DECLASSHHED Authority mm A Ag 5 FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION This Case Originated At IASHINGTON D C File No 65 1143 sieport Made At Date When Made i Period 1 ieport made By 1 gsin DIEGO CALIFORNIA 6 16 42 6 12 l3 14 15 W A ROBINSON JR 16 42 WAR dms wmb bm Title Character of Case 9 STANLEY JOHNSTON ESPIONAG SINOPSIS OF FACTS W Investigation based on information re ceived that subject is foreign correspondent of Chicago Tribune and also present on LEXINGTON during last cruise of that ship until it was sunk that he rem turned to San Diego on 6 2 42 aboard the U S S BARNETT and on 6 7 42 an article was published in the Tribune and three other papers which contained nearly ver- batim the contents of a secret dispatch received on the BARNETT 5 31 42 Inter views with some decoding officers and senior officers of LEXINGTON who were on BARNETT failed to indicate hOW'subjeot got contents of instant message but all stated it was not exhibited to him outright although he Approved and Forwarded Special Agent 1 in Charge Do Not Hrite in Those Spaces Bureau San Francisco New Orleans - Denver a I San_Diego Copies of This Report - 4- ge washington Field #3551950 A smog n v Chicago Information - DIVISION er mamas DECLASSIFIED Authority may have overheard it or seen it acci- dentally Subject arranged for censor ship of his stories through Eleventh Naval District Public Relations Office but did not submit message for censoring He submitted material about the Coral Sea battles of the LEXINGTUN which was forwarded to the Navy Department for approval In San Diego on 6m3-42 subject sent a telegram indicating he had forwarded some material to the Chicago Tribune via air mail and wanted it printed immediately REFERENCES Telephone cell from Assistant Director D M LADD to the San Diego Field Division on June 125 1942 Letter from the San Diego Field Division to the Bureau dated June 12 1942 Teletype from the San Diego Field Division to the Bureau and San Francisco Field Division dated June 133 1942 Teletypeato the BureauJ San Francisco Field Division and ashington Field Division dated June 14 15 and 16 1942 from the San Diego Field Division DETAILS AT SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA The following investigation was conducted jointly by Reporting Agent and Special Agents H LEROSS BROWNE F C DORWART L A DUCOMMUN D A L AIEX GILLIAM JR AND EDWIN S YOUTZ The following information was submitted by Assistant Director D h LADD to Special Agent L A DUCOMMUN On June 7 1942 there was published in the Chicago Tribune the washington Times-Herald the New York Daily News and the San Francisco Chronicle a story concerning thebattle at Midway The story was to the effect that the Navy knewthe identity of the Japanese ships and also listed the-names of the ships 7 - a DECLASSIFIED Authority MM The name of the reporter who wrote this story is STANLEY JOHNSTON who was representing the Chicago Tribune He was supposed to have been one of the official reporters on a united States aircraft carrier at the thus of the battle of the Coral Sea JOHNSTON is supposed to have returned to San Diego California on the U S S BARNETT which was returning survivors from the battle of the Coral Sea He had a room on board this ship with an officer first story concerning his relating of this information was that he had picked it up by overhearing conversations of the officers on board ship Later he denied that he obtained this information that way and said that he found on his desk in the room which he occupied on the boat written on a piece of scratch paper the names of the Japanese ships in the Task Force presumably those that attacked Midway Island He Said that he copied this list and made a story that he did not know how the list of names got there Mr LADD further stated that the U S S BARNETT pulled into San Diego California on June 2 1942 but it is supposed to be presently in San Francisco California The following information was obtained from the files of the Eleventh Naval District Intelligence Office 1 This investigation is predicated upon information received at from the Chief of Staff llND that on or'about June 7 an article appeared in the Chicago Tribune Chicago Illinois which may have been published without first undergoing Naval Censorship A copy of this article appears as enhlosure A It was further indi cated that the data included in A might have been supplied by subject who is a civilian war Correspondent Subject is an employee of the Chicago Tribune who was aboard the U S S lasington during a recent cruise in Pacific waters 2 VTherefore authorities at the Destroyer Base at San Diego were contacted and it was learned that on June 2 1942 crew members of the U S S lexington had been received there from the U S S BARNETT Sole civilian among these Crew members was subject DECLASSHHED Authoritybn canvass of hotels in the San Diego vicinity revealed that subject has registered at Hotel Del Coronado at 2350 on June 2 follow ing a telephonic reservation Subject was accompanied when he arrived at the hotel by a man and a woman The woman was unidentified but Albert CAMPIONE hotel manager eXpressed the opinion the man was Commander Mortimer SELIGMAN USN Executive Officer of the U S S Lexington Subject was described as over six feet tall brown hair British type mustacheg wearing a khaki uniform and an overseas cap but his uniform carrying no insignia Subject's only baggage was a wooden box bound with cord He remained at the Hotel Del Coronado 4 During the stay at the hotel subject made two telephone calls -- one to western Union and the other to Randolph 5031 Randolph 5031 is listed as being the telephone number of James MCCORMICK 4465 harlborough San Diego MCCORMICK is manager of the City Printing Company a non-union job printing concern which holds a fair reputau tion MCCORMICK has lived in San Diego for more than twenty five years and is considered to be a loyal individual- There was no evi- dence of relationship betmeen and Colonel Robert R MCCORMICK editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune While a guest at the Hotel Del Coronadoj subject dispatched four telegrams which read as follows iLoy Maloney Tribune Chicago Navy public relations office assures story will not be released for several days meanwhile they're getting my stories washington Stop still think HENNING should press when he receives my airmail StOp arranging come Chicago earliest tranSporta tion which uncan have before tomorrow sometime will advise you my every move when leaving JOHNSTON Stanley JOHNSION 717 'Mgr Clark Hotel Ios Angeles Please reserve room for me and notify Barbara JOHNSTON when she arrives 8 o'clock I will be there 11AM PMC Stanley JOHNSTON 6e4 42 61 DECLASSHHED Authority 0 'Barbara JOHNSTON American EXpress San Francisco 'Telephone me Del Coronado Hotel Henley 3-3161 Stanley PMC 53 6 3-42 'Barbara JOHNSTON Stockton Court 530 Stockton Street San Francisco Cheerio darling wire your telephone or call me Coronado Hotel Coronado California reply paid love you Stan Stan JOHNSTON 717 Coronado Hotel - 5 On June 3 subject ordered that a typewriter be sent to his room and later the same day he descended to the lobby carrying several sheets of paper which carried typewritten matter He requested envelopes placed the written matter inside the envelopes but carried them away without mailing 6 Shortly after subject's departure from the hotel several unidentified persons attempted to reach him by telephone 7 Coincident with the report from the Chief of Staff which originated this investigation it was reported to by J S payroll supervisor for Consolidated Aircraft Corporation San Diego California