Photo: A female agent applies the "final touch" before being dropped in North Korea to an uncertain fate. Few agents survived. By Michael E. Haas, Colonel (ret), US Air Force Special Operations, 1994
A Korea WebWeekly book review - Lee Wha Rang
This is an encyclopedia of the covert actions conducted by the United States armed forces (particularly air commandos) during the Cold War era. The author, a special forces veteran, had access to many secret documents and veterans of covert actions.
The book touches on US Air Force contributions to the Office of Special Operations (OSS) activities in Europe and Asia during World War II. Special operations in Korea, Tibet, Libya, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Iran and other regions.
Photo: A female agent applies the "final touch" before being dropped in North Korea to an uncertain fate. Few agents survived.
Col. Haas devotes about 100 of his 370 fact-filled pages to Korea (1945 - 1953). He reveals that Rhee Syngman's Austrian wife personally picked candidates for female agents to be dropped behinds the enemy lines for espionage. These women would walk back home crossing battlefields. Pretty young women, sub-teen boys ("Blue Boys"), mothers with a baby and old men were more likely to have safe passage than military-age men, and so these folks made up the majority of the 'line-crossers'. .
Col. Haas clarifies the confusing (intentionally in some cases and unintentionally in most cases) command structures of competing intelligence and guerrilla operations in Korea. It seems that every branch of the military, every unit's G2, every nation participating in the War had some sort of 'spy' ops in Korea.
The US Air Force special units performed search and rescue missions for downed pilots, psychological warfare, partisan warfare, intelligence collection, economic warfare (such as dropping fake North Korean currencies) and resupply overfilghts to China and Siberia.
Photo: Maj. Donald Nichols recovering a North Korean MiG (July 1951) at the Yalu delta mud plain.
All branches of the US military and the CIA ran their own "spy" operations. In addition, South Korean militart and police operated their own cocvert action units. A special attention is given to Maj. Donald Nichols' NICK operations.
Nichols was sent to Korea at the end of World War II as a seargent in the US Army Counter Intelligence Corps. His activities grew beyond the normal duties of the CIC. He was encouraged by Rhee Syngman to set up an effective native intelligence and counter intelligence organizations. Rhee gave this truck-driver-turned spy master a carte blanche to suppress Rhee's political opponents.
Nichols is often referred to as the "father of KCIA". He ran the "NICK" - a loose organization of Americans, Koreans, Japanese and Chinese (Nationalists) agents and spy handlers. He had his own fleet (captured fishing boats, modified US Navy ships, and speed boats). He occupied enemy islands deep in enemy territories. He planted moles in the ruling group of the Workers Party of Korea.
Of course, NICK was not the only unit run by the US Air Force special units. Col. Haas details air force missions for the CIA (JACK) and the US 8th Army intelligence and guerrilla operations. The book is packed with facts and it is not possible to list them all here. It includes many photos hitherto unpublished and an extensive list of source documents.
Photo: Major Nichols with Korean aids
The readers are recommended to add this unusual book to their personal library.
APOLLO's WARRIORS: United States Air Force Special Operations during the Cold War is for sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. (ref # UG633.H32 1997 358.4-dc21 97-23931 CIP)
Readers can purhcase Apollo's Warriors by calling the Government Printing Office (GPO) @ 202-512-1800 and asking for Stock #: 008-070-00726-6. It costs $28 and GPO takes credit cards.
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