OF FACTS DECLASSHHED Audmnguubull 1_L6 This Case Originated At WASNINGTON3 D G g FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION File Number 65 1143 Date When Nada AWN 2 5 E342 Report made At SAN CALIFORNIA 6 l7 18 19 203 i_ 22 23 42 tiagjec Period Report made By s A0 Jr Title STANLEY JOHNSTON Character of Case ESPIONAGE I A Commander SELIGNAN received a set of official photographs of the burning and exploding of USS Lexington from Admiral SHERMAN who stated he had five sets his set in his possession siresir still has Admiral SNEERNAN stated he may also have given a set to the Captains of the USS ManneapOu 118 and the USS Astoria and that he returned the others to Washington with his official reports Lieutenant Come wanders ELDRIDGE3 DIXON and all have recalled that on a certain evening aboard the Barnett which sas probably ihy'Bl 1942 the secret dispatch book was exhibited to SELIGMAN in the Commodore s Suite and a pencil memorandum containing the names of the Japanese ships taken from instant dispatch was on the table in front of Commander SELIGNAN Approved and SAC Forwarded DO NOT WRITE IN THESE SPACES - Bureau Boston Birmingham San Francisco Los Angeles Information Chicago Information NeW'Orleans Nhshington Field San Diego DECLASSIFIED - 6 9 They state that there was some discussion about the Japanese task force and that a Barnett silhouette book was sent for during this discussion in order to determine whether a certain Japanese ship was a battleship or cruiser They said that JOHNSTON was present_during at least some of the discussion although he was not seated at the table - SELIGNAN advised that he does not deny that he may have made some rough notes from instant dispatch although he definitely does not remember doing sol He said however that he was the Senior Officer present on the occasion described by ELDRIDGE and and he was therefore willing to assume the full responsibility for not taking the proper precautions to keep JOHNSTON from obtaining instant message He said although he could not remember the incident as described by these officers he was very willing to accept their version as the truth RUG REFERENCE Report of Special Agent A JR 5 an Diego California June 16 1942 I Teletype from too Bureau to the San Diego Field Division dated June 17 1942 Conference teletype from the Bureau to the San Diego and San Francisco Field Divisions dated June 17 1942 AT SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA Instant report coVers investigation conducted by reporting Agent and Special Agents L ALEX GILLIAN JR and D A FISH Commander MORTON T SELIGNAN was interviewed and asked specific questions set out in referenced teletype from the Bureau dated June 17 1942 He advised that to the best of his recollection he did not at any time show the secret message to JOHNSTON and he did not make a copy or notes of the message He said he did not recall any discussion whatsoever of this particular message with anyone and did not therefore believe he had discussed the contents of the message with JOHNSTON or within his earshot He said he did not know if any of the Lexington Officers either showed the message to JOHNSTON made a copy of notes of it or discussed it with JOHNSTON He said he did not know how JOHNSTON may have obtained the contents of the message but as he had stated previously he thought he could have obtained it by overhearing conversations between authorized officers or even by looking over the shoulder of an authorized officer who was reading the dispatch He reiterated that he did not remember when he saw instant message and stated that he only assumed he saw it because it had been pointed out to him in San Francisco that his initials were on the a 2 - Iu1 DECLASSHHED 1D message and Lieutenant BLENEH had said that he showed it to SELIGMHN T htli reference to the photographs SELIGMAN stated that a lot of pictures had been taken by-a sailor abos rd the USS Minneapolis and that he understood these were officially developed on the Mirneapolis by someone on that vessel aided pessioly oy Ensign CAMPBELL Officer of the IeXingtono He stated that he thi-ught Capt -ain TEMDEFIOA SHEENAH 1a3le on the Minneapolis had asked for eight sets of these pictures for his official files S1ELZSMAN believed that some other pictures were taken from airplanes and from other ships but he knew nothing about any of them except those Which Were developed on the Minneapolis From the pictures on the inneapoils SELIGE said he recalled at least three had a1pcared subsequently in the neW'spcpers One showed the n1en leaving the Le ington i rom th e stern and two 01 thcn1 shoWed the Le ington can ploding and burning stated that SHERMMN gave him one set of these photographs in Which there were approximately twelve to fifteen pictures size 8 by 10 inches He obtained these from Captain While they Were on the UhS'Astoria and he received only prints and no negatives He said that he had kept these pictures With his other official recordSi in a manila envelope and on 3he Barnett he kept them in a dra Wer i11 his room SELIO MM thibited the pic tu es he had and they Were found to consist of nine eff ici a1 photographs size approximately 8 by 10 inches stamped Not to be used for