that one of his clerks had discovered on the night of January 5 a document that might be considered prejudicial to the security of the U S Fleet Because it developed subsequently that subject was ocuauthor of this document investigation of this incident is being made a part of this report The aforementioned document is included as enclosure B 8 Mr BLAKELY referred investigating officer to R E BOURN who resides at 326 Juniper Street San Diego ' Mr CIAYBOURN stated that on the evening of June 5 while riding in a taxicab from a restaurant at 2137 Pacific Highway San Diego California to his home he discovered enclosure B on the rear seat Mr CIAYBOURN I DECLA-SSIFIED Authority MM at first declared that this was all he had found with the' exception of an Open carton of cigarettes Later however Mr CLAYBOURN recalled that he had also found a package of personal letters which were addressed to Erwin F RICH U S S Lexington 9 RICH who it developed is a to the Destroyer Base San Diego was located by means of an address which was on one of the persOnal letters found in the taxicab The address was that of his wife 2279 Avenida Altura Bayview Pacific Beach California RICH was brought to for questioning and admitted that on the evening of June 5 he had lost a package of personal letters while riding in a taxicab between Second and Broadway and Pacific Beach He also admitted losing a carton of cigarettes and recalled that it was possible that included among the personal letters there might have been a carbon copy of a document which was circulated widely ameng crew members of the U S S Lexington description of the document left no doubt but that he had reference to enclosure B RICH stated that enclosure B was written by a Chief Bos'n named BRANDT fnu and a reporter named Stanley JOHNSTON who represented the Chicago Tribune on board the Lexington RICH stated that he had received his copy from a shipmate and added that a number of -copies were circulated throughout the crew of the 0 8 8 Lexington He stated further that he had intended to destroy the document and if it appeared among his papers it was through accident 10 Commander Mbrtimer SELIGMAN USN was interviewed and stated that subject had been aboard the lexington as a war corres pondent He stated that subject had joined the Iexington at Pearl Harbor on introduction by Lieut Comdr waldo DRAKE USNR and Lieut jg James E BASSETT Jr Commander SELIGMAN indi cated that subject had free run of the ship and repeatedly questioned officers and men regarding activities and procedure throughout the entire cruise When shown enclosure B Commander SELIGMAN recalled that many copies had been made of this document aboard the U S S Minneapolis which at the time was carrying a number of crew members of the U S S LeXington The men however were warned not to take them ashore Commander SELICMAN stated that subject had collaborated in preparation of enclosure B DECLASSIFIED Authority 1 I6 3 13 11 It was learned from a confidential source that while subject was aboard the U S S Lexington he had in his possession a substantial amount of material written and photographic which dealt with activities of the U S S Lexington in the Coral Sea conflict It was further learned that when subject disembarked from the U S S Barnett at the Destroyer Base San Diego he had in his possession the remnants of this collection which he had managed to bring with him from the U S S Lexington 12 A memorandum to the District Intelligence Officer llND from E ROBERT ANDERSON District Public Relations Officer reads as follows Subject person's presence in this area first was made known to the District Public'Relations Office through a telephone call June 2 made to Lt jg Harold P Requa USNR by Comdr M T SELIGMAN USN who re ported to Lt Requa that the subject person was aboard USS LEXINGTON and had prepared correspondence for his newspaper which should be censored prior to publication It was further explained that it was the desire of subject person to submit his correspondence for censor ship to proper authorities in a manner which would provide absolute security The District Public Relations Officer instructed Lt REQUA to inform subject person through Oomdr SELIGMAN that he should call at the District Public Relations Office for instructions In the meantime on the advice of the Commandant the District Public Relations Officer conferred with Rear Adm A W Fitch U S N and it was agreed that subject person's correspondence should be forwarded via officer messenger direct to the Oommander In Ohief by plane This was done June 4 1942 Subject person never called in person at the District Public Relations Office despite the fact that he made arrangements through Lt Requa to do so the morning of June 4 Instead he forwarded his correspondence to the District Public Relations Officer in a sealed envelope with a letter explaining that he had suddenly been called to 103 Angel es He further stated that he would phone the District Public Relations Officer later in the day and that he soon would return to Coronado He failed to telephone and to the knowledge of the District Public Relations Officer he has not returned to Hotel Del Coronado Authorirymulejlg The District Public Relations Officer has never met nor cenversed with the subject person At the invitation of Comdr Seligman it is understood that Lt Requa in company with Lt jg Y Frank FREEMAN Jr USNH personally met and conversed with the subject person at Hotel del Coronado the evening of June 3 1942 E Robert Anderson 13 Investigation of subject's activities between June 2 1942 when he arrived in San Diego California and June 4 1942 when he departed from San Diego revealed the following known contacts 1 Captain Fred C SHERMAN USN 2 Commander and Mrs Mortimer SELIGMAN USN 3 Liout jg Harold R REQUA USNR 4 lieut jg Y FREEMAN Jr USNR 5 Alberto CAMPIONE manager Hotel del Coronado Coronado California 14 Subject arrived in Los Angeles and at 1100 met his wife and another woman in the grill of the Clark Hotel Subject's wife a1d the unidentified woman who was believed to be the wife of Lt Cmdr USN Submarine Force were reported to have arrived in San Francisco by clipper from Honolulu on June 3rd and to have entrained for los Angeles on the evening of June 3rd The unidentified woman left the' Clark Hotel shortly after noon June 4th and entrained for San Diego Subject and his wife made only one contact in Los Angeles aside from the routine hotel contacts That contact was with Mr Tim TURNER of the Los Angeles Times Mr TURNER when interviewed reported that subject had stated he had beensaboard the REPULSE which was torpedoed _and that during the engagement he subject had lost all of his per sonal belongings According to Mr TURNER subject requested that his presence in Les Angeles not be publicized 15 Harold NANNINGA a bell captain Clank Hotel Los Angeles was interviewed and stated that he had at the request of subject dis patched two small packages contents unknown by eXpress to the Chicago Tribune 16 Subject left Los Angeles by United Airlines at 1815 June 4th after stating to Rey NILLER zassistant bell captain Clark Hotel Los Angeles that he subject would be back in ten days -m n u-n-nu ou-ol c Il DECLASSHHED Authorityu p 26 2 16 The article mentioned in the above report as Enclosure A set forth the fact that the strength of the Japanese forces with which the American Navy was battling in the Midway Battle was well known in American Naval circles several days before the battle began and the article went on to list the makeiup of the Japanese force broken down into the striking force the support force and the occupation force listing under each heading