• Denise Frisino

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    Espionage Spies and Shadow Warriors

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    On September 20, 1940, Genevieve Grotjan, a former railway annuity statistician and mathematician, broke the Japanese diplomats code which the U.S. would entitle ‘Purple’. This Purple code was essential for the Allied forces, especially at the Battle of Midway and tracking the movements of Admiral Yamamoto enabling the United States Army Air Forces to shoot down his plane.

    Espionage used for military purposes is well documented throughout history. The Greeks and Romans built empires with the aid of intelligence gathering. Records also reflect spy tactics and strategies in ancient Chinese and Indian writings. In the 5th century B.C. Sun-Tzu penned his masterpiece, The Art of War, in which he dedicated the final chapter, Chapter 13, to Intelligence and Espionage. The Hebrew story of Rahab tells of spies sent by Joshua to assess the military strength of Jericho, and the ancient Egyptians had perfected a system to gather information to further their empire.

    denise-frisino-Takeo Yoshikawa and her new book Orchids of WarKnowing the strengths and weaknesses of your enemy is vital to your success. Thus, as building tension spread around the globe, so did the need for information. In 1882 both the British Admiralty and the United States formally assigned Naval Intelligence Divisions to accrue information for their expanding needs. This was followed by navies of Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungry, Japan and other international powers.

    In 1937 Japan realized its shortage of trained men for covert operations and set into motion the creation of the Nakano School, established in the Nakano Ward of Tokyo. Selecting from the highest qualified intellectuals, these students were encouraged to ask questions of their teachers, they wore suits as opposed to uniforms, and their hair long. By the end of World War II the school had trained over twenty-five hundred spies or shadow warriors. This was in conjunction with over a thousand men who worked at the Noborito Research Institute developing special weapons for the men who would risk their lives to obtain the needed military intelligence.

    Of course there were women who also sacrificed, sometimes even their lives, for the sake of learning the enemies secrets. The age old art of spying is a very risky business but essential.

    • Denise Frisino's blog. New book called Orchids of War is coming out soon
    • Denise Frisino's blog. New book called Orchids of War coming out soon

    One of the most famous quotes regarding spying during WWII was
    ‘Loose lips sink ships’.

    Denise Frisino has a new book coming out called Orchids of War.

    Save

    December 7th 1941

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    “I don’t talk about it much.” Dr. Dan Raleigh spoke softly, his voice mellowed by his 97 years. “Not many people are alive anymore when it happened.”

    Orchids of War by Denise Frisino

    USS Maryland capsized at Pearl Harbor

    The “it” Raleigh refers to so humbly was Pearl Harbor Day. On the morning of December 7, 1941, he had just taken his post as officer on deck aboard the U.S.S. Maryland at promptly 7:45 a.m. Hearing engines above Ford Island, he lifted his field glasses and caught the image of about nine planes flying in “V” formation high above in the blue morning sky.

    He explained he had not been trained on identifying Japanese aircraft, and when he saw the bombs drop from the craft, he thought, No one is supposed to be practicing this morning.

    Then the first bomb exploded on Ford Island.

    “So I told the bosun of the watch to sound general quarters. He came over the bullhorn and said, ‘All hands man battle stations. This is no shit.’”

    Hustling to action, Raleigh cut the small wire that locked the ammunition to disperse the much-needed weapons. He coaxed the black sailors, who at that point were only allowed to be cooks, to perform their wartime duty of going down below deck and bringing up more ammo. And by the time his captain arrived on deck wearing just his skivvies topped with his “scrambled eggs” hat—his hat with captain’s insignia—Raleigh was firing nonstop.

    “The captain put his hand on my shoulder and said. ‘Slow down, son, we might be at this for weeks.’ But I just couldn’t stop firing.”

    Orchids of War by Denise Frisino. Interview with Dr. Raleigh.

    Raleigh spoke of the day clearly, with sad eyes, recounting his vision of Japanese pilots’ faces and their smiles as they whizzed by, bringing death and destruction. He remembers the mayhem, staying on deck into the night, the palpable fear that hardened their hearts, adding to the nervous reaction of so many of the men.

    Orchids of War by Denise Frisino. Interview with Dr. RaleighAttack on Pearl HarborTension filled the black night. When four US planes sent from their aircraft carrier appeared over Ford Island preparing to land, the night lit up like the 4th of July. Before anyone could stop the explosive response from the ground, two of the US aircraft were shot from the sky.

    “They called that friendly fire. It was terrible. But I’m proud that no one from the Maryland fired on those poor guys.” He smiled bleakly and quickly added that the U.S.S. Maryland was credited with downing four enemy planes.

    And though there are few of us who were alive when this world-changing day broke bright and beautiful across the calm, sandy beaches of Hawaii, we must cherish the memories of all who served so bravely.
    I for one am ever grateful not only for Dr. Raleigh’s service, but that he shared his stories of his ship, his turning point in life, his memories that burn deep.

    Check out Denise’s interview with Dr. Raleigh right here..