Publication by Order of the Chief of the Bu1feau of Aeronautics These photographs bore the following numbers 0151 0158 0161- 0152 0159 0162 0153 0160 0163 There was a duplicate of 0151 also In addition SELIGMMN had 22 small A by 5 inch photographs fro1n the negatives of Which the larger prints had been made He said he never saW'- any sueh photogre1phs in posses sion and he does not know Who furnished any photographs to JOHNSTON -He of no one other than himself who had the photographs on the Barnett and des not g ot possession of any photographs He advised that on the Astoria When Captain SHERMAN had all the photographsJ ON had been in the room With SHERMAN He said that may have given some photographs to JOHNSTON or JOHNSTON may have removed them from possession on the new toria because SELIGMAN recalls that a great number of these photographs Were spread out in a room on the Asteria When JOHNSTON and SHERMAN were present He said that if he had been the Commanding Officer he would have seen nothing wrong in giving some photographs to JOHNSTON With the understanding of course that they Were not to be published Without the specific permission of the Navy Depart ments SELIGMAN stated Commander TERRY had recalled to his mind one incident that occurred on the-Barnett When SELIGMAN was studying a book entitled Stability of Ships and Damage Control This book Was restricted and had - 3 DECLASSHHED Authority in diagrams of the Lexington in it and that SELIGNAN was studying it some time on the return trip on the Barnett He said he had drawn on the diagrams the places where the torpedoes had struck the Lexington and that JOHNSTON had been in the roem with him and started to make a sketch frO'in t 1e di agrams looking over shoulder He said he had noticed this and forbade copying these diagrams He stated that he pointed out this inCident of which TERRY had reminded him only in an attempt to give a true picture of conditions aboard the Barnett on the return trip to San Diego when he and the other Senior fficers acre constantly working on their official reports in the Commodore's Suite and paying little attention to JOHNSTON simply as a result of their association with him He sa id that this incident deruonstrated that he as well as the other Lexington officers attempted even under the most adverse condit i ens to keep JOHNSTON from obtaining information to which he was not entitled al though he said that he naturally realised that JOHNSTON would necessarily obtain secret information but would h've to have everything censored before anyv thing was released for publication hith further refs ence to the p1 otegre phs SELIGNAN stated that while returning on the Barnett he had showed them to quite a number of officers but gave no photographs to anyone He said also that oith r on the Ninneapolis or the Astoria JOHNSTON had asked him how he could get a set of the photographs and SELIGMAN replied that he could only get them from a higher source than hime SGlfu Referring to the question of censorship of material SELIGNAN advised that several times in conversations among himself Captain SHERMAN and JOHNSTON JOHNSTON brought up the question of censorship indica ting that he knew that eve ything he had was to be censored before it could be published SELIGLAN pointed out specifically that on board the Lexington a tanker came alongside and JOHNSTON asked whether it would save time in go ting some of his articles censored to send them to Honolulu aboard the tanker Nany 'imes JOHNSTON raised the question of how he could get his stories into the Commander-in Chief in the Pacific Ocean or to the Navy Department in washington for censorship in the quickest possible manner On June 17 1942 Lieutenant Commander NINTH OP TERRY was inter viewed by Special Agent L ALEX GILLTAH JR at his in the Nar Vista Apartments at Pacific Beach California and furnished the following answers to the following questions 1 Did you at any time Show the secret message a No 2 Did you make a copy or notes of the secret message No DECLASSHHED Authority so did JOHNSTON have access to the copy or notes or were they left where JOHNSTON might obtain them 4 Did you discuss the contents of the message with JOHNSTON or within earshot of No 5 Do you know if any of the officers did any of the above No He stated that he knows_that none of the Junior Officers would make such a copy and does not think for that matter that anyone would have done so 6 Do you know how JOHNSTON may have obtained the contents of the secret message No 7 As well as did you see the message and who else was present and what took place at that time Lieutenant Commander TERRY stated the first time he saw the message was in the office of at the Eleventh Naval District at San Diego on June 12 1942 that there was no one present at the time except Admiral HOLMES and himself 8 Do you have any information concerning official photographs of the USS Lexington burning and exploding Yes we stated Commander SELIGHAN showed him these photographs in cabin that SELIGHAN had them loeked away in the drawer of his personal chiffonior He advised that SELIGMAN was not keen about showing them and cautioned him not to let them get away He estimated that this was about the 17th or 18th