the names tonnage and guns of the Japanese ships involved This article is not being set forth in this report in View of the fact that the Bureau and interested offices already have copies of it The article referred to as Enclosure in the above Navy report was a short story of the war history of the U S S LEXINGTON which has no particular significance in instant investigation and eipies of this article have previbusly been forwarded the Bureau A subsequent check made by Agent BROWNE revealed that the telegram to LOX MALONEX in care of the Chicago Tribune was sent by subject on June 3 1942 Copies of the other telegrams were obtained and placed in the file of this office AT CORONADO CALIFORNIA Commander NORTON SELIGNAN Executive Officer of the U S S LEXINGTON was interviewed at his home by Reporting Agent and Agent FISH At this time he advised that subject boarded the IEXINGTON at Pearl Harbor on April 15 1942 and was escorted aboard by a representative of the staff of Admiral NINITZ Pacific Commander in Chief and that subject bore the highest credentials issued by Admiral NINITZ SELIGNAN stated that subject stayed on the LEXINGTON from that time until the day the IEXINGTON was sunk early in the battle of the Coral Sea and that during all the time that he was on board he had the free run of the ship conversing freely with the officers as well as the enlisted personnel SELIGMAN understood that he was to be given this freedom aboard the LEXINGTON and stated that he understood subject's purpose on the LEXINGTON was to obtain information that he could use in writing articles to be published upon JOHNSTONS return He stated it was his understanding that of course everything that JOHNSTON might obtain aboard the IEXINGTON would have to be submitted to the Navy Department and approved before any publication was had He advised that subject took an active part in the daily life of the LEXINGTON and distinguished himself by his heroism on several occasions when he risked his life to save the lives of personnel of the LEXINGTON He stated that JOHNSTON had previously worked around the islands of New DECLASSHHED Authority I Guinea and that he had considerable knowledge of the geography of the Coral Sea and had been of great service at times to the IEXINGTON officers in furnishing information concerning islands in that vicinity In short SELIGMAN advised that in view of subject's credentials and close association between him and the LEXINGTON officers everyone on board the LEXINGTON had the highest confidence in subject SELIGMAN further advised that subject went aboard the U S S BARNETT in the South Pacific along with several senior officers of the LEXINGTON for the return trip to San Diego California and that they arrived in San Diego cn'June 2 1942 He advised that subsequent to his arrival in San Diego he had gone to San Francisco California with Commander HERBERT DUCKWORTH Air Officer of the LEXINGTON for questioning about instant case by Admiral GREENSLADE He advised that in San Francisco California instant message was shown to him and it was pointed outthat his initials appeareda on the message -He had not previously realized that he had actually seen this message which he understood then told of the composition of a Japanese Task Force which was headed toward Midway Island He advised that he was told that this message was apparently shown to him on may 31 1942 but he stated that the only message of this type that he recalled having seen was a message two days previous to May El 1942 that Captain PHILIPS of the BARNETT told him that which had to do with the carrier make up of a Japanese Task Force He advised that he was particularly interested only in the disposition of Japanese carrier strength in the Pacific and did not particularly care about the supporting force that might be accompanying the carriers in view of the fact that he was a guest officer and at that time removed from the scene of combat He advised that he had called for the Japanese silhouette book on the BARNETT to use in connection with the reports he was preparing on the Coral Sea Battle and particularly to use it to identify a Japanese carrier which he belieVed had been sunk in that battle He stated that he recalled a conversation with Lieutenant jg BONTECOU Communications Officer of the BARNETT concerning JOHNSTON's presence aboard the LEXINGTON and he stated that to the best of his recollection he had made the statement to BONTECOU that he wondered what steps the Navy could possibly take to keep a smart newspaper correspondent who was in the midst of a Naval campaign and familiar with Naval tactics from getting information that he should not have He stated that in this conversation he believed he had mentioned that JOHNSTON must have necessarily obtained much information which the Navy would regard as secret and confidential because the subject had lived with the LEXINGTON officers and men through the heat of battle days on end DECLASSHHED Authority MM I 9 9 SELIGMAN stated that he pos sitively did not exhibit and would not have exhibited any secret message to subject either on the LEXINGTON or the BARNETT and he felt positive that no officer on either vessel exhibited instant message to subject and he felt certain that no officer at any time copied instant message in such detail that this copy could have been found and made the basis of subject's newspaper articlen He did state that due to the close association of the LEXINGTON offibers and men with subject that it was possible subject could have overheard a conrersation between authorized officers or he might even have read instant message over the shoulder of an authorized officer who was reading it He pointed out that the conditions in the quarters of JOHNSTON were such that JOHNSTON might have been working at his work table just around a flimsy partition from a large table in the same room where the senior officers of the IEXINGTON worked preparing their reports and to where coffee was available and the officers talked among themselves as well as with IOHNSTON He advised he could not understand how instan message as received aboard the BARNETT turned up in San Francisco California where it was ex hibited to him by Admiral Captain PHILIPS of the BARNETT stated to Admiral that secret messages were burned at the end of each day SELIGMAN specifically denied making the statement that on the LEXINGTON we were authorized to show JOHNSTON secret and confidential messages and letters m amid MA V DECLASSIEIED jkuthorny' I Commander HERBERT DUCKWORTH Air Officer of the LEXINGTON was interviewed by reporting agent and Agent D A FISH at which time he advised that on board the LEXINGTON the subject had had the free run of the ship and had been very intimate with the LEXINGTON officers as well as members of the crew He advised substantially the same information concerning subject s behavior on board the LEXINGTON as that furnished by With reference to the handling of instant message_aboard the ass simmer he stated that about 9 00 an one night Lieutenant BREWER of the LEXINGTON who was in charge of the Communications Watch Officers loaned to the BARNETT from the LEXINGTON came into the'Wardroom where DUCKWORTH was playing bridge with hree Junior officers as this time BREWER exhibited the message in question to DUCKWORTH and he laid down his bridge hand to look at it He initialed it and resumed his bridge game and did not discuss the message with any of the persons pre sent He advised that in addition to the_decoding officers loaned to the BARNETT some engineering officers and signalmen'were_loaned as a matter of courtesy DUCKWORTH advised that instant message as best he