You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger

Citation preview

B L U E J A C K E T

B O O K S

W

“A splendid contribution to the nation’s hilarity. . . .The funniest (unofficial) record of rugged adventure in the OSS. And Hall has earned his right to his laughter.” —New York Times “Grade-A entertainment.” —Boston Herald “Enlightening, alarming, and very, very funny in places. It is also the story of some brave and gallant men.” —The Sphere “ Throws a pie in the face of all those who think of O.S.S. as Oh So Serious.” —Daily Oklahoman

BLUEJACKET BOOKS ARE AFFORDABLE PAPERBACK EDITIONS OF EXCEPTIONAL WORKS ON NAVAL AND MILITARY SUBJECTS

Cover illustration: Sol Ehrlich Printed in the U.S.A.

You’re Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger

◆ ◆ ◆

Hall

ith a sharp eye and wry wit, Roger Hall recounts here his experiences as an American Army officer assigned to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. First published in 1957 to critical and popular acclaim, his memoir has become a cult favorite in intelligence circles. He chronicles his experiences from his time as a junior officer fleeing a tedious training assignment in Louisiana to his rigorous OSS training rituals in the United States, England, and Scotland for its Special Operations unit. Quick to pick up on the skills necessary for behind-the-lines intelligence work, Hall became an expert instructor, but was only reluctantly given operational duties because of his reputation as an iconoclast. In his droll storytelling style, Hall describes his first parachute jump in support of the French resistance as a comedy of errors that terminated prematurely. His last assignment in the war zone came when then Capt. William Colby, the future head of the CIA, handpicked him to lead the second section of a Norwegian special operations group into Norway via Sweden.

ISBN 1-59114-353-5 90000

9

781591 143536

Naval Institute Press

A hilarious account of what really happened in the O.S.S.—at least to Roger Hall

Other books by Roger Hall: All My Pretty One 19: A Story

NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

The latest edition of this book has been brought to publication with the generous assistance of Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest.

1

00

10 0

M

Naval Institute Press 291 Wood Road Annapolis, MD 21402 © 1957 by Roger Hall All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. First Bluejacket Books printing, 2004

ISBN 13: 978-1-59114-353-6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hall, Roger, 1919– You’re stepping on my cloak and dagger / Roger Hall. p. cm. — (Bluejacket books) Originally published: New York: Norton, 1957. ISBN 1-59114-353-5 (alk. paper) 1. Hall, Roger, 1919– 2. United States. Office of Strategic Services—Biography. 3. World War, 1939–1945—Personal narratives, American. 4. World War, 1939–1945—Military intelligence—United States. 5. Intelligence officers—United States—Biography. I. Title. II. Series. D810.S7H3 2004 940.54’8673’092—dc22 [B] 2003044276 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 15 14 13 12 11 10 9

∞

Dedicated To Whom it May Concern

foreword

9

foreword Roger Hall’s You’re Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger first appeared in 1957, and literary reviews hailed the author as one wry spy. The book, about Hall’s uncommon experiences in World War II espionage, particularly captured the imagination of young readers. Cloak and Dagger finds Hall a real man of nerve—in both senses of the word—as he battles the enemy but more often his superiors. Although considered a cult classic in intelligence circles, the book went out of print. Recently I discovered Hall’s book, a lost gem of irresistible charm and irreverence. A sentence rarely passed without a punch line. I met with Hall and told him that many people admitted his book was the only one they had ever stolen from the library. That cheered him for hours. He had previously heard that young Central Intelligence Agency recruits were warned, book held high, “We don’t want this to ever happen again.” Hall loves that story and anything else that seems to confound convention. His favorite tale of wartime spying occurred in Nazi-occupied France. A colleague in the Office of Strategic Services, the wartime precursor to the CIA, had been asked to destroy a German tank sitting at a key crossroads. No one in the French Resistance could get close enough. Dressed like a French peasant and fluent in German, the OSS man approached the tank and yelled, “Mail!” When the tank lid opened, he tossed in two grenades. Mission accomplished. OSS founder William “Wild Bill” Donovan had sought just such “glorious amateurs” for clandestine work. He was interested less in formal military expertise than in recruiting agents who could use their wits and find innovative ways, in sticky situations, to win the war. The OSS seemed an ideal match for Roger Wolcott Hall, who joked that he otherwise was destined for execution by firing squad in the regular Army. 9

