rs Authority in this case originated at WASHINGTON D C FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIOATION File No bb ZUYi Report made at- San Francisco Calif Period e lz a 25 42 Date made e 24 42 Report made by R E MAYER mfd Title STANLEY JOHNSTON Character of case SYNOPSIS OF FACTS dorc's quarters Subject newspaper reporter of Chicago Tribune was assigned to Lexington with credentials from Commander in Chief of the Fleet to prepare news releases re Naval maneuvers Some background of subject set out on page 34 He and several of Lexington personnel taken aboard Navy Transport U S S Barnett 5 15 42 at Pacific port and transported to San Diego Calif where disembarked 6 3 42 ' Some time after dis embarking subject made aVailable to Chicago Tribune information contained in secret dispatch #311221 from Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet to All Task Force Com manders which was received on Barnett 3 52 p m Information released to Tribune printed on page 8 Edition of San Francisco Chronicle dated Sunday June 7 1942 Three of these editions forwarded to Bureau Article set out in pages 4 to 6 herein - Seventeen of Barnett and two of Lexington personnel interviewed No direct evidence of subject's obtaining message developed Subject quartered on Barnett with Commander M T SELIGMAN Lexington Executive Officer and seated immediately to his left in the officers' mess a place reserved by NaVy custom for the second highest ranking officer under-him Both of these actions taken at request These quarters detailed in Chart on page M3 hereof hereinafter referred to as Commo- -- Lt Com COLEMAN Barnett places subject in Commodore's quarters on one occasion when other Lexington personnel working on charts in his presence and View and on another occasion when Lexington officers were discussing identity as to class of Japanese Do not write in these spaces Approved Copies Bureau 2' Birmingham washington Field 1 2 Denver 1 Los Angeles inf 2 new Orleans 2 Norfolk 2 Oklahoma City 2 Richmond 2 San Diego 2 Seattle wjap '3 2 ONT San Francisco 4 unmir ig LUNA DECLASSHHED Authority i naval craft were Japanese Naval Class term used in secret dispatch #511221 heard by COLEMAN in this discussion Barnett Japanese silhouette book observed by COLEMAN in use in this discussion Date of discussion not set by COLEMAN SELIGMAN known to have obtained silhouette book on date of receipt of diSpatch #611221 Lt Com HARDIN Barnett places subject in Commodore's quarters 5 30 42 in consultation with over a map Subject typing from notes during consultation Nature of subject's notes not known to HARDIN No mention of Jap naval craft names or possible future Jap naval movements in consultation Pharmacist's Mate NEEDHAM Barnett places subject in forward bedroom Commodore s quarters on one occasion when one Lexington officer whom he could not name was seated at large table in dining room Typewriter and many papers also on table Nature of papers not knewn to NEEDHAM Also places him in bedroom on occasion when about eight Naval officers seated at dining room table Condition of table not observed by NEEDHAM No conversation between subject and any other persons in room during either of visits Pharmacist s Mate Barnett places subject in Commodore's quarters on one undated occasion at dining room table with Com DUCKWORTH and two other Lexington officers Subject Operating typewriter Condition of table not recalled by MARSHALL Only remarks overheard were re Norway invasion Com JUNKER Lexington cannot place subject in Commodore s quarter on any particular date or on any occasion which can be fixed in date by other information supplied by him Places COLEMAN in quarters on an occasion he saw silhouette book there and heard at that time discussion of Jap naval craft class JUNKER visited quarters about 17 times and said subject usually there Stated subject on one occasion asked he be allowed to see one of his reports which he refused to do Lt Com Lenington can fix no dates of message receipt or visits to Commodore's quarters advised t at Dispatch-#511231 was discussed therein among SELIGMAN TERRY JUNKEE DUCKWORTH and himself that he can not recall whether JOHNSTON was present that he feels sub ject overheard this discussion that he witnessed no dis cussions of it or impending Midway action when he knew sub- ject was present that he saw pencil notes of UQS vs Japanese naval forces in Commodore's quarters answers to Bureau's 14 specific questions set out These answers contain no direct evidence in themselves Other personnel interviewed of no value in showing subject s presence in quarters during discussions among Naval personnel Routing practice of messages on Barnett before and after 5 15 42 set out Receipt and routing of Dispatch #311221 set out as far 2 DECLASSHHED Authoritym'igb as could be established here Three photostatic copies of Dispatch #611221 furnished to Bureau Lt BONTECOU and EnSign STROUD Both Barnett witnesses to state- ment that subject allowed to see all secret and confidential messages and letters on Lexington signed memo to Captain PHILLIPS on this point enclosed Record of confer ence in office of Admiral GREENSLADE enclosed Copies of report of 6 9 42 of Captain PHILLIPS to Admiral GREENSLADE enclosed Original and copies of decoding watch duty list enclosed Twelve of Barnett personnel interviewed and listed on page 9 ordered to temporary shore duty in 12th Naval 'District Index to this report follows a RUG I Showing name rank ship and pages wherein mentioned and interviewed BONTECOU Lt DANIEL Communications Officaq USS Barnett - - - 7 9 - 14 15 InterviGW'with 18 - - 50 BREWER Lt FRED 0 Communications watch Officer USS Lexington - 7 BROWN Lt J R Asst Medical Officer USS Barnett - - 9 IntervieW'with 23 BROWN R M Agent 0N1 San Francisco California - - - 8 GER NICLE San Francisco article of 5 2 CISKOWSKI FRANK Yoeman USS lexington - - - - - - - 20 COLEMAN t Gunnery Officer USS Barnett - - 9 Interview with 21 connocotsts assesses Chart DAVIS Lt I 3 Asst Communications Officer Use Lexington - '11 DOTY C 3 Pharmacist's Mate - - - - - - a a 26 DUCKWORTH Comm H 3 Air Officer USS Lexington - - 7 5 DECLASSIFIED Authoritym ED Z ELDRIDGE Commander USS Lexington - - - 27 - - - 31 Admiral Commandant 12th Navel District 7 8 HAGGERTY J 13 Yoemen USS Lexington - - - - - 20 HARDIN It Comm ED Medical Officer USS BARNETT - - - - 9 IntervieW'with 25 HEBBLER Commander R E Decoding watch Officer USS Lexington 11 HUGHES L A Phermeoist's mete USS Barnett - Interview with 26 JOHNSON Ensign J 3 Decoding watch Officer USS Lexington - - 11 QUARTERS Chart JUNKER Commander A F Chief Engineer USS Lexington - Interview with 27 a - - 51 KILPATRICK Captain K Chief of Steff Western See Frontier 7 8 Class designation of Japanese Navel CraftKEANE D E Yoemen USS Lexington - - - - - - - - 20 MADDIX Phermecist's Mate USS Barnett - - 9 Interview with 24 MARKLE Chaplain of USS Lexington - - - a - - - - 27 MARSHALL FRED J Pharmacist's Mate USS Barnett - - - - 9 Interview with 25 MGCIAMMEY E D Officers Steward USS Barnett - - - 9 IntervieW'with 25 Rear Admiral R P Intelligence Officer 12th Navel Dist 7 - - - 16 MGKINNON Ensign G Y Decoding watch Officer USS Lexington - ll MESSAGE FOLDER USS Barnett - - - - - - - - - 24 MESSAGE HANDLING USS Barnett - - - - - - - - - 15 MILLER N A Phermecist's Mate USS Barnett - - - 26 9 NEEDHAM WM TIMOTHY Pharmacist's mete USS Bernett Interview with 24 Commander E J Gunnery Officer USS Lexington - - - - 11 Interview with 31 Se DECLASSHHED Authori OLSON Ensign O T Billeting Officer USS Barnett - - - 9 Interview with 17 PHILLIPS Captain Commanding Officer USS Barnett 7 - - 9 Interview with 11 POMEROY Lt Comm J G EXecutive Officer USS Barnett - - - 26 QUARTERING OF SUBJECT WITH SELIGMAN - - - - - - 17 E H Decoding watch Officer USS Lexington - 11 RECEIPT OF MESSAGE ON USS Barnett - - - - - - a 13 ROBERTS A Pharmacist's Mate USS Barnett - - - ROUTING OF MESSAGES - - - - - - - - - - - - 15 15 Commander nah Executive Officer USS Lexington - - QUARTERS Chart SILHOUETTE BOOK JAPAIESE OF USS Barnett - - - - - - - - SMITH Dr Medical Officer USS Solace - 4 - - - - 23 SOLACESTACY nines Ar Yoeman USS Lexington - - - - - - - - 20 STODDART Ensign H B Asst Communications Officer USS Barnett 14 Interview with 30 STROUD Second Division Deck Officer USS Barnett 9 - - IntervieW'with 19 TERRY Commander'W 0 Cemmunications Officer USS Lexington - USS SOLACE - - VAN ARSDALL Lieutenant C J Asst Gunnery Officer USS Barnett 14 WHITE Dr medical Officer USS Lexington - - - - - - 27 ZINSER GEORGE Seaman Radio Operator USS Barnett - - 15 3b DECLASSHHED AuthorityAu Ll iji This is the joint report of Special Agent'G A BUSCH and the writer AT SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA On June 12 1942 the Bureau advised this office of the brief outline of facts in this case as known at that time That information was that subjecti hNLEY JOHNSTON a reporter of the Chicago Tribune newspaper who had been officially attached to a man-of-war of the United States Fleet in the Pacific had obtained information while on the United States Navy Transport Barnett of secret and restricted nature and had improperly caused its publication in the Chicago Tribune the Washington Herald the New York Daily News and the San Francisco Chronicle in the Sunday edition of those papers on June 7 1942 The news article concerned itself with adVance information in possession of the United States Navy regarding an attack by a task force of the Japanese Imperial Navy on Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean On June 12 1942 this office furnished to the Bureau for its files in this case three complete issues of the San Francisco Chronicle dated Sunday June 7 1942 This issue and the particular edition furnished which contained the story in question is designated as Volume CLIV No 14-3 There are retained in the San Francisco file on this case one complete edition and one news section only of the issue and edition des- cribed above The article as published on page 8 in the San Francisco newspaper is set out in full below The underscoring in the article as set out indicates that that