recalled it consisted of approximately fifteen or eighteen lines of tele- graph strip pasted on a white sheet of paper and he stated he did not anW who else on the LEXINGTON had seen this message He did not know anyone who made any notes of this message He stated that he never dis cussed this message with subject and was sure that no one had exhibited the message to him He advised that because of the close quarters on - the BARNETT and because of the position JOHNSTON had occupied aboard the LEXINGTON it was highly'possible that he had obtained the context of instant message by'OVerhearing the conversations betWGen some Senior Officers about instant message or by glancing over the shoulder of some Senior Officer who was reading_the message He stated that JOHNSTON was not present at the time he himself saw the message and he did not recall discussing instant message himself with any'other officer although he believed that the Japanese Task Force allegedly approaching Midway had probably been discussed by some of the Senior Officers He stated that two days preVious to the receipt of-instant message he had seen a message which gave the carrier make up of the Japanese Task Force and fur ther mentioned that there was a battle ship division and destroyers accom panying DUCKWORTH said that ho was sure no crew member could have relayed the contents of instant message to subject as he did not believe that Mid 12 DECLASSIFIED 7 AuthorityM DLZ 1 I6 I 3 'way was ever mentioned in the presence of any crew members or enlisted personnel and even if it had been it could not have been relayed in such detail DUCKWORTH pointed out the possibility of JOHNSTON's overhearing something about instant message because of the proximity of his quarters to a table in the Commodore Suite which table was used extensively by Senior Officers of the LEXINGTON throughout the trip of the BARNETT to San Diego He advised that Lieutenant Commander TERRY who also had a bunk in the Commodore Suite opposite the hunk of JOHNSTON had been ill and confined to his bunk during most of the journey He stated that he did not recall ever seeing the Japanese Silhouette Book of the BARNETT Lieutenant EUGENE TERRY U S N was interviewed on June 14 1942 by Special Agent F C DORWART at his temporary residence at the Mar Vista Motor Court Pacific Beach Cali- fornia He stated that his official station on the U S S LEXINGTON was that of Communications Officer that he first met STANEEY JOHNSTON When Vthe latter came aboard the U S S LEXINGTON at Honolulu T H when the ship was leaving for its last cruise Lieutenant Commander TERRY stated that he was introduced to JOHNSTON and assured himself to his own satisfac tion that JOHNSTON was in possession of necessary credentials and knew that he was responsible to Admiral NIMITZ TERRY is not sure but he believes that he saw the credentials of JOHNSTON He stated that JOHNSTON while en the LEXINGTON was never allowed into the Communications Room that while JOHNSTON was not exactly restricted in his movements about the ship he believes that JOHNSTON confined his movements generally to the Wardroom section of the'ship He was allowed on the bridge of the ship and was there much of the time during the battles engaged in by the U S S LEXINGTON Lieutenant Commander TERRY advised that JOHNSTON was never allowed to see any of the messages received by the LEXINGTON and that in addition to the personnel in the Communications Room only the Captain Executive Officer and the heads of the DepartmentS'were allowed to see or know the contents of any'messages On this particular cruise the staff of Admiral FITCH Commander of Carrier Division II which was aboard the U S S LEXINGTON was also allowed to see the messages Lieutenant Commander TERRY stated that JOHNSTON appeared to be a thoroughly reliable individual and he believed him to be loyal without question and would not doanything that would jeopardize the security of the Navy or the United States He stated that apparently JOHNSTON had seen a great deal of action in the present war and thus had a great deal to talk about that he apparently liked to talk and did do a great deal of talking much of which was of course of interest to the officers TERRY stated that he himself had not talked to JOHNSTON so very much since DECLASSHHED Authority MM he had considerable on his mind and did not care to be bothered He stated that JOHNSTON conducted himself in an exemplary manner at all times particularly under fire that because of his close association With the officers on the ship he had become almost a part of them and all of the officer personnel had the utmost confidence in himo Following the sinking of the LEXINGTON Lieutenant Commander TERRY stated that he did not see JOHNSTON again until they were both aboard the transport U S S BARNETT enroute to San Diego California He stated that he believes that Mr JUNKER made the room assignments on board the BARNETT that at any rate JUNKER told him that he had arranged for him TERRY to be quartered with JOHNSTON and Commander SELIGM1 at the time of boarding of the U S S BARNETT TERRY stated that he was not incapacitated and was up and about except for a burn on his leg received in sliding down therope to the raft when he left the LEXINGTON JOHNSTON and TERRY were quartered in one part of a room which was separated from the other part by a partition extending about three quarters of thc'way across the room In the other part of the room was a large table in the center at which the LEXINGTON officers sat worked talked rdrank coffee et cetera Commander SELIGMAN was quartered in the same suite but in a separate room the center room with the 1arge table separating him from JOHNSTON and TERRY TERRY stated that they boarded the U S S BARNETT onsibout May 15 1942 and that it was about one week later when he became violently ill that he became swelled up and had the hiVes that during the last three or four days of the trip the ship arrived in San Diego on June 2 he was so miserable that he could not rest or sleep and was being given adrenalin and morphine TERRY stated that after going aboard the BARNETT the men and officers of the U S S LEXINGTON were farmed out to all parts of the ship to be of assistance to the crew and staff of the that such an arrangement was made in the case of the Communications Room of the BARNETT and some of the LEXINGTON officers were assigned to decoding messages TERRY-could only recall the names of Ensign JOHNSON and Lieutenant BREWER as officers assigned to this particular duty He stated that he did not know who had worked out the arrangements but that arrangementS'were made whereby the Senior officers of the LEXINGTON were allowed to see the messages received by the BARNETT TERRY stated that his only part in the arrangements as he recalls it was to tell one of the men to have some of the boys handle the messages He stated that when a message was brought in for him or one of the other officers to read that it was read while the officer stood by and waited for it and it was then taken back by the officer bringing it in that there was a great deal of going and coming from the room and that JOHNSTON being so much a part of the officer group could come and go and it was not noticed that if a particular message was discussed that it DECLASSHHED AuthorityM D IQ was undoubtedly discussed in presence Regarding the particular message in question Lieutenant Come wander TERRY stated that he had been shown a copy of this message a few days ago by Admiral HOLMES but stated that he does not recall ever hav1ng seen it that he is quite sure that if he had seen it he Would have re membered it because of the various