of May He stated that while he looked at the pictures ELIGMAN remained in the room Lieutenant Commander TERRY further stated that SELIGMAN had a certain amount of security in his room having an orderly on watch there all the time and also a personal mess attendant named SABLAN 9 From what ships were these photographs taken and where developed and by whom He stated that he does not know that he thinks he was informed that they were taken from a cruiser but he cannot remember where he got this information lO _ Did you see any such photographs in possession Ne 5 a DECLASSHHED Authoritybu gD 2% i ll If so when and under what circumstances 12 who furnished the photographs have knowledge of anyone having such photographs No one except Commander SELIGHAN 14 If so who where and when 15 How could JOHNSTON have gotten possession of such photographs Lieutenant Commander TERRY stated that he had not the slightest idea and would not even guess On June 19 1942 Commander HERBERT S DUOKHOHTH Flight Officer U 8 Navy was interviewed by Special Agent D A FISH at his temporary office at the Naval Air Station San Diego Californie He said that he did not at any time show the secret message to JOHNSTON He said that he did not make any copy or notes of the secret message He said that he did not discuss the contents -of the message with JOHNSTON and is confident that he never discussed said corn tents within earshot of JOHHSTON He said he did not knOW'ef any other officers doing any of the above He said that he recalls having seen the instant dispatch while in the wardroon of the USS Barnett where he was playing bridge It is noted that in the second interview'DUCKWORTH recalled specifically having seen the instant dispatch whereas as indicated in the previous memorandum he was not certain that he had ever seen the dispatch He said that the wardroom contained three long tables which were arranged with the line of the ship He said that he was seated at the middle one of these tables and that he was seated about four feet from the corner of this table which faced the stern of the ship To his left and on said corner was Lieutenant jg SAMPSON He said that diagonally across from him and at the other corner of this table was seated Lieutenant NOBLE Directly across from him LC said was seated Lieutenang jg COWARD At the sane table and more toward the forward end of the table were seated four other officers playing bridge He could not recall the order of their seating around this table He res not certain whether Lieutenant Commander DIXON was in this group or not but was certain that the remainder of the 56 5 was made up of Lieutenant HOBBIES Lieutenant DIBRELL and Lieutenant He said that after seeing the instant bulletin there was a general 2g 1 DECLASSHHED discussion in his group abOut the task force oft he Japanese which was being SG' lt tonard Midway and the Aleutian Islands and specifically recalled there hating a discussion of the fact that four carriers were in the group of Japanese shilas going in the direction of the Midway Islands He is certain that no names of ships were mentioned and was positive that STANLIGY JOHNSTON was not in the vicinity of this table at the time of this discussionQ DUCKHOHTH said that he saw a number of pictures of the Lexington in a burning and exploding condition while he was on the Barnett and while he had previously been on the Chester The latter pictures he said had been ta1cen by men on tlie Chester He could not recall 1rho had custody of these pieLuresa He said that he believes that all of these pictures had been taken from the USS Minneapolis and the USS Chester He could not say as to who had developed these pictures and he could not say as to where they had been deve loped He said that he never saw any of the instant photographs in possession DUCKMOHTH said that instant photographs were made available to any and all of the Senior Officers and was sure that they had been viewed by all of said officers He expressed-the belief that Lieutenant Commander ELDHIDGE had some photographs in his possession when he came aboard the Barnett but he did not know what disposition had been made of these photographs He said that HLDHIDGE came aboard the Barnett at the same time he boarded it DUCKWOHTH said that there was no equipment on the USS Barnett for the developing and printing of pictures He said the photographs were contained in_a manila envelope and that said envelope was never seen to be lying openly in any place unattended He said they were usually together with official papers and files He said he did not know in whose custody the photographs were kept He said that he did not know how many prints there were of each picture He noted that JOHNSTON had no equipment for the developing and printing of picturess Commander A F JUNKHR Engineering Officer of the USS Lexington who is residing at the Hotel Biltmore in Coronado stated that_he was quartered in the on the Barnett returning to San Diego with Lieutenant Commanders HLDRIDGE and MAHKLE and Commanders WHITE and DUCKHOHTH He stated he did not at any time show instant message to JOHNSTON and did not make a copy or notes of the message He said he recalled discussing the message with some Lexington Officers in