10

foreword

The son of a Navy captain, Hall grew up in Annapolis with a hearty streak of patriotism but little awe of authority. To him, Admirals Chester W. Nimitz and William F. Halsey Jr. were “Uncle Chet” and “Uncle Bill.” With America’s entry into the war, Hall was drafted into the Army, and after going to Officer Candidate School, he became an instructor in Louisiana. An unfortunate combination of the heat, the alligators, and his natural audacity led to a series of disagreeable episodes. Enter the unsuspecting OSS. As part of his training, Hall infiltrated a Philadelphia circuitbreaker plant by pretending to be a wounded war hero in search of work. He so impressed the firm’s vice president that he not only got the job and a date with the man’s daughter, but also was asked to speak at the company’s war bond rally. His rousing oratory, which surprised even him, was published in a local paper. His superiors told him there was such a thing as a job too well done. Eventually sent to England, he became an instructor again. He pleaded for commando work, but the inefficient bureaucracy worked against him. Excited about dropping into occupied France, he underwent exacting preparation and made a perfect parachute jump behind the lines. Unfortunately, they were the Allied lines. So it was back to training, next working with a group of purportedly reformed Nazis nicknamed Matthew, Mark, Simon, John, Luke, James, and Happy. For all his misadventures, Hall wound up thriving in an organization that admired craftiness, wit, and, ultimately, confidence. When he finally arrived in a war zone, the little-known but strategic Norwegian theater of operations, he came through with flair. “Operation Better-Late-Than-Never,” as he dubbed it, was a success. Hall went on to write two novels, spent years as a freelance writer and editor, and had a stint—his favorite job—as cartoon editor for the old True magazine in New York. He now lives with his wife, Linda, in a Victorian-style house in Delaware’s Brandywine Valley. He keeps a stash of ideas in an upstairs trunk. One is for a book called Bayonet the Survivors and Other Love Poems. Until Hall writes the poems, readers should be delighted to have You’re Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger uncloaked after all these years. Adam Bernstein Metropolitan Staff The Washington Post

Dark Continent.

“Oh, what?” “That statue of William Penn on top of City Hall.” “Certainly a logical enough choice, but I’m not very bright. “Why?” “It would look great on the front lawn here.” “Colonial, huh?” “Not exactly. William’s holding a rolled manuscript in one hand. Period wise, I’d call it Early American Men’s Room.”

The Naval Institute Press is the book-publishing arm of the U.S. Naval Institute, a private, nonprofit, membership society for sea service professionals and others who share an interest in naval and maritime affairs. Established in 1873 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where its offices remain today, the Naval Institute has members worldwide. Members of the Naval Institute support the education programs of the society and receive the influential monthly magazine Proceedings and discounts on fine nautical prints and on ship and aircraft photos. They also have access to the transcripts of the Institute’s Oral History Program and get discounted admission to any of the Institute-sponsored seminars offered around the country. The Naval Institute also publishes Naval History magazine. This colorful bimonthly is filled with entertaining and thoughtprovoking articles, first-person reminiscences, and dramatic art and photography. Members receive a discount on Naval History subscriptions. The Naval Institute’s book-publishing program, begun in 1898 with basic guides to naval practices, has broadened its scope to include books of more general interest. Now the Naval Institute Press publishes about one hundred titles each year, ranging from how-to books on boating and navigation to battle histories, biographies, ship and aircraft guides, and novels. Institute members receive significant discounts on the Press’s more than eight hundred books in print. Full-time students are eligible for special half-price membership rates. Life memberships are also available. For a free catalog describing Naval Institute Press books currently available, and for further information about subscribing to Naval History magazine or about joining the U.S. Naval Institute, please write to: Membership Department U.S. Naval Institute 291 Wood Road Annapolis, MD 21402-5034 Telephone: (800) 233-8764 Fax: (410) 269-7940 Web address: www.navalinstitute.org