Japanese names of ships which appeared therein As to his initials appearing thereon he stated that he was so sick during the last few days of the trip that when messages were brought in to him he merely told the officer to check him off that since it was merely a formality to show the LEXINGTON officers the messages in the firSt place and since they had no official capacity on the ship and no action was to be taken by them that he paid very little attention to the messages He stated that he did know that a message had been received which indicated that there was a Japanese naval force west of Midway Island which included aircraft carriers but that he did not know of any message setting out the details of the message shown to him by Admiral HOLMES As indicative of how he and the other officers felt about STANLEY JOHNSTON's presence TERRY stated that if he had beenTNell and if a message had been brought to him for his attention he believes that neither he nor any of the officers would deliberately hand a message to JOHNSTON for his information that howeVer if he were standing next to JOHNSTON when the message'was handed to him and that if JOHNSTON looked at the message or if he thought that reading it he probably would not have taken the message from sight that if the message were thereafter discussed that JOHNSTON probably entered into the discussion thereof since he was in fact living eating and sleeping with the LEXINUTON officers working in the same room with them and knew as much as they did about the principal topic of conversation which was naturally the battle of the Coral Sea TERRY stated however that with regard to the message presently'under investigation that he has no direct recollection of it and it should be noted that the message was received on May 51 1942 when he was quite ill and not engaging in the general activity of the room TERRY pointed out that his own initials could be readily identi fied since he makes a monogram form of initial which has the appearance of a threeupronged pitchfork standing on the handle and forms the letters- in this manner being upright and the E lying down Commander A F JUNKER a Senior officer of the LEXINGTON who returned on the BARNETT was interviewed by the San Francisco Field Division -15- DECLASSHHED Authority MED 2% Rear Admiral FREDERICK C SHERMAN was interviewed by reporting agent and he stated that JOHNSTON was placed aboard the LEXINGTON with credentials from Admiral NIMITZ while SHERMAN was Commanding Officer of the LEXINGTON He stated that subject told him that he had previously done some work for the State Department which SHERMAN believed to have been Intelligence work He further advised that subject had said that at the specific request of the State Department he had become naturalized during the space of three weeks because the type of work he was doing could be better handled by him if he were an American citizen He advised that subject said he was an Australian previously and had a son in the Royal Australian Air Force Admiral SHERMAN advised that he understood that anything published by subject was first to be submitted to the Commander in-Chicf of the Pacific Fleet or the Chief of Staff in Washington for approval and he advised that he did not believe that subject deliberately would secrete an official message and later publish it because he was positive that subject would realize the significance of publishing a secret message of the type in question here _ He stated it was his opinion that if subject had the message in question he would have it for his own information and he felt that someone on the Tribune must have found it without the subject's consent and that subject was covering up for that individual now He stated from his close association with subject during the battles of the Coral Sea and his observation of subject under fire that he felt subject was absolutely loyal and a very'high type of man and although there was no limitation on where subject might go aboard the LEXINGTON he was definitely not given any secret dispatches on that vessel although he said it was very likely that subject may'have learned the contents of some secret dispatches on board the LEXINGTON by over- hearing conversations or by being present when they were reado Admiral SHERMAN stated that it was apparent what he had-thought of conduct aboard the LEXINGTON because previous to this trouble arising over the Midway message he had written a letter to the Chief of Staff recommend ing that subject be given the Navy Cross or some similar Navy award of commendation A list of Communications' atch Officers from the LEXINGTON who stood decoding watches aboard the was obtained by dgent L ALEX GILLIAM at the Destroyer Base in San Diego where the LEXINGTON men were stationed after their arrival in San Diego This list is set-forth as follows Lieutenant I E Lieutenant J G F C BREWER Loveland Colorado Ensign E H RAILSBACK lSSO'Warrington Place Shreveport Louisiana Authority MM 1 Ensign J B Ensign G Y MCKINNON Central YMCA 'Washington D Ensign ROBERT E HEBBLER Agent GILLIAM also obtained a complete list of the LEXINGTON offi- oers who returned to San Diego aboard the BARNETT This list is being placed in the files of the San Diego Field Division AT NORTH ISLAND CALIFORNIA Lieutenant interviewed by reporting agent and he_stated that he was the radio officer aboard the IEXINGTON and acted as Communications Officer for the LEXINGTON personnel aboard the BARNETT during the illness of Lieutenant Commander TERRY the Communications Officer He stated that the first day they boarded the BARNETT he contacted Lieutenant BONTICOU Communications Officer of the BARNETT on his own authority and he offered the services of his decoding officers as a matter of courtesy to the BARNETT He stated that Commander SELIGMAN might have requested a change in the procedure of handling coded messages and might have pointed out that he had five qualified decoding officers who could stand a watch on the BARNETT but DAVIS emphasized that he had offered these decoders as a matter of courtesy on his own authority and he never received any orders from TERRY or any other superior office to turn them over to the BLRNETT He advised that as a matter of courtesy some engineers and signalmon were turned over by other officers of the LEXINGTON to the BARNETT He stated that he placed Lieutenant BREWER in charge of this detail of decoding offi cers and he had nothing to do with them that he stood no watches himself and received no instructions from the Captain of the BARNETT about the decoding officers He advised that his offer to turn over the decoding officers was not immediately accepted but he believed that they were utilized beginning the second day of the voyage He stated that he understood the practice of handling the coded messages was to have them decoded by the decoding officers and take them immediately to Captain PHILLIPS of the BARNETT at which time PHILLIPS would decide whether they should be routed to the LEXINGTON people He stated that after this decision was made it would be up to SELIGMAN to determine which of the LEXINGTON officers should see the message He stated of course that his decoding officers were responsible only to the Captain of the BARNETT after they were turned over to the DAVIS advised that he thought he had seen instant message because BREWER subsequently told him that he had seen it but he did not recall exactly 17 Authoriwuualslh DECLASSIFIED k 2 i DAVIS stated he was in the quarters of Lieutenant Commander TERRY only twice on the entire voyage and at that time there was nothing particular going on there He advised that Lieutenant BREWER whom he