the wardroom after Commander DUCKHORTH had seen the message He said he recalled a Lieutenant jg SAMPSON asking him about the possibility of a submarine tracking a fleet He did not recall who brought 1 7 1 DECLASSHHED 26 55v su the message to DUCKWOETH but he did know that JOEBSEOE was not around when the question of a submarine trackin3 the fleet was discussed and he said th1re was no further discussion about the situation that he remembered He did not know whether any of the Lexin3ton officers showed the message to JOENSTON or made a copy of it or discussed it with JOHNSTON He stated that he did not know how JOHNQTON obtained th e contents of the messa3e but was sure that it was not shown to him In this connection JUEKER s1 i1hat JOILESTON we 3 in his quarters on one occasion a 1d asked if he could JUM itR'S oificial report to which JUEKER replied that he would have to see tne Captain JUNKER did not recall the specific time when he saw instant message but thought it was before di nner one evening and he was in his quarters sitE_n3 on his bunk An Ensivn b1 ought in the folder of secret nessa3es and ELDRIEGE and were pr esenta Ee saw it first and then 0 DOEZNELL saw'it and JUNKER stated that hr looked at quite a few messages at the-same time that he had not previously secn He said there had bee a previous message along the same lines but the messa3e in question cla ri fied the previous message and he discussed it briefly with after they had read it Subsequently on the same evenine he and were in the Commodore s Suite after dinner and there were three or four Lexir C ton people there having coffee He said he believed that JOEEST there part of the time He did not recall any discussion of instant messa3e at hat time He also said he recalled some night in the Commodore s Suite e in3 a silhouette book on the table out he did not know whether this was the no ni3ht thci he saw instant message He stated that at no time did he set piece of pa aper notes containin3 the gist of instant message He called on the ni3ht he saw the silhouette book in th c Commodores Suite that ic utenant Commander stated that a picture of a certain Japane se sh1 rs or root because had seen this ship in China raters and he knew the houetto was wrong He stated to the best of his recollection that the oral topic of diScussion was the Coral Sea BattleEJ- JUEKER said that the only photo3raphs he had ever seen of the Fe in3ton burning and exploding were sh wn to him by SELIGEAE on the Barnett SlalGlAN had several in a manila envelope with his other papers and JUEKER tLtcu3ht SELIGEAB showed them to him in the wardroom when there were several d ner officers present He did not recall whether or not JOHNSTON was present at this time and stated that after these officers had looked at the pictures they put them back in the envelope JUEKER said he asked SELIGEAN at this tine if he could have a set of the pictures and SELIGEAE said He did not 'know from what ship thes pictures were taken but he believed SELIGEAN told him they were from the Einneapolis He did not know'where or by whom they were dovelOped JUNKER did not see any in GEES and did not know who furnished photographs to or how JOHNSTON could have got possession of them Lieutenant Commander was interviewed and asked similar questions by Agents of the San Francisco Field Division Lieutenant Admiral amenities seamen told reporting Agent that hug-uh DECLASSHHED AuthorityMEEgD-Z 2 i6 A he had definitely placed verbal restrictions on JOHNSTON between the 15th and of April aboard the USS Lexington pith reference to clearing his stories through Navy censorship SHERMAN said that he had asked JOHNSTON if JOHNSTON understood that he ted to get a release on evenvthing he published either from the of the Pacific Fleet or from the Navy Depart cent in'Nashington at which time JOHNSTON stated he definitely understood that SHERMAN Said that this had been discussed between then oa_several occasions With reference to photographs Admiral SHEHHTN advised reporting igont that he recalled asking on the Minneapolis for five sets of prints and said that he gave one set to SHLIGHAN and may have given a set to the aptains of the Hinneapolis and the Astoria He said he gave JOHNSTON no set of pictures and returned all that he had with his official reports to Hashihgtenu Admiral SHERMAN was interviewed by Special Agent D A FISH at his office at the Naval Air Station on June 19 1942 At this time Admiral SHERMAN said that after the Lexington was sunk and when he was on board the USS Nina noapolis he sent a message to all ships that were engaged in the Coral Sea Battle to send prints and photographs taken by_crew members of said ships to nini He said that these photographs were received by him from time to time while he was on the USS Yorktown and the USS Chester He could not specifically recall fron_that ships these pictures had been taken but does know that there was one roll of films that had been taken from the USS Yorktown He said they were developed on the ships on which they were taken He said he did not know she names of the parties developing said films He said that the development and printing of these films was under the supervision of the Commanding Officers of the