portion of the article was in heavy black print in the neWSpaper - WASHINGTON REPORT NAVY KNEW JAP TASK FORCE idem areas READY Copyright 1942 by Chicago Tribune washington June 6n-Tho strength of the Japanese forces with which the American Navy is battling some where west of Midway Island in what is believed to be the greatest naval battle of the war was well known in-Amerioan Naval circles reliable sources in the Naval Intelligence disclosed here tonight The Navy learned of the gathering of the power- ful Japanese units soon after they put forth from their bases it was said Although their purpose was not specifically known at that time the informa- tion in the hands of the Navy Department was so definite that a faint at some American base to be 4 AuthorityMn lgD I a in accompanied by a serious effort to invade and occupy another base was predicted Guesses even were made that Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians and Midway Island in the Hawaiian group might be targets It was known that the Japanese fleet-wthe most powerful yet used in this war -was broken into three sectionsnefirst a striking force next a support force and finally an occupation fleet It was apparent to Admiral Chester'w Nimitz's strategists in Hawaii that the feint would probably be made by the supporting force the real blow struck by the striking fleet -with the occupation force standing by ready to land troops as soon as defenses were broken down Had the attack on Midway been successful Pearl Harbor and the Hawaiian islands would have been the next point of attack Exactly how the Japanese disposed their units as between Dutch Earbor end the Midway islands is not known here However before the fleet was divided for attacks on the Aleutians and Midway the Tarious forces were made up approximately as follows according to Navy information here The striking force Four aircraft carriers the Akagi and Kaga of 26 900 tons each and the Hiryu and Soryu of 10 000 tons each Two battleships of the Kirishima class - 29 500 tons with 14-inch guns Two cruisers of the Tone c1ass- new 8500 ton 6 1 inch gun ships Twelve destroyers The support force is described by the same source as comprising One aircraft carrier of the 3yuzyo class 7100 tons vo Kirishima class battleships DECLASSHHED Authority 5 Four new 8500 ton cruisers of the Mogami classl including the Mogami the Mikuma Suzuya Kumanow-with 15 guns of 6 1 in3h calibers One light cruiser Ten destroyers The occupation force included 4 cruisers The Chakas Myoko Chitore and Choda all believed of 8 500 tons with main batteries of 6 1 inch guns 2 armored transports of the Kunikisma Maru liners Wu 1 a 1-7 - mung mum 4 to 6 troopships 8 toml2 supply essels 12 destroyers 10 submarines WMll informed as it was the Navy was on the alert for the first movement of this force When it turned eastward into the Pacific from the vicinity of the Chisima or nurile Island chain all American outposts were warned American naval dispositions were made in prepare tion for the various possible attacks the Japs were believed to be planning Up to this time the Japanese had not committed themselves to any action They were still in position to turn their real threat against either Dutch Harbor or Midway By last Tuesday the Americans were able to conclude that a feint was to he made at Dutch Harbor Meanwhile preparations among all available American forces in the vicinity of Midway'were being rushed in the hope of striking a telling blow against the Japs The wisdom of this course became apparent on Wednosday'when the faint was made in the form of air raids on Dutch harbor The same day the fleets in the Midway area commenced their new historic battle DECLASSHHED Authority I - On June 9 1942 Vice-Admiral J GREENSLADE Commander Western Sea Frontier and Commandant Twelfth Naval District at San Francisco California directed to the Commander-in Chief of the United States Fleet Navy Department washington a secret communication the subject of which was as follows REGARDING POTENTIAL SOURCES OF SECRET INFORMETION BY MR STANLEY This letter forwarded as enclosures therewith a three page letter dated June 9 1942 to the Commander of the Western Sea Frontier from Captain PHILLIPS Commanding Officer U S S Barnett and a two-page unsigned memorandum dated June 8 1942 addressed to the Commander of the western Sea Frontier on stationery of the U S S Barnett This memorandum was prepared by Captain PHILLIPS On June 11 1942 there was conducted a conference in the office of VicemAdmiral Commandant Twelfth Naval District and Commander of the western Sea Frontier in the Federal Office Building in San Francisco California Present at this conference were the following Rear Admiral R 1 District Intelligence Officer Captain N K KILPATRICK Chief of Staff Western Sea Frontier Captain B PHILLIPS Commanding Officer U S S Barnett Commander M T SELIGMAN Executive Officer U S S Lexington Commander H S Air Officer U S S Lexington Lieutenant jg FRED C BREWER Communications'Watch Officer U S S Lexington Lieutenant jg DANIEL BONTECOU Communications Officer Barnett On Monday June 15 1942 Rear Admiral R P furnished to Special Agent in Charge N J L PIEPER three photostatic copies prepared by the Navy of the secret dispatch #511221 from the Cemmander in- Chief of the Pacific Fleet to all task force commanders This is the message in question which was received on the Barnett at approximately 3 52 pm on May 51 1942 Copies of the letter and enclosures of Admiral GRETNSLADE dated June 9 1942 and of a record of the conference conducted on June 11 1942 in the office of Admiral GREENSLADE are furnished herewith to the Bureau as enclosures with this report DECLASSIFIED Authority i The three photostatic copies of the secret dispatch in question were furnished to the Bureau for its file in this case on June 15 1942 No copies of this dispatch have been retained in the San Francisco Field Office file and no reproduction of that message was made in this field division On Friday June 12 1942 beginning at 8 30 pm a conference was held in the office of Commander GREENSLADE in the Federal Building in San Francisco attended by the following For the Navy Admiral GREENSLADE Commandant Twelfth Naval District San' Francisco California Admiral R P District Intelligence Officer Twelfth Naval District San Francisco California Captain W K KILPATRICK Chief of Staff Western Sea Frontier R M BROWN Agent Office of Naval Intelligence San Francisco - For the Federal Bureau of Investigation N J L PIEPEH Special Agent in Charge San Francisco Field Division G A BUSCH Special Agent San Francisco Field Division R E MAYER Special Agent San Francisco Field Division In this conference Admirals GREENSLADE and MCCULLOUGH gave a brief statement of facts known as of that date to the Navy and referred to the conference held in Admiral office on June 11 1942 ill of the information obtained by representatives of the FBI in that conference of value in establishing a violation of the Espionage not is contained in the record of the conference conducted in the Admiral's office on June ll 1942 Which record is mentioned above as being an enclosure to the Bureau with this report DECLASSHHED Authority On the page immediately following is'a scale chart of the apartment on the U S S Barnett referred to in interviews as the Commodore's Quarters which is the space occupied during the voyage between may 15 and June 2 1942 by Commanders SELIGMAN and TERRY and subject This drawing was made by Special Agent G A BUSCH to scale from measurements made by him and Special Agent D F on board the U S S Barnett at Pier 42- 80 San Francisco California On the pages following the chart are the results of the interviews with the Barnett personnel and Commanders JUNKER and For easy reference to pages wherein are shown these inter views for particular persons reference should be made to the index on pages 3 3a and 5b of-this report No attempt has been made in this report to correlate any of the information obtained in interviews for the reason it could be done effectively only by the office of origin after a consideration of the information obtained from all field offices concerned with this inves tigation No leads are being set out herein for the reason such leads for other offices were set out by other means immediately upon materializing and all those for this office have been covered On June 15 1942 Captain K KILPATRICK Chief of Staff western Sea Frontier contacted Special Agent in Charge N J L PIEPER and requested this office supply him with the names of Barnett personnel who could possibly be called as witnesses in any criminal action taken in the matter of subject The following names were given to the Captain Lieutenant DANIEL BONTECOU Communications Officer Lieutenant J R BROWN Assistant Nbdical Officer Lieutenant Commander B M COLEMAN Gunnery Officer Lieutenant Commander ED HARDIN Medical Officer V J MADDIX Pharmacists Mate FRED J MARSHALL Pharmacists Mate E D MCCLAMMEY Officers Steward WM T Pharmacists Mate Ensign O T OLSON Billeting Officer Captain'W B PFILLIPS Commanding Officer A ROBERTS Pharmacists Hate Ensign B D STROUD Deck Officer 'On June 18 lQiB advised that all of the persons in the above list were ordered to shore duty in the 12th Naval District DECLASSIFIED i Authority x kk foo Ic x 7 755 50 707033 Quarter 600 6 mymu -- Comm 0 Jar-0 aoractt fa w 61 3 #5975- DECLASSIFIED Authority INTERVIEWS WITH U S S BARNETT PERSONNEL The following pages contain the information obtained by Special Agent G A BOSCH and the writer 'during the several interviews conducted in the Commanding Officer's quarters aboard the U S S Barnett on June 15 1942 at Pier 42 South in San Francisco California All of these interviews were attended by Captain'W Commanding Officer U S S Barnett Agent Re M BROWN Office of Naval Intelligence Special Agent G i BUSCH FBI San Francisco and the writer The notes taken by Special Agent G A BOSCH and the writer during these interviews are retained in the San Francisco Field Office file The results of the interviews follow Captainlf B PHILLIPS Commanding Officer WU S S Barnett mum By way of background the