placed in charge of the decoding officers was always very'partieular about the circulation of secret messages and he felt positive that BREWER nor any of_the Communi- cations Watch Officers would have shown instant message to any individual who was not entitled to see it With referenCe to JOHNSTON DAVIS stated that he had known him aboard the LEXINGTON in the same manner that most of the officers and men had known him He said it was his opinion that inclined to brag and exaggerate his prior experiences but he stated that he knew JOHNSTON was never shown any secret diSpatches by any of the_Communications Watch Officers on board the LEXINGTON He could not determine how subject cbtm_ned the contents of instant message On June 15 1942 Ensign ROBERT E HEBBLER U S N R was inter- viewed by Special Agent F C DORNART at the Destroyer Base San Diego California and advised that on the U S S LEXINGTON he was the Rate R- Materiel Officer In addition he was assigned to duties in the Communication Office where he did decoding and the handling of dispatches et cetora HERBLER stated that he met STANLEY JOHNSTON casually on the LEXINGTON when introduced with a group of Junior officers which occurred at the Junior Officers' Moss and that the group sat around and talked with JOHNSTON for a short time He stated that he understood that JOHNSTON was a war corres- pendent and it was understood or went without saying that being on the ship he was in possession of the necessary credentials HEPBLER stated that he believes that JOHNSTON had a pretty free run of the LEXINGTON but that he was never allowed in the Communications Room that JOHNSTON was usually around the Wardroom section of the ship most of the time and that he HEBBLER did not see much of him since being a Junior officer he messed with the Junior officers while JOHNSTON was quartered with and messed with the Senior officers HEBBLER stated that regarding secret messages received on the LEXINGTON these messages were handled in their entirety by Naval Officers and that in the routing of the messages an officer took them from one Department to another for the individual officer s attention after which they were initialed by the officer and returned to the safe in the Communications Room Those officers to whom secret messages were shown on the LEXINGTON were stated by HEBBLER to have been Captain SHERMAN Commander DUCKWORTH Commander SELIGMAN Commander TERRY Commander DUDLEY and Lieuten ant that in addition one copy of the message was dispatched to the staff of Admiral FITCH DECLASSHHED Authority HEBBLER stated that he has delivered messages to the Department heads JOHNSTON or an enlisted man was present and that on such occasions he usually tried to stand right beside the officer in order to give more security to the message He stated that he recalls on one occasion he delivered a message to Commander present when the message Which was not particulary important stated something about a ship having been sunk and that the Commander then made the comment That is the way an order should be carried out or words to that effect HEBBLER stated that it appeared to him that STANLEY JOHNSTON had free access to the Senior officers quarters and that he knows that he was in the company of Commander SELIGMNN a great deal HEBBLER stated that after being transferred to the he was assigned to the Communications Room as one of the decoding officers and that he and the-other officers handled all the messages decoding them and writing them up and personally handling all routing themselves He stated that on the BARNETT the messages first went to the Captain of the BNRNETT and that he belichs the Captain was the only officer of the BARNETT crew who saw the messages except of course the Communication Officer of the BLRNETT The messages were then routed to the LEXINGTON officers they being Commanders SELIGNAN DUCKWORTH TERRY JUNKER and HEBBLER stated that while on the BARNETT he never did take a message to the suite occupied by TERRY and STANLEY JOHNSTON but he recalls that Mr BREWER stated that he Would take care of the routing and that BREWER usually did this himself that he HEBELNR bem lieves he was only in the suite occupied TERRY and JOHNSTON on_tWO occasions for a short time and was unable to state the general nature of the conversations or activities which went on in that room among the officers in presende With regard to the messages in question pertaining to the Task Force of the Japanese ships west of Midway HEBBLER stated he is sure that he saw this message which stated the number of carriers heavy cruisers light cruisers ot cetera which were believed to make up the force but that when he saw it he is sure it had been routed to everyone He knew that he did not deliver the message himself to any of the officers stated that he himself had never shown a message to STANLEY JOHNSTON nor had any other officer in his presence ever deliberately shown a message to STANLEY JOHNSTON On June 15 1942 Ensign JAMES JOHNSON U S N R was interviewed by Special Agent F C at the Destroyer Base San Diego Califd nia and advised that on the U S S LEXINGTON he was assigned to the Communi cations Room under Lieutenant Commander that although he knew STANLEY JOHNSTON was aboard and knew who he was he never met JOHNSTON He stated that on the LEXINGTON he had never delivered a message to any of the officers when STANLEY JOHNSTON was present that since STANLEY JOHNSTON did not mess with the Junior officers on the LEXINGTON he did not see very much of him -19 7 DECLASSHHED Authoritym llb 2 lg I I When transferred to the UDS S BARNETT JOHNSONL stated that he was assigned to the Communications Room where he did decoding 'writing up and routing of all secret messages He stated that he saw STANLEY STON more frequently on the on the LEXINGTON and in fact he personally took a number of messages to the suite occupied by SELTGMAN TERRY and JOHNSTON for the attention of the two officers or any other officers entitled to same who might have been in the suite at the time JOHNSON stated that the only times he went into this room was on business isually of this nature and that he never had occasion to stay in the room for more than approximately five minutes that as herrecalls STON was usually busy at the typewriter or talking to the officers et ceteraa JOHNSON stated that on no occasion when he ever delivered a message to any of the officers was the message everghanded to STANIEY that because of his infrequent calls in this suite he Would be unable to state whether or not the messages were thereafter discussed by the officers in JOHNSTON's presence Regarding the message in question JOHNSON is inclined to believe that he did not see that message at all that he does recall a message from ndmiral GHORMLEY regarding_something about Midway Island but does not believe that that message referred to the number of ships in the_Japanose Task Force Regarding messages delivered by Mr JOHNSON to Cemnander TERRY when the latter was ill Mr JOHNSON stated he recalls that on some of the last times he took messages to Commander TERRY that the latter was very ill and waved him aside indicating that he did not want to see the messages JOHNSON stated that on those occasions he is positive that he would not have placed Commander initials thereon but Would have merely passed the word back that Commander TERRY did not wish to see the messages - go DECLASSHHED Authoritwmlell 6 The New Orleans Office was requested by telephone to interview Ensign EDWARD H RAILSBACK at Shreveport Louisiana The Denver Office was requested to interview Lieutenant jg F C BREWER at Loveland Colorado The washington Field Office was requested