem to have really defined people or parties in a concrete fashion, and doesn't seem to have worried much about people's allegiances except where just noted. He was curious in that he was actually fairly loose in his approach to things. Perhaps that's what made him a good Depression era President, as he doesn't seem to have worried about the long term effects of anything in particular that he was doing. And it might have made him a good WWII President for the most part, although a bad one on some specific items, as he was willing to be pretty flexible on a lot of things, and to even act with questionable legality on some things before the war.

So, when it came to Communist in the US, I"m not sure how he viewed them, but he probably mostly didn't. He probably wasn't aware that they were really different and dangerous. Indeed, the whole country took that view during the war. A WWII propaganda poster, for example, depicts a Soviet soldier with the caption "This Man Fights For Freedom". We'd now argue that the Red Army soldier was fighting against Nazi tyranny, but freedom would really be a stretch as an argument. And some WWII era movies about the Soviets are the same way. One in which Gregory Peck has a role, for example, would essentially suggest that the Soviet partisans were a big 4H Club, which isn't very realistic. But people always like to view their allies as philosophical allies as well.

We'll never know how FDR would have reacted after the war, had he lived. He would have been President up until 1948. Truman seems to have largely followed FDR's lead in international relations at first, although he was a more cynical man. But from 45 to 47 or so the country pretty much slept in regards to the Soviet Union, figuring it had been a wartime ally and was still our friend. It wasn't until the Berlin Blockade, and the fall of China, that people reconsidered things. The GOP pointing towards the Democrats on the fall of China has been mentioned above, but it should also be noted that the GOP was arguing for a return to isolation from 45 to 49 or so, and was not particularly inclined to act. It was the British, not the Americans, who first opposed the Communist internationally, getting involved in the Greek civil war starting in 1945.

All this isn't to say that the American Communist weren't dangerous, or that the Soviets were not engaged in an extraordinary spying endeavor in the Americas. They were. And I'm not saying that every element of the US government was asleep. Obviously some branches of government were worried right from the onset. Rather, I think here FDR was sort of asleep at the wheel, but he wasn't the only one.

by **Pat Holscher** » Thu May 11, 2006 10:29 am

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Joseph Sullivan
 Jeff Wall is absolutely right.

Everyone should read Chamnbers' book WITNESS as not only a historical document, but also a moving testimant to the human spirit.

An acquaintance of mine with excellent literary credentials has for many years been researching a book on McCarthy and his era. He has spent years in the Verona files, and also in the Soviet files from Russia. In a speech last spring to a society to which we both belong he told the story of the refused loan to Chang. In a nutshell, the issue was put to Treasury Secretary Morganthau. On the day he formed his final recommendation to the President, he spent quite a bit of time mulling it over with two senior officials BOTH OF WHOM WERE SOVIET AGENTS.

Say what you will about Joe McCarthy's tactics, the fact remains that he didn't know the half of it. Things were worse than he thought. And the left is still trying to cover that up half a century later.

Joe
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Ultimately, it's one of the odd twists of history that Joe McCarthy lead the charge here. Had it only been done by somebody else, who was less inclined towards McCarthy's faults, the story would likely have played out differently.

The problem with McCarthy was that he was inclined to draw attention to himself, and liked it. Most politicians are, of course, but it was easy to make McCarthy the story. And he began to self destruct, and to like the story for the attention it gave him.

Had it fallen to somebody else, it likely would not have developed that way. And its quite likely the investigations would have gotten a bit further than they did (but probalby not much further, unless Venona had been revealed, which it would not have been). The shame of it is that the seld destruction of McCarthy has lead people to believe that the story he was exposing was a false story. In truth, as we now know, there were indeed extensive Communist activities in the US, and there had been penetration of the government by the Communist Party. The Communist were not just another political party, and they were taking directions from the Soviet Union.

We now know all that. And we know that the early witnesses, to include others in addition to Chambers, were telling the truth. Testimony that was regarded as wildly fantastic has been revealed to have been right on. One witness whom even Harry Truman made a statement about calling her into doubt has shown to be on in nearly everything, if not everything, she testified to.

Of course, the verification for everything came in the late 80s, by which time the Soviet Union was flying apart. At that time, there'd been 20 plus years of an official view that McCarthy's committee, and the equivalent committee in the Senate, had falsely accused everyone. It should have been more obvious that the exposed a lot of genuine problems, but everyone now believes that McCarthy made it all up. Even after Venona came to light, that light wasn't bright enough to cause people to question the official long held view.

Of course, Venona also shows that some of those who came forward were vilified for trying to expose things were right, and not villians. And it shows that some of those who had important roles in what is a central part of our nation's history, and is a fond memory for most Americans, were people with divided loyalties who betrayed their country at the same time they were serving it. And it shows that some institutions in the country were occasionally duped. People don't like to admit any of that.

Pat

by **Pat Holscher** » Thu May 11, 2006 12:29 pm

A list of Americans mentioned in Venona (you have to read their entries to know why they were listed in Venona).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Am ... ona_papers

Pat

by **Pat Holscher** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 7:14 am

While well off topic, I'd note the passing of Susan Butcher, 51 years of age, yesterday in Seattle.

Susan Butcher was the legendary Iditarod Champion. The Iditarod, as most folks here no doubt know, bills itself as the "last great race." Whether it is or not a person could debate, but it certainly is a reminder of another day, and had it's origins in the form of a medical supply run in the Alaskan winter. It's a sled dog race, of course, but it also brings to mind the day, not that long ago, where even in North America horses, cattle, mules and dogs were necessary beasts of burdon. It remains a pretty dangerous affair too. In one year Butcher and her team were saved by another musher, who stopped to shoot an enraged moose that was going after her rig.

