Beyond the Call (44 page)

27
. The photo of the Shenderoff plane in the USAF archive is erroneously captioned, ‘American and Russian personnel wave their greetings as the Consolidated B-24 ‘JUDITH ANN,' carrying Major General Deane and Major General Edmund W. Hill, comes to a halt on the steel mat runway at Poltava Airbase, a shuttle mission base in Russia. 12 April 1945.' In the official history of Eastern Command, the same photo is captioned, ‘Secret arrival at Poltava of B-24 from Italy' (Kaluta, vol. III, photo 71–11).

28
. Borch, ‘Two Americans'.

29
. Kaluta, vol. I, ch. I, p. 4. Apparently the rumor originated with Lieutenant Myron King, who heard the story when he was in Moscow for his court-martial (Borch, ‘Two Americans').

Chapter 18: Spare the Conquered, Confront the Proud

1
.   Kaluta, vol. II, ch. II, p. 1. Eastern Command had opted not to fly their flag permanently in case it irritated the Russians.

2
.   Roosevelt died at 3:35pm on 12 April, which was the middle of the night in Russia. The Americans there woke to the news on 13 April.

3
.   Kaluta, vol. II, ch. II, p. 1

4
.   Kaluta, vol. II, ch. II, p. 1; Lepawsky,
History of Eastern Command
, ch. VIII, pp. 38–9.

5
.   The artist was Senior Sergeant Sapokar. The theater was shared between American and Russian personnel and, until the rise of tensions in March 1945, had been a focus of good relations between the two sides (Kaluta, vol. I, ch. V, pp. 21–2).

6
.   Quoted in Kaluta, vol. II, ch. I, p. 10.

7
.   The similarity was noted at the time by Eastern Command (Kaluta, vol. II, ch. I, p. 10).

8
.   Captain Trimble made this plain at the commencement of the conference (report by adjutant Captain Fischer, quoted in Kaluta, vol. II, ch. I, p. 10).

9
.   Kaluta, vol. II, ch. I, p. 13.

10
. Trimble, cable to Hill, 21 April 1945, quoted in Kaluta, vol. II, ch. I, pp. 13–14.

11
. Hill, cable to Trimble, quoted in Lepawsky,
History of Eastern Command
, ch. 6, p. 83.

12
. Trimble, cable to Hill, 21 April 1945, quoted in Kaluta, vol. II, ch. I, pp. 13–14.

13
. Narratives in Borch, ‘Two Americans'.

14
. Dolin had met Wilmeth and Kingsbury in Lublin. Strangely, Dolin believed that the POW contact mission was a front and that the two colonels were actually spying on the Soviets (Dolin, quoted by McDonough,
Wars of Myron King
, p. 174). The allegation is fairly preposterous. It rests on the claim that Dolin saw documents containing intelligence about Soviet forces on Wilmeth's desk. The claim assumes that Wilmeth, as a spy, had recorded his data in plain text and left it lying about where anybody entering his office could see and read it. Given that he was constantly being spied on by the NKVD, this would make him the most incompetent (and the luckiest) spy who ever lived. The ‘intelligence' documents were probably details of Red Army POW collection points, Odessa transports, and prison camps, as well as information about the dispersal of POWs obtained from Wilmeth's POW agents.

15
. Trimble, letter to Kovalev, 18 April 1945, quoted in Kaluta, vol. II, ch. I, p. 11.

16
. Kaluta, vol. II, ch. I, pp. 11–12.

17
. Wilmeth, cable to Deane, 9 April 1945, quoted in Kaluta, vol. II, ch. II, p. 6.

18
. In 1952, after a review of his case by the US Air Force, King's guilty verdict
was overturned. His fine was refunded and his military record cleared (Borch, ‘Two Americans').

19
. Trimble, cable to Hill, quoted in Kaluta, vol. II, ch. I, p. 4.

20
. Hampton, Cable T-3457 to Gen. Deane, 4 April 1945.

21
. McDonough,
Wars of Myron King
, pp. 192–3.

22
. Except for tail gunner Sergeant George Atkinson, who had been involved in a road accident in Poltava on 19 April, in which a local woman was killed. Atkinson bumped his truck into a Russian truck, which, not properly braked, rolled onto the sidewalk and crushed the woman. Despite attempts by Captain Trimble, General Deane, and Deane's chief of staff to settle the case quietly with the Soviets and get Atkinson flown out to Tehran, the Soviets insisted that he be subject to their jurisdiction. He was fined heavily, and the Military Mission paid compensation to the woman's family (Kaluta, vol. II, ch. II, pp. 7–8).