Captain advised that his vessel is a Navy transport ship engaged generally in transport duties as distin- guished from combat duties cf the United States Navy in the Pacific The Captain advised that on May 15 1942 his Vessel took on at a Pacific port personnel of the U S S Lexington for tranSportation to San Diego California The voyage was completed and all passengers diSembarked at the port of San Diego on June 2 1942 Among those taken aboard and of interest in this case were the following Commander M T SELIGMAN Executive Officer Commander H S DUCKWORTH Air Officer Commander A F -JUNKER Chief Engineer Commander W C TERRY Communications Officer Commander E J Gunnery Officer Lieutenant I E DAVIS Assistant Communications Officer Lieutenant F C BREWER Communications watch Officer Ensign JOB JOHNSON Decoding'Watch Officer Ensign GOY MCKINNON Decoding Watch Officer Ensign R E HEBBLER Decoding watch Officer Ensign I Decoding watch Officer hlso taken aboard at the same time was the subject STANLEY JOHNSTON newspaper reporter who had been assigned officially to the U S S Lexington The Captain outlined the standard message handling procedure on the U S S Barnett in practice before the arrival of the above porsons'and other Lexington personnel on board That procedure is as follows ll DECLASSIFIED Authoritym mj All messages addressed to naval vessels are received on board the ship by its radioman who is enlisted personnel The message is prepared by him in typewritten form exactly as received in encoded form two copies_of this message are prepared They are designated as original and work copy The original is retained in its encoded form in the ship's file the work copy is then decoded as to addressee only If the message is addressed to that ship it is then decoded in its entirety in the decoding room of the Barnett by a qualified officer of 'that ship The work copy is then destroyed completely by the decoding officer The decoded text is prepared in single copy only on gummed tape of the type used by commercial radio and telegraph companies This tape is cut into strips and pasted on ruled paper The decoded message is then placed in the ship's message folder which is constructed by means of two gray colored fibre covers attached together at the back forming a book-like affair This folder marked secret is then carried personally by the Barnett's Communications Officer to the Commanding Officer of that vessel and the Executive Officer After those persons have noted the message it is destroyed by burning by the Communications Officer - PHILLIPS advised that of the men listed above Commanders SELIGMAN and TERRY and subject STANLEY JOHNSTON were quartered in one apartment of the vessel This was a forward outboard compartment com- monly referred to on the ship as the Commodore's Quarters Those quar ters will hereinafter so be designated Reference should he made to the drawing of these quarters contained on Page 10 of this report He said that SELIGMAN occupied in that apartment the private room aft while TERRY and JOHNSTON shared the room in the forward end of the quarters Regarding the matter of subject's being quartered with SELIGMAN the Captain Stated it is his recollection he was so quartered on the a request of SELIGMAN made to OLSON the Billcting Officer of the Barnett This was confirmed by OLSON see interview with OLSON Page 17 Regarding message handling practice after the arrival of the Lexington personnel on the ship PHILLIPS stated that he was approached by SELIGMAN who pointed out to him that among the personnel boarding the Barnett from the Lexington were qualified men in the various departments and that these men were at the disposal of the Barnett to stand watches during the voyage PHILLIPS said SELIGMAN mentioned deck gunnery anti- airoraft and decoding watches According to PHILLIPS SELIGMAN Speci- fically suggested that the five qualified decoding officers of the Lexington on the Barnett be made up into decoding watches which would stand by on the Barnett SELIGMAN requested that PHILLIPS permit that decoding watch to decode all messages received on the Barnett in their entirety He also requested that he SELIGMAN and his four department heads DUCKWORTH TERRY JUNKER and be included in the routing of all messages decoded on the Barnett during the voyage to San Diego stating that this was the custom on the lexington He pointed out that it is the custom on all Navy ships to decode all messages for which the 12 DECLASSHHED Authoritymm lg lg ship is equipped with code He stated that it was his desire that he and his department heads be apprised of operations in the Pacific generally -PHILLIPS pointed out that had the Barnett been better equipped from the standpoint of personnel that ship would have decoded all messages as was the general Navy custom rather than confining the decoding of messages to those addressed to the Barnett In setting up this new message handling practiCe PHILLIPS issued these orders - that Commander SELIGMAN and his four department heads be included in the routing of secret and restricted messages that all mes sages be decoded that in all other respects the routing procedure of messages he the same as in effect before the Lexington personnel came aboard PHILLIPS did not include ordinarily his department heads in the message routing He was advised by SELIGMAN that the Lexington custom was to include department heads He stated that the custom is determined on each individual ship by the Commanding Officer unless there are specific orders given on that matter Regarding the handling of dispatch #611221 the Captain gave the following information EORGE ZINSER Seaman First Class was the radio operator on duty who received the message He prepared it in typewritten form making an original and a work copy He made an official entry in the Ship's Log 'to the effect that the message was received at 5 52 p m on may 51 1942 This information was supplied by Captain PHILLIPS while he was referring to the Ship's Log The next step in the handling of the movement of the message was the filing of the original and the transmission of the work copy to the members of the five man decoding watch on duty This latter operation consisted merely in getting up from the typewriter platform of the radio operator stepping forward about two steps and handing the message through the door of the decoding room to the decoding watch This step in the handling of the message is a surmise on the part of the Captain since that is the usual practice and since this message appeared to have been decoded and further since he knows that after this watch was set up all messages were sent into the decoding room The next step in the handling of the message according to Captain PHILLIPS WES the deGOding By reference to his-records he stated that he was unable to determine the name of the officer on duty as decoding officer at that time and there fore cannot determine who decoded the message He referred to the decode text and stated there is no entry thereon indicating the hour of decoding or the officer who did such decoding DECLASSHHED Authority PHILLIPS could furnish no definite information as to his own knowledge pertaining to intervening steps in the handling of the message He did however furnish information which correlated with other informa- tion obtained in this investigation indicates that the message was seen by SELIGMAN and others on May 51 1942 soon after its decoding This information is to the effect that at 10 00 am on June 1 1942 when the message folder was delivered to him he noted the message for the first tine and immediately requested Lieutenant C J VAN ARSDALL desistant Gunnery Officer to'bring into his room the shipis book containing silhouette drawings of Japanese naval surface craft He recalls that VAN-ARSDALL brought the book in to him and in so doing remarked that he had lent it to SELIGMAN and others in the Commodore's quarters at about 6 00 pm on May 31 1942 PHILLIPS said that it is his recollection VAN ARSDALL remarked that one of the five-man decoding watch and hence one of the Lexington personnel personally came to the Navigation Room and obtained the book He told the Captain it had been returned again later on the evening of May 51 1942 Captain PHILLIPS initialed the message when it was delivered to him at about 10 00 an on June I 1942 In-an effort to determine in the interview with Captain PHILLIPS whether the message had in fact been noted by SELIGMAN and his department heads previous to the time of its delivery to him PHILLIPS was asked whether he noted any other initials on the message at the time he signed it He stated he could not recall whether or not it contained other initials He also stated he could not recall whether there were other messages in the file which appeared to have been received on the ship subsequent to dispatch 511221 He stated he did recall that the book contained other messages which had not bben destroyed Captain PHILLIPS said that the message was not destroyed immediately after distribution was completed for the reason BONIECOU was acting in the capacity of Navigation Officer and Communications Officer and was thus extremely busy and unable to effect the destruction of the message immediately Thus according to Captain PHILLIPS the message folder was returned to the safe in the Decoding Room immediately after it was noted by him on the morning of June 1 1942 Captain PHILLIPS advised that the following persons had know ledge of the combination to the safe in the decoding room Lieutenant jg DANIEL BONZLCOU Communications Officer Barnett Ensign H B Assistant Communications Officer Barnett- each of the-five men on the decoding watch all Lexington personnel 14 DECLASSHHED Authoriwmlelli L 'ss CAPTAIN PHILLIPS - REINTERVIEW - In accordance with Bureau instructions to reintorview Lieut BONTECOU on the specific questions set out below Captain PHILLIPS and Lieutenant BONTECOU were reinterviewed together on June 19 1942 in the Captain's cabin on the Barnett These interviews are reported here rather than in the section of this report covering interview with BONTECOU for the reason the information