to interview Ensign G Y MCKINNON The San Francisco Field Division requested that six enlisted men who worked in the temporary office of the Lextington aboard_the USS Barnett be interw viewed by this office and consequently the following Navy enlisted men were interviewed by Special Agents D A FISH and EDWIN S YOUTZ at the United States Destroyer Base San Diego California These men are presently attached to the Minute Unit at the Destroyer Base awaiting reassignment They were all aboard the Lexington at the time it was sunk and all returned to San Diego aboard the Barnett FRANK Chief Yeoman 615 Sampson Street San Diego California advised that he had worked in the Personnel office which was set up aboard the Barnett He stated that hesaw all dispatches except those marked Secret and that a dispatch board was maintained in this office where all dispatches were hung on a hook on the bulkhead This pertained only to routine traffic dispatches He recalled seeing only one dispatch marked Secret and this was on routine business having to do with advancements in ratings and he was at a loss to understand why it should have been marked Secret CISKOWSKI advised that he did not know where the decoding room was but presumed that it was about three decks up and midships from his office which was in the aft portion of the ship CISKOWSKI stated that he was quartered with the other Chief Petty Officers in the aft compartment and that the Commanding Officers lived forward in the ship the distance of the ship being between their quarters Ho ad vised that Commander SELIGMAN Lieutenant Commander TERRY and STANLEY JOHNSTON a newspaper man had quarters together On one night about five days before the BARNETT landed CISKONSKI took the Fitness Reports to Commander SELIGMAN for signature He recalls that in quarters at this time were SELIGNAN TERRY and JOHNSTON and believes that at this time SELIGMAN had the Secret dispatch book in his hands thumbing through it He said that SELIGMAN was apparently giving JOHNSTON some technical advice on an article JOHNSTON was writing CISKOWSKI was asked to wait outside the quarters while the Fitness Reports were signed He could not recall the exact date of this occurenco but placed it as the night the Fitness Reports were signed by Commander SELIGMAN about five days before the BARNETT docked On one other occasion CISKOWSKI saw the Secret dispatch book when he had occasion to go to the Officers Quarters and saw TERRY reading the book in his hunk There was no one else in the quarters at this time CISKOWSKI advised that the Secret dispatch book was always in the hands of an officer although he did not know in whose custody the book was kept He said that JOHNSTON was given all the privileges of an officer and allowed the run of the ship although it was his understanding that SELIGMAN censored everything that JOHNSTON wrote CISKOWSKI recalled hearing no rumors of matter DECLASSHHED AuthorityMM a of a confidential nature among the men He s tated that his office had nothing to do with Communications other than that routine messages were filed in his office DONALD KEANE Yeoman Second Class 809 E 28th Street Oakland Calipornia advised that he had worked in the office which the LEXINGTON Grew set up aboard He was quartered in the division compartment by the No 5 hold which was two decks below and aft of the machinery spice The officers quarterC'Were forward and on the port side FRANZ stated that he had never seen the Secret disyatch folder and that the only thing of a secret iture he had seen was a report he was working on for Lt JUNKEN about the r1tian in the Coral Sea He at no time heard any discussion about secret dis at nes stating that these were always signed for Ly officers He stated thao the Commvnications Office was forward near'the bridge and that he had neve had anything to do with coding or decoding of ossagss He said swat 'wnNW a newsnaper man was the only civili an on board to his knowledge that quartered with NFL INNAN and TERNY only in f effice on one occasion and had never talked with him On one cecasion NJ US took a dispatch to quarters at which time SELITNAN TERRY wd were present JOHNSTON typing SNLIGNAN in a Chair at the Save atle and TERRY in his bunk No folder or book marked Secret could be seen and there'was no conversation'while he was in the room JOHN P W1GW RTY Yeoman Second Class 2657 West 23rd Street Denver Colorado advised that he also work ed in the office set up by the LEXINGION ires aboard the and that_a dispatch file board was maintained but only oxtine diSpatches we re posted He had nothing to do wit Secret disna cLes f7 rid never seen a file or cook marked Secret He at no time heard ny ssion of se ret dispitches and heard nothirg concerning the Midwav an mient until he read about it in the newspapers en shore HnGGERT1 Wis cc ered amidshin right under the sneerusti ucturcs and stated that were quartered 1orward in the ship He advised that the tin no he was ever in or near thosc officer's quarters was about five o'clock 1' th morning delivering the press news It was always dark at this time and tossed the press news into the rOOm and departed erJo one asleeo He merely allowed the aid that JOHNSTON had about the same status as an officer and was re DECLASSIFIED AuthorityMuD freedom of the ship JOHNSTON talked a lot with the officers appeared very friendly with them and was well liked by them J A STA I Ieoman 2nd Class Cherry Valley Arkansas advised that he worked on the files and had never seen a fi -e or book of diapatches marked Secret although he had seen the regular dispatch file on the bulkhead in the office He said that he did not have regular quarters but would sleep on deck SELIGNIN TERRY and JOHNSTON were in the same quarters forward and on several occasions he had taken papers to the officer's quarters to be signed On one occasion he had typed a letter on typewriter at which time JOHNSTON was in the room together with three Squadron officers whose names he could not recall The table was bare at this time He advised that at no time had he ever heard any talk of confidential matters and knew nothing of the Midway engagement until reading it in the papers ashore He advised that JOHNSTON apparently had the privileges of an officer as he ate and slept with them and had the freedom of the ship WALTER WITHERS Colored Hess Attendant Class 2161 29th Street Philadelphia stated that he was on duty as the Commander's Watch Boy in the Commodore s Cabin which was the one occupied by TERRY and He said that his work was confined to the pantry in back of this cabin and to making up and quarters At no time could he recall ever seeing a dispatch book or file marked Secret nor did he ever hear confidential matters discussed stating that whenever he had occasion to go into the cabin and the occupants were present they would step talking until he had left He advised that he did not hear of the Midway engagement until getting ashore According to NITHERS JOHNSTON appeared to enjoy all the privileges of an officer and was always with officers who all seemed to like him JOSE G SABLAN Hess Attendant Class 1335 Esperanza Street Guam advised that he was on duty in the pantry for Com SELIGHAN sometimes sleeping in the pantry and Sometimes on deck He also had charge of taking care of quarters He said that officers would often come to the quarters with folders marked Secret and that he had seen an envelope on SELIGNAW dask marked Secret and that some of these papers had covers on and some did not He could not recall ever seeing any regular secret dispatch file He stated that the Secret papers were always in the possession of an officer and that many officers