23
. According to Kaluta (vol. II, ch. II, p. 7), Kovalev had pre-approved King's departure. However, Robert Trimble recalled that Kovalev complained about it after the event. Knowing the Soviet habit of giving and then rescinding permissions, this isn't surprising (permission to fly injured combat men to Tehran had been given and rescinded several times during the flying ban). Recalling the fate of Morris Shenderoff, Robert said later, ‘I'd be damned if we were going to let that happen to King.'

24
. Kaluta, vol. II, ch. II, p. 2.

25
. The old building is still part of the US Embassy, now serving as the US Citizen Center.

26
. These complaints are reviewed throughout all three volumes of the official history; some were true (such as the black market dealing, detailed in Lepawsky,
History of Eastern Command
, ch. V, pp. 86–92), whereas others were exaggerated or dubious.

27
. Plokhy,
Yalta
, pp. 155–6, 168–9.

28
. Winston Churchill, address to the House of Commons, 14 December 1950,
Hansard
vol. 482, col. 1368.

29
. In his memoir,
The Strange Alliance
, written shortly after the war, John R. Deane's diplomatic tone often gives way to anger over the POW issue. Likewise, Averell Harriman was sufficiently angry about the issue to suggest retaliation against Soviet POW contact teams in American-occupied territory (Harriman, cable to secretary of state, 14 March 1945, in US Department of State,
Foreign Relations
, pp. 1079–81).

30
. Deane,
Strange Alliance
, p. 197.

31
. Winston Churchill, address to the House of Commons, 14 December 1950,
Hansard
vol. 482, col. 1367.

Chapter 19: The Long Way Home

1
.   Kaluta, vol. II, ch. III, pp. 2–5.

2
.   Lieutenant William R. Kaluta, Corps of Engineers, became one of Eastern Command's official historians.

3
.   Infield,
Poltava Affair
, pp. 223–4. Unfortunately, Infield cites no source for the story, and there are problems with it. First, Infield is under the impression that Ritchie was CO at Poltava (he was just visiting to finalize the evacuation), and he is said to have dumped the material in the lake ‘through a hole in the ice' (in June). However, it is plausible that OSS equipment could have been stored at Poltava, given the planned cooperation program (Deane,
Strange Alliance
, pp. 50–9). It is unlikely (although not impossible) that the cache had any direct connection to Robert Trimble's mission.

4
.   Hill, Letter to Gen. Spaatz, 16 May 1945. What is significant is that the only exceptional thing Robert had officially done was take command at Poltava, and at the time the letter was written he had only been in that post one month. His officially recorded work as assistant operations officer was (for Eastern Command) fairly standard. It is clear that Hill was alluding to Captain Trimble's truly exceptional off-the-record mission.

5
.   Deane, Cable M-24441 to Gen. Spaatz, 24 May 1945.

6
.   Many biographical accounts of Spaatz at this period have him moving to USAAF HQ in Washington, DC, in early June, prior to taking up command in the Pacific in late July (e.g., Watson,
Secretaries and Chiefs of Staff
, p. 109). However, in late June he was still in Europe, having resumed command of USSTAF from 13 June to 30 June. On the 27th he visited Melun airfield in France, where American test pilots were evaluating captured German Me-262 jet fighters (Samuel,
American Raiders
, pp. 271–7).

7
.   Metz,
Master of Airpower
, ch. I.

8
.   American Legion Baseball was (and still is) a baseball league for teenage boys, founded by the American Legion veterans' organization in 1926.

9
.   In practice, it is almost certain that Robert Trimble would not have been one of those pilots, even had he accepted Spaatz's offer. The 509th Composite Group was a specialized unit which had trained intensively for the atomic bomb missions. Robert probably could not have completed conversion training on the B-29 in time to join the 509th, let alone taken part in any missions. But that wasn't known at the time – it was anticipated that there would be more than just the Hiroshima and Nagasaki missions, and that the war might go on much longer.

10
. There seem to have been two contradictory views of Robert Trimble's
(officially recorded) service with Eastern Command. Major Albert Lepawsky, the command's first historian, is dismissive of him as commander. Lepawsky was sympathetic to the Russians and writes disparagingly about both Colonel Hampton and Major Kowal. While acknowledging that Trimble was a congenial character and inexperienced in command, he claims that he was antagonistic toward the Russians (Lepawsky,
History of Eastern Command
, ch. VIII, pp. 101–11). However, Lepawsky was not at Poltava during Trimble's time, and his version is flatly contradicted by the volumes of the official history written by Lieutenant William Kaluta (who was there) and by the testimonials of General Hill and General Deane cited above. It is probable that the unnamed general who called Robert to Washington had heard a version of events propagated by Lepawsky, since the latter had been producing negative reports on Eastern Command personnel for the War Department since at least December 1944 (Lepawsky,
History of Eastern Command
, ch. VIII, pp. 49–51).