desired in answer to the questions was obtainable in the main from the Captain The questions follow 1 Was more than one decoded copy of the secret message made 2 What became of original and copies if any 5 What was done with the coded copy of the message 4 were all copies of message destroyed at regular intervals 5 Exact procedure employed in handling messages on Barnett in pertinent period 4 QUESTION 1 was answered by Captain PHILLIPS and Lieutenant BONTECOU jointlyparagraph 1 on page 1% no copy but simply an original is made of the decoded message The decode ing of the message reSults in its being printed on gummed tape-similar to that used by commercial radio and telegraph companies The tape is cut into appropriate length strips and pasted in ruled paper which is then placed in the mesSage folder The photostatic copies of the message in question which was furnished to the Bureau by this office on June 16 1942 may be examined for an illustration of the manner of their 7 preparation 2 was also answered jointly by the Captain and the part answered in previous interview with the Captain on June 15 as set out in paragraph on pagelA of this report The decoded message was pasted on the ruled paper routed to certain personnel and returned to the safe in the decoding room It was the practice on the ship to burn the messages about every other day However this one was not destroyed as of the date of the beginning of the investigation of this matter by the Navy for the reason that Lieutenant BONTECOU was acting in the double capacity of Navigation Officer and Communications Officer and thus did not have time to destroy same When the investi gation commended the message was preserved in the event it was needed in connection therewith QUESTION 5 is answered in the main in paragraph 1 on pagelE It will be noted that that information was given as applying generally to all messages It applies specifically to the one in question although since as stated above the Captain cannot determine who effected the decoding of dispatch #511221 he cannot state who destroyed the work copy or original of the coded copy of this message Regarding the ship s file copy of the message he stated thaw it is still in the file on the ship and that they are retained for a periOd of eighteen months after '15 Authoriwmual a i Lie receipt unless the ship is in danger offalling into the hands of the enemy in which case all such records are destroyed immediately QUESTION 4 was answered by the Captain who Stated as above that the decoded messages are destrOyed every other day that the original of the coded copy is maintained in the ship s files for eighw teen months and that the work copy of the coded message is deStroyed by the decoding officer immediately upon decoding the message is answered completely and in detail above in the interview with the Captain on June 15 See pageslliKJlSabove In connection with the above interviews with Captain PHILLIPS and the following interviews with other personnel it will be noted that there have been references to certain of the records of the U S S Barnett On June 19 1942 the Bureau in answer to inquiry from this office advised that the following papers be retained ashore and not be left on the ship when it sails - 1 DECODING WATCH-DUTY LIST 2 - OFFICIAL of 5 51 42 Captain PHILLIPS on the occasion of the interview on June 19 1942 gave to reporting agents the original of the paper referred to in number 1 above It will be noted that he referred to this paper on page ISabove in an attempt_to determine the name of thetdecoding officer on watch at the time of the decoding of The list consists simply of a penciled schedule for the day The original and two photostatic copies are enclosed herewith One photostatic copy has been retained in the San Francisco Field office file It will be noted that at the left of the list of men are some pencil notes which do not appear to be pertinent These are some extraneous notes by Captain PHILLIPS and do not refer to the watch list The list was folded in half vertically and tacked on the wall in the decoding room or communi cations room in such a manner as to make only the list of names on the right half of the paper visible Further examination of the list indi cates that it does not cover the day in question but pertains to dates beginning with the 19th of the month The Captain stated that is the only list left available Regarding the Official DiSpatch #511221 _reference is made to page 8 of this report wherein is stated that photostatic copies of the message were furnished to the Bureau on June 15 1942 The original of the message is available with Rear Admiral R P Intelligence OffiCer 15th Naval District San Francisco California DECLASSHHED Authority I I Ensign O T OLSON Assistant Disbursing Officer and Billeting Officer U S S BARNETT In interview with Ensign OLSON he stated that it is his duty among other things on the U S S Barnett to assign quarters_to persons who were ordered on that ship whether crew members or transferees for tranSportation He stated that he recalls the few hours previous to the Barnett's taking on the U S S Lexington personnel and explained that due to the great number of transferees and the fact that they were to be divided among several ships and the fact that the transferring and departure of the Barnett and other ships was quite hasty no advance detail assignment of men to definite quarters in definite ships had been made 'Therefore as the men came on the ship he made a record of them and the accommodations they required and at that time that is after they had boarded the ship assigned them to quarters on the Barnett Regarding the quarters of SELIGMAN and party he stated that he recalls very definitely this person and JOHNSTON boarded the ship two or three hours after most of the others from the Lexington had come aboard As in the case of others he_had made no plans for quartering them Almost immediately upon boarding the ship according to OLSON SELIGMAN approached him and made the request that subject JOENSTON be quartered in the same compartment with him and be seated immediately to his left at his table in the officers mess Navy custom prescribes highest rank officer be seated at head of table with second highest under him on his left I Regarding information as to activities and conversations in the Commodore's quarters OLSON stated that during the entire voyage he made but two visits there The first was to supply some bed clothing on a particularly cold night and the second was to collect the quarters bill from SELIGMAN TERRY and JOHNSTON OLSON said his first visit to the Commodore s quarters was a few days after the Lexington personnel boarded the Barnett He said that he definitely recalls that SELIGMKN and the subject were in the room and that subject was seated at the large table in the center room hereinafter referred to as the Dining Room SELIGMAN was standing nearby The table was bare OLSON was in the room but a very few moments He merely spoke to JOHNSTON and SELIGNAN about their blankets and left immediately He stated that he had not glanced around to the right into the forward end of the com- partment hereinafter referred to as the Bedroom and that he did not see TERRY in the compartment at all although he said that that portion of the quarters was dark and it is very possible that he might have been there The second visit to the apartment by OLSON was on about may 31 1942 sometime during the afternoon He could not even estimate the hour He stated that he was in there for a few moments only 17 DECLASSHHED AuthoritymligD 1 arranging for the payment of the quarters' bill due from the occupants of those quarters for their voyage to San Diego California He stated that he recalls for-certain that SELIGMAN was there that he believes that JOHNSTON was there although he cannot recall Again he stated he did not look around to see whether TERRY was in the Bedroom He could not recall the location or activities or conversations of and subject at the time of this visit Neither could he recall the condition of the table in the dining room Nobody entered the room while he was there Lieutenant jg DANIEL sciences Navigations and Communications Officer U S S BARNETT In interviews that he had never entered the Commodore's quarters between May 15 and June 2 1942 and thus was unable to furnish any direct information regarding persons activities or discussions in that room He'was asked whether he had any indirect information regarding occurrence and persons-in that room and he said that he did not as said the only thing he had heard about the room was that the men who were quartered in it had all been in the Coral Sea Battle together and were working on a Coral Sea'War Report Also BONTECOU said that he knows nothing of the movements of the Barnett s Japanese silhouette book It will be noted in the report from the San Diego Field Division that information was obtained by that office to the effect that SELIGMAN denied in San Diego making any state- ment to the effect that subject was allowed to receive secret and restricted dispatches while on the Lexington In order to furnish infor mation indicating the possible relationship between SELIGMAN and subject on board the U S S Lexington BONTECOU was interrogated closely on this point He said that he recalls the remarks by clearly and that he even recalls the circumstances which occasioned his remarks He explained it thusly A few days previous to the conversation in question BONTECOU gave to JOHNSTON a restricted Coral Sea Chart which JOHNSTON had asked for and which he stated he was going to use in some charts he was pre paring regarding the Coral Sea Battle BONTECOU gave_him the chart On the day of the conversation in question which day has been fairly well established in interview with STROUD following as may 31st SELIGMAN was in the chart room of the Barnett for a purpose which BONTECOU does not recall On this occasion of visit to the chart room also there and recalls that Ensign STROUD was present At l DECLASSHHED Authority I this time BONTECOU recalled having given the restricted Coral Sea Chart to JOHNSTON a