respective ships in that said eificers had personally been requested by hip to send photOgraphs to him He said that he never saw any of the photographs in possession He said that the only party he could specifieally recall as haying ecn any photographs other than himself was Admiral FITCH and that was on the 555 Lexington where pictures were shown of sinking Japanese ships probably the Ryukaku which was sunk on Nhy 7 1942 He showed these pictures to Admiral FITCH personally Admiral SHERMAN could advance no theory as to how JOHNSTON nay have gotten into possession of the questioned photographs Admiral SHERMAN specifically recalled having given JOHNSTON verbal restrictions on April 15 1942 when JOHNSTON boarded the USS Lexington In these restrictions he stated thet JOHNSTON was advised that all of his material weild have to be submitted to the proper officers for censorship before it was released Lieutenant GEORGE F SCHHITT3 formerly'a doctor aboard the USS Solace was interviewed at the Naval Hospital in San Diego where he is presently attached and he advised that he had been in the Commodore's Suite on the a 9 DECLASSHHED Authoritym gD 1 lg I Barnett only once during the return trip to San Diego He stated that Doctor KEETON had asked him to go down with the Barnett Ship's Doctor to see Lieutenant Conaander-TERRN who was ill He stated that this was a night or two before was admitted to the Barnett sick list and at this time JOHNSTON was in the room typing at the large table and SELIGMAN was in the room also working at this table He said after the Doctor had looked at TERRY he remained behind and spoke to SELIGNAN and JOHNSTON discussing the antivities of doctors in the war zone some of the aspects of the Coral Sea Battle and the possibilities of opening a second front A little later SELIGMAN took Doctor SCHNITT into room to show him a National Geographic Chart and point out some of the aspects of the war While they were in this room SELIGNAN showed SCHNETT some photographs of the Lexington burning but told him not to say anything about these photographs JOHNSTON was not in room with them SCHMITT said that it was fairly common knowledge on board the Barnett that there was a Japanese task force heading eastward in the Pacific- but he said he knew this question was not discussed by SELIGNMN or JOHNSTON in his presence and he said he neVer knew any more definite information about this force until after he arrived in San Diego On June 20 1942 Lieutenant Commander GEORGE LA CLEDE Chap1ain United States Navy was interviewed at his home at 569 Avenue Ooronador California Telephone He stated that dispatches and bullem tins were very seldom routed to him at any timen _Ho said that he did not see the instant message He said that he had heard rumors to the effect that the Japanese fleet was proceeding toward Midway that the United States knew the course and speed of this fleet and that the United States had made preparations' for meeting the Japanese He cannot recall the exact source of this information He alleged that he never heard any discussion of the instant dis patch and noted that in his capaCity as a Chaplain he did not come in contact with the so-callcd lino officers to which group any discussion of this dis patch would be confined He said that he went to Commander quarters on the USS Barnett only on two occasions and those were for the purpose of getting some coffee The time of these visits was in the evening but he could not recall the dates of said visits He said that on neither of these two visits did he hear any discussion of the instant dispatch He noted that he and Lieutenant Commander COFFIN generally obtained their coffee in the ship pantry so that he never had occasion to go to Commander room He also observed that he purposely avoided going to Commander quarters because they were usuilly very crowded with officers EARKLE said that he first saw JOHNSTON after the sinking of tho Barnett when NARKLE boarded the Barnett on May 15 1942 A few days thereafter he'saW'tho pictures of the Lexington in a burning and exploding condition The occasion for seeing these pictures was Upon one of the above mcntioncd-visits DECLASSHHED A 1 - r to starters At that time SELIGEAN had the pictures in his hand 3 HKLE re-calleda asking SELIGEAN if he could see them and stated that SELIGHAN replied in the affirmative but requested t1 at they not be taken out of the room and that after they had been viewed they should be placed in the upper right hand drawer of his dresser At the saw time officer came into the room and SELIGHAN told this officer name unknown ihn- he also Could look at the pictures MARKLE said that both he nd this the1 officer viewed the 1etures and that when they were through he peisonally plaied them in their enclosing manila entelepe and placed the envelope in the dresser drawer as had directed He further 51 id the they 11' ere placed in said dresser drawer under a stack of papers HAHKLE said that the re were some duplicates of these pril its and he Specifically rece lled that a picture of the Lexington eta plading anidships and throwing planes from the deck at the stern was in dupl1- ca to and the another picture of the LexingtOn showing heavy volumes of smoke