11
. Captain Trimble initially declined to take part, because his personnel were busy with urgent administrative duties, having been told a few days earlier by General Deane that Eastern Command was about to be shut down and evacuated – an order which was later rescinded (Kaluta, vol. II, ch. III, p. 2). Captain Trimble immediately apologized to General Kovalev for the confusion and authorized American participation in the celebration (Lepawsky,
History of Eastern Command
, ch. VIII, p. 111).

Epilogue: Not Without Honor

1
.   The Croix de Guerre citation for Robert Trimble is listed in French government records under ‘decision no. 1029, division level [with silver star]' dated 20 August 1945. The actual citation document has unfortunately been lost in the French archives.

2
.   De Gaulle visited Washington for talks with President Truman from 22 to 24 August. The meetings were generally civil, but there were ongoing disagreements between de Gaulle and the United States that year over the post-war plan for Germany and French plans to re-establish a hold on Indochina (Wall, ‘Harry S. Truman and Charles de Gaulle', pp. 123–9; McAllister,
No Exit
, pp. 99–103; Marr,
Vietnam
, pp. 183–4).

3
.   At some time between infancy and later childhood, the second part of Carol Ann's name fell out of use. She has no memory of when or why, only the knowledge that ‘Carol Ann' was what her father called her when she was a baby.

INDEX

493rd Bomb Group
17
,
20
,
116
,
302

aircrew rescue
74
,
109

American Military Mission, Moscow
66
,
70
,
78
,
89
,
94
,
164
,
177
,
181
,
186
,
217
,
236
,
244
,
257
,
269

Antonov, General Aleksei I.
240
,
242
–
3

appeasement of the Russians
255
,
259
,
263
,
266

Auschwitz
12
,
78
,
86
–
8
,
109
,
119
,
205

B-17 Flying Fortress
17
,
23
,
62
–
3
,
68
,
105
–
7
,
110
,
127
,
131
,
139
–
41
,
142
,
148
,
171
–
4
,
176
,
192

B-24 Liberator
22
,
46
,
68
,
105
,
142
,
245
–
7

B-29 Superfortress
142
,
275

Barnett, Second Lieutenant Jack
175
–
7
,
187
,
191

barrage balloons
30
–
2

Beadle, Sergeant Richard J.
155
–
8
,
167
–
70
,
179
–
80
,
182
,
184
–
6
,
191
–
2
,
194
,
195

bird dogs (NKVD officer escorts)
77
,
83
,
98
,
117
,
126
,
160
,
164
,
216
,
217
–
18
,
226
,
240

Birkenau
121
–
2
,
126

Bomb Group, 493rd
17
,
20
,
116
,
302

Bridge, Lieutenant Donald
241
–
2
,
244
,
257
–
60

Brygidki prison
214
,
318

Brzezinka, Poland
75
,
78

C-46 Commando
269

C-47 Skytrain
41
,
50
,
67
,
130
,
132
–
4
,
140
,
149
,
160
,
237
,
269
,
272

Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
19
,
210

Casablanca
44
–
5
,
48

Churchill, Winston
2
,
65
,
74
,
266

Commando, C-46
269

communication protocols
85

concentration camps
121
,
205

see also
Auschwitz, Birkenau, Majdanek

Cossacks
136
–
8

Croix de Guerre
8
,
289
–
90
,
325

Czarnków, Poland
155
,
157

Dakar, Senegal
43

Deane, General John R.
79
–
80
,
88
,
101
,
161
–
2
,
166
,
167
,
181
,
197
,
200
,
240
,
242
,
246
,
251
–
2
,
262
–
7
,
272
,
307
,
309
,
321
,
323

death camps
71
,
162

death march
see
forced marches

Debach, England
17
,
19
–
20

Distinguished Flying Cross
8
,
115
,
127

Dolin, Second Lieutenant Leon
257
–
8
,
322

Eagle project
84
,
308

Eastern Command
22
,
61
,
63
,
68
,
71
,
76
,
82
,
109
,
113
,
159
,
163
,
186
,
193
,
239
,
243
,
245
,
253
,
259
,
269
–
73