few days previous and asked SELIGMAN whether in his mind that was a permissible use of the chart In answer to his question SELIGMAN stated that it was alright for him to give the chart to JOHNSTON He then went on and discussed somewhat position and activities while on the Lexington It was during that discussion that he said to BONTECOU in the presence of STROUD On the Lexington we were authorized to show JOHNSTON secret and confidential messages and 1etters with the exception of If JOHNSTON talks too much when he goes ashore he will be blackballed with hispaper BONTECOU was reinterviewed at the Bureau's request on June 19 1942 regarding five specific questions The results of that interview had jointly with him and Captain PHILLIPS is set out above on pages 15 and l6 for the reason the questions were in the main answered by Captain PHILLIPS Ensign B D STROUD Second Division Deck Officer In interview STROUD advised that he was never in the Commodore's quarters during the voyage to San Diego and that he has no direct or indirect information regarding persons activities or discussions in those quarters Regarding conversation between BONTECOU and SELIGMAN mentioned above in interview with BONTECOU TROUD gave the following information - On may 21 1942 at 9 a m he took a sun sight At 11 a m he took a sight on Venus -Immediately after taking the sight on Venus he went into the chart room where he worked out the hour of the upper transit of the sun He said that he performed a similar sighting operation on May 25rd and that the 21st and 23rd were the only times he did any daylight sighting He definitely recalls that the conversation took place during the time he was working out his sightings in the chart room On thinking back on the charting and conversation STROUD stated he knows definitely it was either the let or the 23rd and he feels almost certain it was the 21st of May Regarding the conversation itself Captain PHILLIPS during the interview requested that STROUD prepare a memorandum to him setting out exactly what took place in the chart room Accordingly STROUD prepared a short memorandum which reads as follows H1 I DECLASSHHED Authority a I 3 BARNETT June 13 1942 few days after the Barnett left on its recent trip to Cali- fornia 1 was in the chart house with BONTECOU and the Executive Officer of the Lexington The following is a state- ment of what I remember to have heard from their conversation BONTECOU asked the Executive Officer of the Lexington Mr SELIGMAN whether it was all right to give Mr JOHNSTON access to some restricted charts that he had in his possession The answer was in the affirmative and Mr SELIGMAN added that 'Mr JOHNSTON was permitted access to all secret and confidential matters except the The Executive Officer continued by stating that would have to be quiet and keep these matters to himself because it would ruin his career as a correSpondent He added that hr JOHNSTON would be the one to go to washington to tell the Secretary of the Navy of the action which had just taken place After emphasizing the fact to Mr BONTECOU that Mr JOHNSTON couid be trusted and could see any confidential and secret matter the conversation shifted to other topics Signed w e D The original and two photostatic copies of the above memorandum are forwarded herewith as enclosures to the Bureau Photostatic cepy is being retained in the San Francisco Field Office file It will be noted that across the bottom is written in pencil Reference paragraph 8 of C O Barnett's report of June 9 1942 That reference is to paragraph 8' on the 4th page of Captain report to Admiral GREENSLADE dated June 9th That report is mentioned above as being enclosed with this report to the Bureau It will also be noted that in reporting agent's handwriting at the bottom of this page is the notation Read to STROUD 6 l5 42 1 45 p m and acknowledged to be his report SA - During this interview with STROUD PHILLIPS interposed and supplied the names of the following Yoemen with their serial numbers who came aboard the Barnett from the Lexington and assisted the Lexington officers in their temporary offices on the'Barnett _He stated that all of these persons are in San Diego and should be interviewed for the reason they were in the Commodore s quarters frequently CISKOWSKI FRANK 291e22e25 necessary J P 572-17 81 KRANZ o s 238-59-19 STACY JAMES A 295-56-85 20 DETCLASSIFIED Authority 1 Lieutenant Commander B M COLEMAN Chief Gunnery Officer In interview COLEMAN stated that during the voyage from May 15 to June 2 1942 he was in the Commodore's quarters four or five times The length of theSe visits extended from a few to several minutes He said that the reason for all of his visits is the fact that he is per- 'sonally acquainted with Commander TERRY who was confined to those quar- ters ill and that he therefore went to visit him During these visits to the Commodore s quarters COLEMAN said that he recalls having seen therein subject JOHNSTON SELIGMAN DUCKWORTE JUNKER and other Lexington personnel He said that at no time did he ever see a Barnett man in the room In addition he stated that he recalls details of the activities in that room on three occasions The first oceasion was in the evening the date of which he could not even estimate He_recalls definitely that in the room at that time were subject SELIGMAN and two other Lexington officers One of the officers whose name he could not recall was seated at the large table in the dining room making tracings by means of transparent tracing paper of the battle track and location of islands in connection with the Coral Sea Battle JOHNSTON and SELIGMAN were seated at this table drinking coffee together JOENSTON was not working on this chart but the chart was easily visible to him No messages were visible to COLEMAN in the room and he does not recall having seen the Barnett message folder on the table or a place else in the room at this time He does not recall any of the conversation between SELJGMAN and subject He could not recall whether there was any conversation between subject and the other two officers in the room while he was there While he was in the room two other Lexington officers entered the rcom glanced at the chart made a few remarks about the Coral Sea Battle and went out COLEMAN could not estimate the date of the second evening in question He stated that he recalls JOHNSTON was alone at the large table in the dining room that evening that he was working at a typewriter which was placed on the outboard end of the table and which was sur rounded by papers_which he was referring to in his work He said that he cannot recall definitely but that he believes there were no Naval officers in the room at that time except of course TERRY who was ill in bed in the adjoining Space referred to as the bedroom Regarding the third evening in question COLEMAN estimated that it was several days previous to June 2 1942 He said that he entered the room and found SEIJGMAN JOHNSTON Gunnery Officer whose name he does not know all seated about the large table in the 2l DECLASSHHED Authority 4 i N-J dining room All of these persons were engaged in a conversation in which they were trying to determine in their own minds whether a ship of a certain Japanese class which is designated by a Japanese word was a heavy cruiser or another similar type of ship He could not recall whether they were referring to any papers before them in this conver sation He said he definitely did not see a radio message or the mes sage folder in the room at the time and that he did not hear the projected Japanese Midway attack discussed in the room at that time _ D ring the discussion engaged in by these persons to determine the classqu the ship in question they asked COLEMAN if he had a Japanesetsidhouette book He replied that he did and went to the chart room it and returned with it to the dining room in the Commodqpefs quarters where it was referred to by those present In an effort to establish whether this discussion was of the Coral Sea Battle which had already taken place or the Midway encounter which not yet had occurred as of that date the writer asked COLEMAN if in this dis- cussion any Japanese words were used in referring to the ships He said that he believed Japanese words were used At this point Captain W B PHILLIPS who was-present read to him a number_of JapaneSe words from Dispatch #311221 of may Slat When the Captain finished reading the Japanese words in that dispatch COLEMAN said that he thought he had heard the name KIRISHIMA mentioned The copy of the article which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle June 7 1942 was shown to him and he read the Japanese names appearing therein and he believes KIRISHIMA is the word he heard mentioned in that discussion It is significant that this word appears in the diSpatch in question and in the newspaper article At this point Captain PHILLIPS interposed and stated that it is very definitely his recollection that this word appeared in one or more of the previous secret dispatches which had been redeived on the Barnett before the Dispatch #511221 which message also referred to the projected Japanese attack on Midway Island In conclusion COLEMAN stated that it was his impression that the discussion in which the word KIRISHIMA was used and in which the silhouette book was used was one concerning the Japanese losses in the Coral Sea Battle He said he had this idea for the reason that the officers in the Commodore s quarters were for the most part discussing the Coral Sea Battle while he was there 22 DECLASSHHED Authority I Lieutexant Commander HARDIN Medical Officer U S S BARNETT HARDIN was interviewed for the reason that he is the Ship s wed cal Officer and for the reason that he visited Commodore's quarters to admin- ister to TERRY who was confined in the quarters HARDIN said that the first evening he recalls having visited the Commodore's cuarters was may 33 19h2 when he saw TERRY in consultation with the medical Officer of the Lexington He recalls that present in the room at that time were subject SELIGHAN and TERRY He also recalls that DUCKWORTH entered and left the room a few