The Air-Raid Warden Was a Spy: And Other Tales From Home-Front America in World War II by William B. Breuer Read Free Book Online
Authors: William B. Breuer
“longshoreman” Scott had boarded the Normandie, he had learned her destination, when she would leave New York, how many guns she would mount, and the thickness of armor being put over portholes—secret information obtained from loose-tongued workers and foremen.
Back at his newspaper, Scott handed his blockbuster story to editors. They were flabbergasted, calling the account a “blueprint for sabotage,” one that could advise enemy saboteurs how to destroy the world’s third largest ship (only a few feet shorter than the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth). So publication was held up.
However, the alarmed editors did report Scott’s amazing adventure to Captain Charles H. Zearfoss, the U.S. Maritime Commission’s antisabotage chief. He angrily denied the findings (the editors would say) and ordered: “Get your reporter off there before he gets shot!” 21
The Salesman’s Luck Runs Out
T HIRTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD Waldemar Othmer led the life of the average young American. A blond, blue-eyed personable man, he supported his wife and son by selling Electrolux vacuum cleaners in and around Norfolk, Virginia, site of the Navy’s largest base and headquarters of the Atlantic Fleet.
Neighbors were fond of Othmer, who always had a kind word to say and took his family to church each Sunday. He had volunteered his services to the Red Cross and each day raised an American flag in front of his modest house. Neighbors noticed that Othmer often was gone for several days at a time, but they presumed he was selling vacuum cleaners. What they didn’t know was that he was a slick Nazi spy.
In 1937, Othmer, a naturalized American of German birth, had returned to the fatherland on a visit. Impressed by Adolf Hitler’s cause, he volunteered to spy in America. His German controller instructed him to “lay low” in the United States (a sleeper agent) until he was called to active duty. That summons came in 1940 when President Roosevelt began rearming the nation to counter the Nazi threat.
Othmer had been ordered to serve his espionage apprenticeship at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he passed his test with flying colors. Later he obtained a job as a civilian electrician at a Marine Corps training base in North Carolina, and then he was told to establish a residence in Norfolk.
From his vantage point in the Virginia port—he often paid visits to the naval base without undue challenge—Othmer was able to pass on to his German controllers in Hamburg the status of American and British warships and merchant vessels being repaired there and when they sailed.
In 1943, Othmer’s days of betraying his adopted country came to a sudden halt. Arrested by FBI agents, he was tried in court, found guilty of espionage, and sentenced to twenty years in prison. 22
Part Two
America under Seige
Joe Louis Contributes Huge Purse
S IX WEEKS AFTER PEARL HARBOR, Joseph Louis Barrow did what no other boxer had done before or since: he risked a million-dollar-plus heavyweight championship to make a major financial contribution to his country. Known professionally as Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, as he was called, was going to put his title on the line against a promising fighter, Buddy Baer. At two hundred and thirty pounds, the challenger would outweigh the champion by twenty-five pounds. In his bout against Baer, Louis would donate his $100,000plus purse (equivalent to $1.2 million in 2002) to Navy Relief for needy families of sailors.
Born to cotton-picking parents in tiny Lexington, Alabama, Louis had won the world title in June 1937 when he knocked out James Braddock in the eighth round in Chicago. Sports writers claimed Louis had the fastest hands ever for a heavyweight.
On the afternoon of the fight, the Navy held a luncheon, and Louis was asked to speak to the twenty-five-hundred guests. Poker-faced (as he always was during his fights) and soft-spoken, he said that he was going to join the Army. “We will win the war,” he added, “because
Back at his newspaper, Scott handed his blockbuster story to editors. They were flabbergasted, calling the account a “blueprint for sabotage,” one that could advise enemy saboteurs how to destroy the world’s third largest ship (only a few feet shorter than the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth). So publication was held up.
However, the alarmed editors did report Scott’s amazing adventure to Captain Charles H. Zearfoss, the U.S. Maritime Commission’s antisabotage chief. He angrily denied the findings (the editors would say) and ordered: “Get your reporter off there before he gets shot!” 21
The Salesman’s Luck Runs Out
T HIRTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD Waldemar Othmer led the life of the average young American. A blond, blue-eyed personable man, he supported his wife and son by selling Electrolux vacuum cleaners in and around Norfolk, Virginia, site of the Navy’s largest base and headquarters of the Atlantic Fleet.
Neighbors were fond of Othmer, who always had a kind word to say and took his family to church each Sunday. He had volunteered his services to the Red Cross and each day raised an American flag in front of his modest house. Neighbors noticed that Othmer often was gone for several days at a time, but they presumed he was selling vacuum cleaners. What they didn’t know was that he was a slick Nazi spy.
In 1937, Othmer, a naturalized American of German birth, had returned to the fatherland on a visit. Impressed by Adolf Hitler’s cause, he volunteered to spy in America. His German controller instructed him to “lay low” in the United States (a sleeper agent) until he was called to active duty. That summons came in 1940 when President Roosevelt began rearming the nation to counter the Nazi threat.
Othmer had been ordered to serve his espionage apprenticeship at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he passed his test with flying colors. Later he obtained a job as a civilian electrician at a Marine Corps training base in North Carolina, and then he was told to establish a residence in Norfolk.
From his vantage point in the Virginia port—he often paid visits to the naval base without undue challenge—Othmer was able to pass on to his German controllers in Hamburg the status of American and British warships and merchant vessels being repaired there and when they sailed.
In 1943, Othmer’s days of betraying his adopted country came to a sudden halt. Arrested by FBI agents, he was tried in court, found guilty of espionage, and sentenced to twenty years in prison. 22
Part Two
America under Seige
Joe Louis Contributes Huge Purse
S IX WEEKS AFTER PEARL HARBOR, Joseph Louis Barrow did what no other boxer had done before or since: he risked a million-dollar-plus heavyweight championship to make a major financial contribution to his country. Known professionally as Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, as he was called, was going to put his title on the line against a promising fighter, Buddy Baer. At two hundred and thirty pounds, the challenger would outweigh the champion by twenty-five pounds. In his bout against Baer, Louis would donate his $100,000plus purse (equivalent to $1.2 million in 2002) to Navy Relief for needy families of sailors.
Born to cotton-picking parents in tiny Lexington, Alabama, Louis had won the world title in June 1937 when he knocked out James Braddock in the eighth round in Chicago. Sports writers claimed Louis had the fastest hands ever for a heavyweight.
On the afternoon of the fight, the Navy held a luncheon, and Louis was asked to speak to the twenty-five-hundred guests. Poker-faced (as he always was during his fights) and soft-spoken, he said that he was going to join the Army. “We will win the war,” he added, “because
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