would come to the quarters to drink coffee as well as TERRY and JOHNSTON who also were quartered there He said that he never heanidiscussions of a confidential nature and that on every occasion when he weuld enter the room the con versation would cease until he had'left He kneW'nothing of the Midway en counter while on board the BARNETT first hearing of it when he got ashore He stated that JOHNSTON was very good natured very friendly with all the officers and was treated as an officer by the Mess Attendants JOHNSTON spent much of his time at the typewriter or reading magazines or books and so far as SABLAN knew had the freedom of the ship Authoritym D i Lieutenant jg HAROLD P REQUA Assistant to the Public Relations Officer of the 11th Naval District was interviewed and he advised that-on June 3 1942 he had not subject at the Coronado Hotel where there were present at dinner Mrs REQUA Commander and Mrs SELIGMAN Lieutenant jg FREEMAN -and subject He stated at this time that there were some discussions about the Coral Sea but absolutely nothing of a confidential nature the discussions being confined to personal episodes the other discussions held between Commander Subject and REQUA REQUA understood that subject was going to submit all of his prepared copy concerning the Coral Sea matter which REQUA under stood to consist of about 6 000 words There was no discussion between them of any other material that subject may have had and REQUA made a definite arrangement with JOHNSTON on June 3 1942 that JORNSTON would come to the Public Relations Office to submit his material for Navy censorship at AM on June 4 He stated that on June 4 JOHNSTON did not show up and some time later in the day a sealed envelope was found on the desk of Lieutenant Commander b R ANDERSON District Public Relations Officer together with a letter from_subjoot stating that he had been suddenly called to Los Angeles and was submitting with the letter the material that he had for Navy reensorship REQUA understood this material was turned over by Commander ANDERSON to Admiral HOLMES the Commandant of the 11th Naval District REQUA stated that at no time did he mention or hear JOHNSTON mention Ianything'with reference to the Midway Battle or the evidence leading up to it He stated he had no idea of what JOHNSTON might have referred to when he sent a telegram to LOY MALONEY care of the Chicago Tribune which included the words Still think HENNING should press when he receives my air mail Lieutenant Commander E R ANDERSON District Public Relations Officer advised that the material forwarded to the District Public Relations Office by subject consisted only of a story concerning the Coral Sea Rear Admiral RALSTON HOLMES was interviewed by reporting Agent at which time he stated that the material submitted by subject to the Navy Public Relations Office was brought to him by CROFT Chief of Staff 11th Naval District and that he glanced over it briefly He stated that he believed it was only material reporting evidence of the Coral Sea He advised that this material was not passed upon by him or the Naval District but was forwarded immediately through Commander SULLIVAN of the Staff of Admiral KING by Navy plane direct to the Navy Department in Washington where it was presumably to be studied and released for publication Admiral HOLMES advised that he had spoken to Lieutenant BREWER but had only asked him whether instant secret dispatch may have been left unattended overnight at any time on the BARNETT and that answer was in the negative Admiral HOLMES advised that he had no further informatiOn of value DECLASSHHED Authority as 3 Captain G M RAVENSCROFT Chief of Staff 11th Naval District San Diego California was interviewed by Special Agent F C DORWART on June 16 1942 He advised that he had examined the material submitted by STANLEY JOHNSTON and that this material consisted of about six stories which JOHNSTON had written regarding the USS LEXINGTON and the Battle of the Coral Sea He stated that these stories appear to be the stories which are presently running in the newspapers Captain RAVENSCROFT advised that this was the only material submitted and that he knows that there was nothing in the material regarding the matter under investigation i e information regarding the Japanese Naval forces west of Midway Island He stated that after looking this material over carefully he placed it in an envelope and gave it to Commander SULLIVAN of Admiral Staff who was flying to washington D C Special interviewed Lieutenant GEORGE O WOODS a Squadron Leader of a Bombing Squadron_of the LEXINGTON who returned aboard the BARNETT Lieutenant WOODS advised that none of the Junior Officers aboard the BARNETT had any knowledge or any information concerning the Midway engagement and that although there were many rumors about the vessel he was sure that no Junior Officers ever saw any secret diSpatch and never discussed any such matters with the Senior Officers or with STANLEY JOHNSTON -25 DECLASSHHED Authoritw le ll xi Lieutenant Commander EDWARD J Gunnery Officer of the U S S Lexington was interviewed and he advised that he had returned to San Diego aboard the Barnett and that he had quarters in the General s suite on the starboard side of the vessel opposite the Commodore's suite He stated that he recalled seeing a message that was brought to him by a decoding officer and this message named Japanese ships in a Jaoanese forCe sunnosed to be moving toward hidway He said there were names of battleships cruisers carriers and others in this message He did not recall who showed it to him and he did not recall whether or not he had initialed it but stated that his nractice was to read sev ral messages at a time and initial only the top message so that the next time the secret file was brought to him he would start with the message on which his initials last appeared and read On to the top He did not recall date he saw message He stated that the impending Midway engagement had been discussed ty some of the senior officers and he said it had been discussed some in his quarters where the following persons stayed Commander JUNKER Lieu tenant ELDRIDGE Chaplain MARKLA and Dr WHITE With reference to subject advised that he was a 'hale fellow-wellwmet type of man very colorful and full of stories about his various and enterprises He said he was very voluble and that many of the officers doubted some of the stories subject told He stated that he himself definitely would not trust subject with any secret materials and that he had been put on guard against subject by some of subject's stories about how he had got around neonle in England when he was a corresnondent there in efforts to obtain secret information in England said he did not have any idea how subject may have obw tained the message in question but stated that_he supnosed that navy officers particularly under the circumstances of the Lexington may be too credulous and too willing to accent neonle at their face value stated he had never discussed instant message with STON that he did not remember eVer discussing instant message or any Midway information in the Commodore s suite although he stated it was possible that JOHNSTON could have overheard some conversation in the Commodore's suite advised concerning the furnishing of LexingtOn Officers to the Barnett that he on his own authority had furnished gunnery officers to the Barnett who stood gun watches on the-return voyage ENDING 26                     National Security Archive    Suite 701  Gelman Library  The George Washington University    2130 H Street  NW  Washington  D C  20037    Phone  202 994‐7000  Fax  202 994‐7005  nsarchiv@gwu edu