times during this visit and that a Dr SMITH a passenger off the U S S Solace now in the San Diego Naval Hospital also entered and left the room while he was there He said that on the Occasion of this visit there was a typewriter on the outboard end of the table in the dining room and that the typewriter was being operated by subject who was typing from some notes that he had on the table The doctor said he did not Know the nature of the notes He said that SELIGHAN was seated at the table with him and that other Lexington offi cers were in the vicinity of the table off and on during the entire time of his visit there He said that at no time were there any Barnett officers in the room during this visit According to the doctor SELIGMAN and JOHNSTON talked together over a map that SELIGMAN had before him which appeared to the doctor to be a map of the Coral Sea Battle No messages or message folder were visible to the doctor and he did not see any silhouette book He said i that no Japanese Naval craft names were mentioned and there was no mention of possible future Japanese movements in any area He said that the only Barnett officer he ever saw in the room at this time was Dr BROWN Junior Medical Officer of the Barnett He said the only non-commissibned man he ever saw in the room was the hospital foreman whose name he does not know Regarding TERRY's condition in the ship he said that he was mentally responsible at all times Lieutenant J 3 BROWN Assistant Medical Officer U S S BARNETT Dr BROWN could not recall the exact number of times or the exact dates of any of his visits to the Commodore's quarters although he stated he was in there seVeral times He said that each time he was there the subject was either at the typewriter at the large table in the dining room or asleep in his bunk He said that he does notzemall any conversations between subject and any other persons in the room including SELIGMEN TERRY and all the off icers of the Lexington He said that at no time did heheer any conversation CN 0 DECLASSHHED taking place at the large table in the dining room Also he stated that at no time while he was in the room was it evidenced to him that SELIGNMN and JOHNSTON were in private bedroom alone Regarding cone dition he stated that it was his opinion that he was mentally responsible at all times during the voyage although he was very uncomfortable and had sedatives administered to him for sleeping purposes several times He said that in addition to himself and Dr HARDIN the only other person he recalls having seen in the room from the Barnett crew was the hos- pital foreman MADDIX V J MADDIX Pharmacist's hate Second Class U S S BARNETT MADDIX said that he was in the Commodore s quarters on one occasion only and this was one or two days before the arrival of the Barnett in San Diego He said that there were two officers in the room in addition to Comr mander TERRY who was in his bunk MADDIX said that he does not know JOHNSTON and that from a description given him by agent and a photograph shown to him he said that he does not recall ever having seen that person in the room TIMOTHY NEEDHAM Pharmacist's Mate Second Class NEEDHAM advised that he made two visits to the Commodore's quarters during the voyage and that both of these were within the week immediately preceding June 2 19h2 He also was able to recall that both of these were around 8 30 p m and that each time he stayed about ten minutes in the room He said that he was able fairly'well to recall the details of the room when he was in there on both occasions On the occasion of the first visit he said that seated at the long dining room table was one Naval officer from the Lexington On the table was a typewriter and several legal size sheets of paper on the table near it He said he did not see anything on the table which resembled a radio message or message folder of the Barnett He said that in the bedroom standing near the bunk which is known to be was a man whom he described as JOHNSTON He described him as a Britisher who wore khaki shorts This reference was undoubtedly to subject as this description of him Verified Ensign OLSON and Lieutenant BONTECOU and Ensign STROUD's descriptions Subject according to NEEDHAM was standing near the end of his bunk lighting a cigarette Under his arm was a red fiber envelope of the type with a wide flap and strings At this point Captain PHILLIPS ordered the Barnett message book brought into his cabin This was shown to NEEDHAM and he stated that it definitely was not the book which he saw under subject's arm DECLASSIFIED Authority ng I On the occasion of the second visit which followed the first by about three days he said that he noted there were several persons gathered about the large table in the dining room Subject JOHNSTON was standing alone in the corner by the foot of his bunk At the table were about eight Naval officers who were not of the Barnett's crew NEEDHAM said that he did not see what was on the table and he does not recall any of the remarks made by this group of officers Nobody entered or left the room while he was there He did not Speak at all to subject At no time on either of his visits did the subject speak to any of the officers NEEDHAM said that the only other persons he ever observed at any time in this room were four Marines who were taken off the Lexington and three Mess Attendants who had been taken off the Lexington All of these men were observed by him in the pantry in the aft portion of the Commodore's quarters FRED J MARSHALL Pharmacist's Mate Third Class U S S BARNETT MARSHALL stated-that he was in the Commodore s quarters four times during the voyage The first visit was for a few moments on the morning of June lst The second visit was in the afternoon of June and lasted for about two hours The third time was in the afternoon of June 2nd when he was in the quarters for about two hours MARSHALL was able to recall the details of some of the visits but was unable to identify them with any particular visit The information in general regarding visits to the room is set out below The one time when he entered the room he saw four men sitting around a table in the dining room having a discussion These were subject JOHNSTON the Air Officer from the Lexington DUCKWORTH and other Lexington officers These persons had coffee before them on the table and JOHNSTON was operating the typewriter He can't recall seeing any messages or message folder or sil houette books on the table The only remarks that he recalls during this discussion pertained to the sinking of the Lexington and the torpedoing of the Lexington remarks by subject regarding the Norway invasion He said he heard no other remarks concerning places or engagements or regarding Jap losses or Jap fleet composition E D MCCLAMMEY Officer Steward Third Class U S S BARNETT MCCLANMEY recalled that he was in the Commodore's quarters on two 25 DECLASSIFIED a a Authority occasions during the voyage The first visit was about three days after May l5th and the second was on about May 3lst at about 7 30 p m when he took some extra blankets into the room Regarding the first visit he stated that he was in there only a moment and that he could recall no person or activities in the room at the time Regarding the second visit he said that he recalls that in his private bedroom and that the forward portion of the room was occupied by JOHNSTON and TERRY and one other Lexington officer JOHNFTON was sitting on his bunk with his shirt off He could not recall any conversations that took place or the condition of the table Nobody entered or left the room while he was there MCCLAMMEY suggested that the following persons might also be inter vieWed regarding persons and activities in this room Mess Attendant First Class U S S Lexington JOSE G SABLAN Mess Attendant First Class U S S Lexington Two other Mess Attendants whose names he does not know L A HUQES Phamacist's Mate Third Class U S S BARNETT HUGHES said that he was in the room on two occasions taking blood counts on TERRY His records indicate that these occasions were June and June 2nd This was determined by examination of a record book which he main- tained This examination was made by Captain PHILLIPS and reporting agent It was noted that the earliest entry regarding TERRY appeared to be 6 h L2 The next entry was definitely 6 2 The entry preceding that which appeared to be 6 h was definitely 5 29 Those which appeared to be 6 2 and o h were the only ones pertaining to TERRY The in the entry was not clear and scams said that he was satisfied that that entry was in fact 6 1 He said that on each of these occasions he spent about five minutes in the room He said that while he was in there there were two Naval officers from the Lexington They remarked that they had_lost a pair of scissors and they wondered whether any of the Pharmacist's mates who had been in there had borrowed them He said that he can recall no person in there who did not appear to be a Navy officer and that there were no other conversations while he was there He could not recall the condition of the table In addition to the above BARNETT personnel the following were intere Viewed with negative results Lieutenant Commander J G POMEROY W A ROBERTS Pharmacist's Mate First Class C H DOTY Pharmacist's Mate Second Class N A MILLER Pharmacist s Mate Third Class 26 DECLASSIFIED Authorlty I I iv INTERVIEWS WITH OTHER THAN U S S BARNETT PERSONNEL Commander A F JUNKER Chief Engineer U S S Lexington It was learned on June that Commander JUNKER was in San Fran cisco He was interviewed in Room 508 Californian Hotel San Francisco on the afternoon of June 1h 19h2 by Special Agent G A BURCH San Francisco F B I Office Agent R M BRONN San Francisco O N I Office and the writer JUNKER advised that he socially visited the Commodore's quarters at least daily from the time of his arrival on the U S S BARNETT until he was disembarked on June 2 lQh2 at San Diego and that many days he visited those quarters twice in one day He estimated that he was in the quarters about seventeen times betwealhay 15th and June 2nd He eXplained that he had been the engineer officer on the Lexington