ing from aujdships was also in duplicate NARKLE said that he did not at any time show the secret message to JOHNSTON He said that-he did not make a copy or notes of the secret messages He said tiat he did not discuss the contents of the message with JOEL HSTOT or within ea arshot of JOE He said hat he did not know whether any of the ct ther officers did any of the above He could not venture any specific theory as to hen JOHESTON me hare oetained the contents of the secret mess ge Ie said he did not know fron nhat ships the pictures of the burning and exploding Lexington were taken He said he never in possession of the instant photo griphs He said the only party he knew of having he instant photographs xas Commander SELIGEAE He said that in view of the intimacy between SELIGMAN and JOHNSTON that they lived in the bane quarters JOHIE STON had access teithe dresser driner of SELIGEAN in which the instant photographs were placed On June 19 1942 Lieutenant Commander EDHAE ELDHIDGE Junior Flight Officer on the USS Lexington was interviewed at the office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation San Ziego Although he could not specifically DECLASSHHED Authorlty recall the date involved he recalled that one evening about nine o'clock he was playing bridge in the forward starboard cabin of the SS Barnett with T ieutenant Commander HENRY COFEIN Lieutenant Commander E J and Chaplain G L At about this time he and DONNET proceeded to the caein of the Executive Officer specifically Commander MAN fo1 coffee -hs recs lled that upon entering the room there was a rroxp men about the central table composed of SELIGMAN and two 01 three ether officers9 whose names he did not recall On the su1face of the table there was a handwritten outline in whith was stated in parragraph form the various forces and composition and the - notation of the occupational forces of the Japanese fleet reported as proceeding 1r the di ection of Midway At this time ELDEIDGE was shown a photostatic the article appearing in the Chicago Tribune wherein the various forces of the Japanese fleet were elaborately set forth He said that the material in this memoralr Izum included the information shown in this article 1 He said that this memorandum was written on a piece of paper about A by 8g inches out he could not re call whether the paper was ruled or plain He did not recognise the handwriting in this memorandume said that the discussion among the group was mainly about the size of the Kirishima During this discussion the silhouette book of Japanese ships was called for Thereafter the discussion was of the size of the guns on the Kirishima According to ELDRIDGE and he oft the room to resume their bridge game He could not Specifically say who was left behind in the Executive Officer's room As to others in the room besides the group above referred to he was certain that Lieutenant TERRY was there in his bunk as he was ill He was not certain whether JOHNSTON was in the room or not as he does not recall having said anything that Ctld definitely place presence in the room in his memory However he believes he was present in the room LLUUIJGE said that he never saw the original dispatch in question ani that he never saw the pencil memorandum and he does not recall any detailed discussion of this dispatch among the officers at any time subsequent to his visit to room above mentioned ELDRIDGE stated that he did not bring any photographs aboard the Barnett He said that he did obtain a Fairchild camera containing about eight ioosed pictures from the USS Mbrris a destroyer while he was on the Barnett He said tliat he retained this canerL for about a day in his qua rters and then delivered the still loaded camera to Cem_rsnder8 ELIGELAN Theron after the camera remained in custody He said there Was no equipment on board the SS Barnett for develop ing exposed films so that he was certain that this ilm contained in this camera was not developed on the Barnett as said there were pictures of the burning and exploding of the Lexing Crton on the Barnett The only time that he saw these pictures was when they were brought to Commander SELIGMAN at the luncheon table on a dat to unknown and that they were enclosed in manila envelope He did not know how many prints of these pictures there were in evidence He said from their appearance they were taken mainly from the DEC LASSIF IED AuthorityM gD Z J 1 I 6 Minneapolis and that in view of the fact that one of these pictures showed the port side of the stricken Lexington he believed that it was taken from the USS Hannah or a ship in a similar position He could not recall who brought these pictures to Commander and he did not know who had custody of them ELDRI GE said that he did not at any time show the secret ewssage to JOHNSTON He said that he did not make a copy or notes of the secret nessageo He could not say whether he had discussed the contents of the secret message within earshot of JOHNSTON in View of the fact of the incident in Commander cabin above described He was certain that he had never discussed the contents of this message directly with JOHNSTON he did not know whether or not any of the officers had done any of the above He said that JOHNSTON could have