Eastern Front
60
,
156
,
220

Eden, Anthony
244

Eighth Air Force
17
,
61
,
302

Fawzia, Queen
52
–
5

Fitchen, Captain William
83
,
126

Fitin, General Pavel
66

Flying Fortress, B-17
17
,
23
,
62
–
3
,
68
,
105
–
7
,
110
,
127
,
131
,
139
–
41
,
142
,
148
,
171
–
4
,
176
,
192

forced labor
11
,
72
,
120
,
184
,
218
–
20
,
301
,
319

forced marches
11
,
91
,
120
,
155
–
6
,
220

gas chambers
87

Germans
63
,
218

Germany
105
,
219

Gould, Private Ronald
168
–
70
,
182
,
184
–
6
,
193
,
194

Grosvenor Square
29
,
35
,
303

Halifax, Lord
244

Hall, Major Paul
127
,
201

Hampton, Colonel Thomas K.
68
–
70
,
73
,
76
,
78
,
81
–
3
,
101
,
126
,
132
,
159
,
244
–
7
,
254
,
312
,
313

Harriman, Ambassador Averell
9
,
80
,
199
–
200
,
243
,
262
–
7
,
323

Helton, Colonel Elbert
20
–
4
,
27
,
33
,
70
,
85
,
302

Hill, Major General Edmund W.
15
,
66
–
7
,
78
,
245
,
246
,
251
,
255
,
271

Hitler, Adolf
156
,
266

holding camps, Russian
92
,
99
–
100
,
103
,
189
,
199
,
221
,
315

Hotel George, Lwów
93
,
174
–
5
,
179
,
185
,
190
,
215
,
220
–
3

Iran, Shah of
52
–
5

Isabelle, French refugee
11
–
13
,
216
–
21
,
229
–
30
,
234
–
8
,
289

Janowska camp
214

Jessee, Lieutenant Tyler E.
131
,
149
,
171
,
177
,
185

Jews
88
,
120
,
214

Joes (field agents)
39
,
84

Johnson, Lieutenant Warren
17
,
31
,
43

Kasia
123
–
5

Katyn massacre
64
,
305

King, Lieutenant Myron
240
–
1
,
244
,
257
–
60
,
320
,
323

Kingsbury, Lieutenant Colonel Curtis
79
,
126
,
160
,
195
,
257
,
322

Kisil, Corporal Paul
160

Kovalev, Major General S.K.
69
,
101
,
132
,
239
,
243
,
248
,
253
,
255
,
258
,
312

Kowal, Major Michael
78
,
81
–
2
,
126
,
245
,
254
,
307

Kraków, Poland
75
,
78
,
109
,
117

Kratke, Tadeusz
111
–
12
,
310
–
11

lend-lease to USSR
61
,
269
–
70
,
304

Lobb, Lieutenant Jean
19

London
30
–
2

Lowry, Esa
176
–
7

Lublin, Poland
78
,
79
,
101
,
127
,
130
,
160
,
163
–
7
,
191
,
196
,
200
,
240

Luftwaffe
62

Lwów, Poland
11
–
13
,
78
,
93
,
97
,
101
,
103
–
4
,
149
,
154
,
169
,
172
,
186
,
189
–
90
,
213
,
236

train station
225
–
9

Hotel George
93
,
174
–
5
,
179
,
185
,
190
,
215
,
220
–
3

Maiya, interpreter
76
,
133
–
5
,
139
–
41
,
149
–
51

Majdanek
71
,
86
,
88
,
162
,
205

Matles, Sergeant John
131
,
142
–
3
,
145
,
147
–
9
,
171
,
175
,
177
,
181
–
3
,
185
,
315
–
16

McNeish, Jim
187
–
92
,
193
,
194
,
316

Misburg, Germany
27

Molotov, Foreign Minister Vyacheslav
64
,
66
,
243

Montgomery, Second Lieutenant Jack C.
157

Moscow, American Military Mission
66
,
70
,
78
,
89
,
94
,
164
,
177
,
181
,
186
,
217
,
236
,
244
,
257
,
269

Mustang, P-51
62
,
142
,
144

Nazis
11
,
71
,
87
,
214
,
220

NKVD
65
,
66
,
76
–
7
,
81
,
85
,
92
,
95
,
110
,
117
,
125
,
177
,
199
,
201
,
214
,
216
,
226
,
233
,
309

see also
bird dogs

Observation Mission
244

Odessa, Ukraine
101
,
120
,
125
,
127
,
163
,
227
,
237
,
310
,
319

Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
2
,
29
,
38
,
66
,
70
,
81
,
83
,
94
,
109
,
119
,
150
,
309

Oflag
64
88
,
308

Operation Frantic
22
,
61
,
63
,
81

P-51 Mustang
62
,
142
,
144

Pacific theater
274
–
5