and as such was one of the four department heads of that ship under SELIGMAN and was included in the distribution of decoded messages on the Barnett under the departure message handling practice set up by PHILLIPS on that ship after the Lexington men came aboard Regarding his duties while on the Barnett he stated that he was not at any time a part of the five man decoding watch set up on that ship He was quartered on the ship on the same deck as SELIGMAN but in a different stateroom which was near Quartered with him were offi- cers DUCKEORTH CHAPLAIN MARKLE DR WHITE and Lieutenant Commander ELDRIDGE Regarding the message in question dispatch 311221 he stated that he recalls definitely that it was brought to him in his quarters by either BREVER or one other of the five men decoding watch that at the time of the delivery to him it was contained in the regular Barnett message folder along with several other messages He accurately described this folder as described above in this report from observation of it by reporting agents on the Barnett when shown to them by Captain PHILLIPS on June 13 19h2 He stated that he cannot recall whether there were other initials on the message at the time he signed it Ah this time he stated that there probably were since he was one of the junior offiCers among the department heads and distribution was in seqoence in conformity with descending order of rank among the officers Regarding the date and hour of delivery of the message to him JUNKER stated that he cannot recall either Certain information already in the pos session of reporting agent was brought to his attention at this time in order to assist him in placing the possible date and time of the delivery of the message to him It is here pointed out that the purpose of establishing this was not to show the procedure in the handling of messages but to establish the date of the visit mentioned below that JUNKER made to the Commodore's quar- ters for coffee and the date of that visit also mentioned below on which he 27 DECLASSIFIED Authority 3 saw the Barnett Japanese silhouette book in his quarters It has already been established that on May 31 1942 some time after receipt of the message on the Barnett SELIGMAN called for and received the silhouette book He was asked if he could recall whether he visited the Commodore's quarters on the same date he receipted for the message He said that he could definitely recall that early in the evening of the day he saw the message in his room and after he saw it he together with who signed the messe age at the same time he did went to the Commodore's quarters to have some coffee He was asked whether he could state definitely that on the date of the above visit he saw the Barnett Japanese silhouette book in the Commodore's quarters He stated that he recalls that this Specific book was in there on the occasion of one of his visits to the room that while he was there pointed out to those present something in the book that hence on the occasion he saw it was also there that he can recall definitely that the night he saw the silhouette book there COLEMAN was also there that he cannot recall whether the book Was there when he got there or whether it was brought in after his arrival that he cannot recall whether JOHNSTON was there on the night he saw the silhouette book and cannot recall whether JOHNSTON was there on the evening he went in with for coffee that he cannot - recall whether the coffee night was the same as the si1houette book night and that he does recall that on the occasion when he saw the silhouette book here there was a discussion taking place among the officers present around the table during which they referred to the silhouette book regarding some point of identification of a certain Japanese Naval surfaco craft In a further effort to establish the identities of the dates on which he saw the message and went to the Commodore'stuarters at which time he saw the silhouette book he was asked whether or not the message was of such a nature as to cause him to proceed soon after he saw it to the Commodore's quar ters to discuss it with SELIGNAN either officially or unofficially as a matter of common interest to them He said that it was not since it was merely an estimate of the probable task force proceeding against Midway that it was in a sense confirmatory of two previous messages on the same subject that had been receiVed on the Barnett a few days previous and that further since he was the engineer officer on the Lexington he was not closely concerned with things operational and thus was not normally concerned with conversations or discussions of this type With the same view he was asked whether on the date of the above visit to the Commodore's quarters whether he discussed with SELIGMAN the con tents of Diapatch 311221 He stated he cannot recall whether he ever discussed the dispatch in question with SELIGNHN In addition to the line of questions set out in the four preceding paragraphs various other attempts were made by questions and discussions of the circumstances surrounding the receipt of the message by him and the visits to try to fix these dates Because of the inability of JUNKER to definitely recall any dates or circumstances concerning the questions it was impossible to fix these dates 28 DECLASSHHED Authoritym igD Z Because of the possibility that questioning of other Lexington officers and subject might lead to establishment of the fact that the visits mentioned above were on May 31st and that JOHNSTON was in fact there con siderable time was spent with JUNKER in detailing the occurrences in fhe Comr modore's quarters on the occasions of the above visits Regarding the first visit mentiOned above that is that which is Known by JUNKER to be on the same date as he saw the message he stated that he went with that they went for coffee and that they spent about twenty minutes in the room He stated that in addition to himself and he cannot recall definitely any of the others present although he is well acquainw ted with all of the persons who were normally there himself made at least 17 visits there and knows that there were in fact other persons there during that visit Further he stated he could not recall what conversations took place on this evening He also stated he could not recall whether he discussed Dis- patch 311221 with or others in that room on that visit He was asked whether he ever discussed the dispatch or the impending action on Midway with any of the offiCers and he said that he had with DUCKWORTH and other Lexington men but that all of these discussions took place in his own quarters rather than the Commodore's quarters Also regarding the first visit he said that he knows definitely he saw the silhouette book in there but can not definitely state it was the night of the first visit He said that he saw initial the message in his own private quarters yet he stated that he did not see the message in the Commodore's quarters on the night he went in there for coffee with He stated that at no time did he see the message on the table in the dining room it is pointed out that if JUNKER is correct in stating that he did not see the message in the Commodore's quarters on the night he went in for coffee that that was not the night of the for the reason that it is fairly well established or will be established by interview with BREWER that SELIGNAN saw the message on the Elst Regarding the second visit mentioned above which was that upon which he definitely recalls seeing the silhouette book he gave the following information The silhouette book was on the large table in the dining room_and several Naval officers were sitting about discussing the class of a Japanese Naval ship He cannot recall whether they used any Japanese words in discuss ing this ship Also he could not recall whether or not subject was in the room at that time He stated that generally on the occasions of his visits there STON was there and was engaged in discussions taking place among the Naval officers He stated that he does not recall the projected Midway engagement being discussed on the occasion of any of his visits there Regarding conduct aboard the Barnett he stated that on one occasion JOHNPTON requested that he be allowed to see one of his reports on the Coral Sea engagement before it was taken in to SELIGMAN JUNKER told him that he did not feel that he was allowed to give him this report and that if he desired to see it it would be necessary for him to apply to SELIGMAN 29 DECLASSHHED I Ensign HARRY B STODDART Assistant Communications Officer U S S Barnett Upon interview Ensign STODDART advised that he has the Combination to the safe in the decoding room however no messages are kept in this safe This safe is used to house the decoding methods of the ship During the pertinent period he did not handle any of the messages but he did-handle secret letters and papers He did not have the combination to the safe in which the secret dis patches were kept He did not circulate or route any secret mese sages at that time His duties have changed since the ship landed at San Diego and he now handles the message folder At the time the Lexington officers were aboard he did no decoding at all He entered the decoding room only once or twice during that period and at no true saw ur JOHNSTON near there Ensign STODDARDT advised that he has seen dispatch 311221 but that he saw it after the Barnett departed San Diego for San Francisco He advised further that he saw subject at one time in the chart room On this occasion he believes that Commander COLEMAI brought subject to the chart room introduced him to Lieutenant BONTECOU and stated that JOHNSTON desired a chart on which he could plot some of the activity of the Coral Sea battle He was furnished a chart of a type which is not seeret or restricted and which can be purchased from any map maker No discussion took place at that time as to the right of JOHNSTON to have that chart He believes that this took place about three or four days after they had taken aboard the survivors of the Lexington SC DECLASSHHED Authority IL I AT CARMEL CALIFORNIA Lieutenant Commander