obtained the contents of the secret message in View of his presenee when the abevcumentiened nemerandun ras drawn up He further added that JOHNSTON could have overheard discussions of the contents of this message among the officers He said that he only pictures that he had seen of the burning and exploding of the Lexington were those seen at the luncheon table incident above described and those he had seen on the USS Chester which had been taken by the Chaplain of the Chester so far as he knew the pictures he had seen on the Chester remained in the possession of the Chaplain of the Chester He said that he had never seen any of these photographs in possession He said that to his knowledge the only person having possession of photographs of the burning and exploding of the Lexington was Commander SELIGMAN at the luncheon table which incident is above described ELDRIDGE could advance no specific theory as to how JOHNSTON could haVe gotten possession of these photographs ELDRIDGE said that he had never been on the Minneapolis after the burning and exploding of the Lexington but that he had gone on board the Bar directly from the USS Chester about Nay 15 1942 Lieutenant Commander ELDRIDGE may be reached at 2551 Canine del Rio Mission Valley Road care of FELIX telephone Jackson 6593D Lieutenant Commander ROBERT E DIXON United States Navy a Scout - 13 DECLA-SSIFIED Authoritymp gD Z 6 - v Bomber Squadron leader on the Lexington was interviewed at his home at the El Cordova Hotel in Coronado at which time he stated that he had had quarters on the Barnett returning to San Idego aft of the Commodore's Suite He said that it was his practice to be in the Commodore's Suite on an average of about once a day and he recalled being in there one night when the silhouette book of the Barnett was called for He stated there were present SELIGMAN JOHNSTON Lieutenant Commander of the Barnett TERRY and possibly another Lexington officer He said he was previously aware of the fact that the Japanese were making a sortie He recalled this night that he went into the Commodore's Suite that the secret dispatch folder was on the table in front of an Ensign was standing nearby He could not re- call whether the Ensign brought in the folder while DIXON was present or whether it was already there when DIXON entered the room He said he did not hear a dispatch read concerning the makeup of the Japanese task force but he said that there was a discussion going on about this force He remembered seeing on the table in front of SELIGNAN a list of Japanese ships written in pencil on a piece of scratch paper of an unknown size He said that he thought SELIGMAN _wrote it and he thinks he saw him write it but he was not sure of theta DIXON said he sat at one end of the table and this pencil memorandum was passed to him and he read it He thought that this-pencil memorandum was broken up into three ngUps including a striking force of carriers and cruisers a supporting force with battleships and a follewhup force including transports He said he recalled nothing on this paper other than the forces and the names of ships There was definitely no other detail on the paper He said he did not know how many persons present read this paper and he said that JOHNSTON was not sitting at the table with the officers but was walking about the room He did not recall at any time having the memorandum and did not know what became of it He did not recall reading the dispatch and does not think that he did while DIXON was present but he stated that as a result of the discussion about the Japanese force some question arose concerning the detail of a Japanese battleship or cruiser and Lieutenant Commander COLEMAN went for the silhouette book He said he recalled talking about the armament of a cruiser during this discussion He recalled that the pencil memorandum contained somewhere in the neighborhoOd of twelve to fifteen names of ships and he remembered figuring in his own mind that it was a formidable array that would be tough to stop He said he did not remember any other papers being on the table at this time except the pencil memorandum and the dispatch folder and he does not recall whether the Ensign took the dispatch folder back while he was in the room or not He said that he was in the Commodore's Suite this particular evening for a period of only between fifteen and thirty minutes He recalled nothing particular about the handwriting on the pencil notes that he saw and he did not recall the dispatch foldor's ever being opened while he was there but he stated that he himself got the gist of the message from the conversation tint went on at that time DIXON concluded by saying that on quite a few occasions when various officers on the Lexington and the Barnett were reading secret dispatches he had seen them fold up the dispatch folder when subject came into their 14 DECLASSIFIED Authority MM presence He could cite no specific examples of this but he said it was his opinion that it was practically impossible to keep all secret material from a man in position He said that any good newspaperman could obtain almost any information that he desired if he were placed in a position similar to the position JOHNSTON occupied on board the