She died from the complications of leukimia.

Pat

by **Pat Holscher** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 6:30 am

WWI soldier returns home.

http://www.defenselink.mil/Releases/Rel ... aseID=9996

Pat

by **Pat Holscher** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:27 am

Moses Hardy, 113, Veteran of World War I, Dies
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 10, 2006
JACKSON, Miss., Dec. 9 (AP) — Moses Hardy, believed to be the second-oldest man in the world and the last black United States veteran of World War I, died Thursday. He was 113.

Evelyn Davis, 68, one of Mr. Hardy’s eight children, said her father died at a nursing home in Aberdeen. He would have been 114 on Jan. 6.

Pat

by **Pat Holscher** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:57 am

President Gerald R. Ford, President from 1974 to 1976, passed away yesterday, December 26th.

President Ford is unique in a lot of ways, but his personal history was always overshadowed by his coming into office as a result of President Nixon's resignation. He was a World War Two veteran, having served as a Naval officer from 1941 to 1946. His service in the U.S. Navy disrupted his entry into the practice of law, as he'd just graduated from law school at the time of his entry in to the Navy. After the war, a mere two years after leaving the Navy, he entered Congress, serving continually until becoming Vice President after the resignation of Spiro Agnew.

In keeping with the theme of this site, President Ford not only served as a Naval officer, but was in Congress for the entire Korean War, and most of the Vietnam War. He had the unfortunate fate of being President not only at the time of Richard Nixon's resignation, but at the time of the 1975 North Vietnamese offensive which resulted in the capitulation of South Vietnam. President Ford remained a controversial figure for his having pardoned Richard Nixon, and, in some quarters, for accepting a Congressional attitude which refused to honor guarantees made to the Republic of Vietnam providing that US air power would be used in the event of a need to repel an invasion from North Vietnam. Use of American air power in 1972 had resulted in a successful repulsion of such an offensive, and its deprivation in 1975 guaranteed the North Vietnamese victory. In President Ford's defense, it was clear that Congress was not inclined to honor the guarantees in any event.

Pat

by **Pat Holscher** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:13 pm

French veteran of WWI dies.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/ ... &cset=true

And now France is down to three known veterans from WWI. Hard to believe.

Pat

by **Joseph Sullivan** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:15 pm

A friend and colleague of mine's 106 yr old father is a veteran of the Kaiser's army. The sad thing is that after serving honorably, this good man barely escaped from the Holocaust a couple of decades later by fleeing to America. Most of his relatives died in the camps. He loves America. One of his more common expressions is, "Vat a country!"

Joe

by **Pat Holscher** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:29 pm

Originally posted by Joseph Sullivan
A friend and colleague of mine's 106 yr old father is a veteran of the Kaiser's army. The sad thing is that after serving honorably, this good man barely escaped from the Holocaust a couple of decades later by fleeing to America. Most of his relatives died in the camps. He loves America. One of his more common expressions is, "Vat a country!"

Joe

I couldn't find it to post it, but another notable passing was of a 108 year old German veteran last month or so, who was also the oldest living Catholic priest. He'd been an infantryman in WWI and the horrors of the war motivated his later path in life. He noted in an interview that he'd lived in fear in the Nazi era for statements he'd made, and had been called in on one occasion to be informed that his comments had been made note of.

Here in this town, I can recall a veteran of the German WWI army. He'd actually come over illegally in the 1920s. He'd married, and then made an effort to straighten his status out. That required him to go back to Germany in order to apply to enter the US, which was in the late 30s. He was scared stiff he wouldn't get back in.

Pat

by **HawkHero** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 5:28 pm

http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/oldestwwi9.htm

Interesting to note that he was the also the oldest known war veteran and living US Male.

Brian S Colonna

by **lazyschnauzer** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 6:33 am

Thanks for posting that, Brian.

All the best,
Dan

by **Harve Curry** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:02 am

''He always had a great attitude. He had a twinkle in his eye. And he always had an eye for the ladies. Even right up to the end, he was always kissing their hands and trying to get them to cuddle with him,'' he said.

yours,
Bill Weddle
Black Range Mnts.of New Mexico

by **browerpatch** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:38 pm

Today we remember the passing of the finest farrier/blacksmith I've had the privelege to have known. His name was Phil Silcox. A Navy veteran and inveterate story teller and simply one of the finest men I've ever been privileged to know. I just got back from spending a few hours with his lovely widow, Mell, his oldest son, and two of his grandchildren.

Phil could and would talk with anyone, from Admirals to convicts, on any level, and be at home in any situation. I've learned more from him than another other man I could have the honor to be aquainted with. He was the absolute roughtest, toughest, gentlest, most tender hearted son of a b---- you could ever hope to meet.

He died this morning about 9:00, after his coffee, and before he fed his roosters. He could shoe anything, and as he put it he could fix any thing but the crack of dawn and the break of wind. My God, I loved that man. Losing him is worse on me and my wife than losing our parents.

Y'all, as horsemen, pray for the soul of Phil Silcox.

Frank Brower

by **Pat Holscher** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:32 pm

A completely offtopic notable passing, but one which, in some ways, formed the auditory definition of a mounted man in the 1950s. Frankie Laine, who passed away last Tuesday at age 93, who sang:

http://www.kfcplainfield.com/sound/rawhide.wav

Pat

Notable Passings

Susan Butcher

Moses Hardy

Gerald R. Ford

Re: Notable Passings

Re: Notable Passings

Last MA WWI Vet Dies...

Frankie Laine

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