J Gunnery Officer U S S Barnett The following investigation was conducted by Specia1 Agent T B ESTEP of this office Lieutenant Commander J was interviewed at the home of Captain CHARLES A JOHNSON Second and LOpez streets He stated that he had been the Gunnery Officer on the Lexington before it was sunk and that he boarded the U S S Barnett at a Pacific port on May 15 1942 for transportation to San Diego California He was quartered on the in- board side of the Barnett in quarters similar to those referred to above as the Commodore s quarters quarters were on the same deck and also on the forward side of the ship He was quartered with Commander JUNKER Lieutenant ELDRIDGE Lieutenant Commander NARKEL Commander A J WHITE and Commander DUCKWORTH During the voyage from may 15 to June 2 1942 he was in the Commodore s quarters frequently and stated generally that he could recall no discussions therein regarding impending Midway Island actions or secret and confidential dispatches during which he could state for cer- tain that subject was present Regarding Confidential Dispatch #511221 he said that he recalls having read and initialed that message or the top message in the messag folder at the time the message was shown to him He stated that the message was of great importance He could not fix the exact date in his recollection as to when he saw it but stated it was received several days prior to arrival in San Diego Regarding discussions of this particular message he stated that it was discussed in the Commodore's quarters between the heads of the departments of the Lexington He then named them as JUNKER TERRY DUCKWORTH ELDRIDGE and himself He named SELIGMAN as being present at this discussion On the point of the possibility of over hearing this message said - The contents of this particular message were discussed by all the above officers referring to those named above I cannot say for sure that JOHNSTON was within hearing at any time the contents of this message were discussed but I am of the opinion that this JOHNSTON probably obtained the knowledge he apparently had of this message by reason of overhearing a discussion among the officers That is the only way I know of because I do not think anyone would purposely show him the message JOHNSTON had at no time asked me any question 31 DECLASSHHED AuthoritybulgD Z k i I about this message and I cannot say one way or the other as to whether he discussed it with any officer but he was living in the Commodore s quarters with CommandensSELIGMAN and TERRY I feel that he overheard the discussion of the contents of the message when we were discussing the matter in the Commodore's quarters although I do not recall that he was present during any time when we were discussing the contents of the message I recall telling Special Agent ROBERTSON reference here is to Special Agent WILLIAM A ROBINSON JR San Diego office that I did not feel I could say how JOHNSTON obtained the contents of the message but I feel morally certain that this is the way that JOHNSTON obtained his knowledge of the message I recall I discussed the message with CommandensSELIGNAN JUNKER and TERRY but I do not recall that I discussed it with any of the others Reference is here made to interview set out above with Commander JUNKER wherein he states definitely that he visited the Commodore's quar- ters on the same night of the day upon which he read and initialed the message in question questions set out below In accordance with Bureau instructions was asked the answer to each question exactly as given by him is set out following the question any time show the message to No Did you copy or make notes of the message No If so did JOHNSTON have access to the notes No Did you discuss with JOHNSTON or within earshot of JOHNSTON the contents of the message It is possible he was within earshot at the time of the dis- cussion of the message by me with other officer personnel but I of course did not discuss it with JOHNSTON Do you know if any of the other Lexington officers did any of the above lpossible JOHNSTON was within earshot at the time of discussion of the message by other officers I wouldn't want to say yes or no at this time 52 DECLASSHHED Authoritymm you know how JOHNSTON may have obtained a copy of the message No When and where did you see the message who was present and what took place I saw the message for the first time in my quarters on the U 5 8 Barnett I think the Chief Engineer Commander JUNKER was there at the time I don't recall that anyone else was there JOHNSTON was not there certainly I am certain of that It was in the afternoon I do not remember the exact date but it had been several days before we planned it I just read the message and initialed a group among which was this message I cannot say whether I initialed this particular message as I initialed the top message of the group Do you have any information concerning official photographs of the sinking of the Lexington I believe they were delivered to Commander SELIGMAN with a message about them I saW'them last when I testified before the Board that came out from washington and at that time they were in the vault in the destroyer base I believe they were on the Elliott and were delivered to Commander SELIGMAN by message This may have been after we arrived at San Diego or it may have been before we left the Tongatabu I have the impression that when I was on the Barnett and before we reached San Diego I saw the photograph showing the aft end of the flight deck blowing up and a torpedo plane in the air I remember there was a message about delivering some photographs personally to SELIGMAN It was to Commander DUDLEY who was on the Elliott although he was the Lexington Navigator as nearly as I can recall I saw this message as a result of examining the photo- graph in the Lexington office on the Barnett I do not recall the circumstances of my seeing-the picture of the Lexington with its aft deck blowing up but have the impression At the time of the inquiry it seems to me the photographs were back in the vault at the destroyer base and that during the lunch hour the members of the Board drew the photographs from the ship's secretary from the vault for examination That is when I am absolutely sure I saw the photographs They were prints There were several views of the forward end of the flight deck by Battery 2 the one with the aft end of the flight deck blow- ing up with the torpedo plane in midair and I'do not recall the others although I think there were possibly six or eight in all From what ship were the photographs taken and where and by whom were they developed I do not know although some of the pictures were obviously taken from the Lexington 33 DECLASSHHED Aunhor y 10 q Did you see such photographs in possession a I ll q Where and under what circumstances 8 l 12 q Who furnished them to a I do not know 13 q How could JOHNSTON have gotten them a I do not know 14 q Did you see any pencil notations of the message in Commander quarters when you were there with Lieutenant Commander a Yes I did I saw a lineup of the Jap ships versus the -he talked a geod background American ships I saw the notes but I do not knOW'who put rthem down At the time I saw them there was ELDRIDGE Lieutenant Commander R E BIXON Skipper of Scouting 2 which is an airplane groundage of the Lexington Commander SELIGMAN and I think other persons were there but I do not recall who they were Regarding subject s background furnished the fol lowing information - He told us he was a goldminer in New Guinea he had worked on an invention of a gas turbine and that he had invented hair curlers and sold them in German He told us he owned a house in Germany He worked in Germany as a newspaper correspondent and_selling the hair curlers He also said he worked in Paris He is married apparently fairly recently and told'us his wife is an American showgirl I judged he had not been a newspaper correspondent for very long because he spent 16 000 pounds on this gas turbine which is a revolutionary thing It was apparent from his talk he had a good technical background at least I am sure he speaks German and I think he speaks French because he worked in Germany and France He spoke of knowing many newSpaper correspondents all over the world such men as Robert Casey of the Chicago News and said he was in Luxemburg with CASEY at the time of the outbreak of hostilities in Europe in 1959 until the Spring of 1940 I think he is loyal to his newspaper above every- thing else He is an Australian and said he had served in the Australian Army in the last war From questioning him about the Gallpoli campaign I gathered that he was familiar with it I was a little bit suspicious of it and voiced my suspicions about him a little bit When_he first came aboard the Lexington it seemed to me that in his search for back- ground information some of his questions concerning gun performance were a little bit pointed From my knowledge of the entire situation at DECLASSHHED r the present time I feel that JOHNSTON used his contacts and friendship with the officer personnel to further his newspaper career His description is - Address Unknown but spoke of his mother living-in Sydney Australia Age 40 - 45 years Height - 6 1 weight 200 pounds Hair Black gray at temples Moustache Black Eyes Unknown Peculiarities Voluble talker shifty knockneed Languages German French and English Accent Pointedly Australian ENCLOSURES - TO BUREAU Three photostatic copies of RECORD OF CONFERENCE CONDUCTED BY GREENSLADE Commandant 12th Naval District on June 11 1942 Three photostatic ccpies of REPORT OF COMMANDER WESTERN SEA FRONTIER TO COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF of the Fleet Navy Department Washington D 0 dated June 9 1942 Original and two photostatic copies of Memorandum dated June 13 1942 of Ensign W B D STROUD 11 3 3 Barnett to Captain B PHILLIPS Commanding Officer of the U S S Barnett signed by STROUD Original and two photostatic cepies of Decoding'Watch duty list of the U S S Barnett - REFERRED UPON COMPLETION TO THE OFFICE OF ORIGIN 55                     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