Lexington and returning upon the Barnett Lieutenant Commander EDWARD J Gunnery ricer of the Lexington advised that after discussing instant case with some of the other Lexington officers he remembered being present in the Commodore s Suite one evening when the officers mentioned by DIXON were present He stated he entered the room and remembered DIXON sitting at one end of the table and that DIXON handed him a piece of Navy scratch paper which listed the names of apprOximately twelve Japanese ships which were divided hp into three groups including striking force support force and occupation force He said when he was in the room he did not recall the dispatch folder being present and was sure that it was not proSent because he did not see instant message until and if the-dispatch folder had been present he would have seen the message at that time He recalled however that there had been a dis cussion of the message in the room particularly concerning the types of ships in the Japanese force and the United States force which could be lined up to meet themp He recalled that one of the ships in this list had been seen by him in tho China Sea and remembered that a book was sent for to determine how that ship was listed he stated he thought the book sent for was Janos2 Fighting Ships He said he knew JOHNSTON was present because he remembered saying to him something to the effect It will be some fight Mac but he stated that he was quite sure JOHNSNON did not join in the discussion regarding the strength of the Japanese force but apparently overheard some of the officersI discussion advised he was in the Suite for about fifteen to thirty minutes and said he did not know what became of the paper memorandum Ho recalled him on another occasion how he had outwitted Prime Nhnister t NSTON CFURCHILL in obtaining some highly confidential information and he recalled another time that JOHNSTON asked him a lot of questions about his guns on the Lexington and also asked him for a secret new projectile that the Navy was using on the Lexington refused this request and stated that it was his impression from general attitude that JOHNSTON was not very scrupulous and was interested first in the Chicago Tribune with all other considerations being scoond He stated by way of background that there had been other newspapermen on board the Lexington pron viously who had behaved quite differently from JOHNSTON and who had not attempted to get into discussions or obtain information on matters unless they were invited to do so Commander NORTON-SELIGNAN was intorvicwed at the Naval Hospital San Diego with reference to the events described as taking place in the Commodore s Suite in the presencc of Lieutenant Commanders ELDRIDGE DIXON and and he stated that he had the greatest confidence in those offiCcrs and was sure that the matters took place as they described them He said 15 DECLASSIFIED 1 - AuthOI lB Ml j g 1 he did not deny that he may have made rough notes from the message describing the Japanese task force approaching Midway but he reiterated that he did not recall the incidents described by DIXON and the others and definitely did not recall making any notes He stated however that he has made rough notes in the past from messages but has never made copies of any secret messages He sta ed that he has looked through all of his effects for any pencil memoran dum listing the names of Japanese ships but he does not have any such memoran dums He stated with reference to the discussion in the Commodore s Suite described by DIXON and the others that he was the Senior Officer present and as such he was willing to assume the full responsibility'for not taking proper precautions to keep the gist of instant message from subject He stated that he was positive however that no one had ever showed subject the message in question or deliberately given subject any pencil memorandum from which subject might have made up the information contained in the article published in certain newspapers on June 7 1942 on to say that he thought it could easily have happened that a discussion was entered upon by the Lexington officers concerning the possibilities of the United States meeting and defeating the Japanese task force of the strength described in the message in question and that JOHNSTON could have been present in the room and could have overheard the discussionc He said that in View oi the rocoll actions of the other ofiioers he felt that this must have happened and he mr st therefore as the Senior Officer have been careless dy not keeping JOFE ISTON irom 111oaring any of this Lieutenant Commander Medical Corps United States Navy who is attending Commander SHLIGNAN at the Naval Hospital in San Diego advised that Commander SELIGHAN is eXpecting to undergo two operations shortly and he' said that condition is such as a result of his injuries aboard the Lexington that he doubts whether memory of the events aboard the Lexington or the Barnett would be most dependable at the present time At the Minute Unit at the IhstroW Base it was learned that Ensign JAMES B JOHNSON and Lieutenant IRVING a DAVIS were in Birmingham Ala bane and Northampton respectively'on leave 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