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Secret History of the OSS By Eugene Nielsen

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the United States’ first centralized intelligence agency, established during World War II to coordinate espionage, sabotage and psychological warfare against Axis powers. It laid the foundation for modern intelligence operations and was the direct precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

OSS false identification document World War II
The OSS created this false identification document for Joe Savoldi, who posed as Giuseppe De Leo while infiltrating the black market in Naples. Image: Baminvestor/CC BY-SA 4.0

The OSS was instrumental in shaping the future of American intelligence, employing a diverse range of operatives, including military personnel, academics, journalists, and even Hollywood celebrities.

Origins and Formation

Before the OSS, intelligence gathering in the U.S. was fragmented, with various departments. including the State Department, Treasury, Navy and War Department, conducting intelligence operations independently. Recognizing the need for a unified intelligence service, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Coordinator of Information (COI) in July 1941, appointing Colonel William J. Donovan, a decorated war hero, to lead the effort.

OSS insignia
The Office of Strategic Services insignia. Image: Office of Strategic Services/Public domain

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Roosevelt sought to strengthen U.S. intelligence capabilities. On June 13, 1942, he issued an executive order creating the OSS, replacing the COI and placing it under the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Donovan, known as “Wild Bill,” envisioned an intelligence agency that could conduct covert operations, gather intelligence, and support resistance movements in occupied territories. Donovan was elevated to Brigadier General in March 1943 and promoted to the rank of Major General in November 1944.

Structure and Operations

Under Donovan, the OSS developed into a highly organized and sophisticated intelligence organization with multiple branches, each responsible for different aspects of intelligence gathering, covert operations, and strategic analysis.

OSS Blood Chit
This silk blood chit was issued for use by the OSS. Written in several native languages, it reads, “This foreign person (American) has come to China to help the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should save and protect him.” Image: CIA

Secret Intelligence (SI) Branch

The Secret Intelligence (SI) Branch was responsible for gathering intelligence behind enemy lines. OSS operatives infiltrated Axis-controlled territories, recruited local informants, and conducted surveillance on enemy movements. SI agents often worked undercover, posing as diplomats, businessmen, or journalists.

Special Operations (SO) Branch

The Special Operations (SO) Branch focused on sabotage and guerrilla warfare. This division trained and deployed operatives to work with resistance movements in occupied countries, disrupting enemy supply lines, destroying infrastructure, and carrying out assassinations of key Axis figures.

OSS concealed compass
When operating behind enemy lines, OSS officers relied on hidden tools of survival, like these covert compasses tucked inside buttons and cufflinks. Image: CIA

Research and Analysis (R&A) Branch

The Research and Analysis (R&A) Branch was composed of scholars, economists, and scientists who provided strategic assessments for military planning. This division analyzed intercepted communications, economic data, and political developments to predict enemy actions and advise Allied commanders.

Morale Operations (MO) Branch

The Morale Operations (MO) Branch specialized in psychological warfare. This division spread propaganda to undermine enemy morale, using radio broadcasts, leaflets, and forged documents to create confusion and dissent among Axis forces.

X-2 Counterintelligence Branch

The X-2 Counterintelligence Branch focused on identifying and neutralizing enemy spies. This division worked closely with British intelligence agencies to detect and dismantle Axis espionage networks operating in Allied territories.

Maritime Unit

The Maritime Unit conducted amphibious operations, underwater sabotage, and reconnaissance missions. This division developed specialized diving equipment and trained operatives for naval intelligence missions.

OSS demolition knife
This knife was used by British and American demolitionists during WWII. A member of an OSS Jedburgh team carried this on his first mission as he parachuted into Nazi-occupied France. Image: CIA

Operational Groups

The Operational Groups were small teams of highly trained commandos who carried out direct-action missions, including raids, demolitions, and assassinations. These teams worked closely with local resistance fighters to maximize their impact.

Training

OSS operatives underwent some of the most demanding and unconventional training of World War II, designed to prepare them for covert missions behind enemy lines. Their preparation included parachuting and amphibious infiltration techniques, enabling agents to enter hostile territory by air or sea. Recruits were rigorously trained in hand-to-hand combat, firearms, explosives, and close-quarters tactics, often under the guidance of British instructors like the legendary William E. Fairbairn who emphasized ruthless efficiency.

Prince William Forest Park Cabin Camp 3 OSS
Cabin Camp 3 at Prince William Forest Park was transformed into a bustling training ground for the OSS. Image: National Park Service

Espionage training covered cryptography, disguise, surveillance, and evasion, equipping agents to operate undetected in enemy environments. Psychological warfare and propaganda were also key components, with specialists learning how to manipulate enemy morale and spread disinformation.

Training took place at several secret facilities. This included Camp X in Ontario, Canada. It was a joint British-Canadian installation officially known as “Special Training School No. 103”, and it was here where OSS agents learned sabotage, silent killing, and radio operations. In the United States, major sites included Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland, and Prince William Forest Park, Virginia. These locations offered isolated terrain for live-fire exercises, demolitions, and simulated espionage scenarios. The OSS sought recruits with a rare blend of intellect, creativity, and grit once described as “a Ph.D. who can win a bar fight,” and their training reflected the high stakes and improvisational nature of wartime intelligence work.

The Glorious Amateurs

The OSS recruited a remarkably diverse group of operatives, including scholars, soldiers, artists, and celebrities. Each contributed unique skills to the organization’s missions in espionage, sabotage, and psychological warfare. General William Donovan referred to them as “glorious amateurs,” a nod to their unconventional backgrounds. Below are some of the most notable individuals who served in the OSS, several of whom may surprise you.

Moe Berg — The Scholar Spy

A professional baseball catcher turned spy, Morris “Moe” Berg was fluent in over a dozen languages. Initially sent to Yugoslavia to assess resistance groups, Berg later undertook one of the OSS’s most sensitive missions, evaluating Nazi Germany’s atomic bomb program.

Moe Berg Boston Red Sox catchers 1937
Moe Berg (far left) and other catchers for the Boston Red Sox captured in this 1937 photograph. Image: New York Public Library/Public domain

In 1944, he attended a lecture by physicist Werner Heisenberg in Switzerland. Armed with a pistol and carrying a cyanide capsule as a last resort measure in case he was captured by the Nazis, he had orders to assassinate Heisenberg if he believed Germany was close to developing a nuclear weapon. Berg’s espionage efforts helped confirm that the Nazi atomic program was not an imminent threat.

John Steinbeck — The Literary Commando

Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Steinbeck contributed to the OSS as a war correspondent and intelligence asset. He embedded with Allied forces, participated in commando raids, and reportedly helped capture Axis prisoners.

John Steinbeck
Author John Steinbeck circa 1935. Image: McFadden Publications, Inc./Public domain

His novel The Moon Is Down, which depicted resistance against an occupying force, was translated and distributed by European underground movements to inspire rebellion.

Marlene Dietrich — The Voice of Resistance

German-born actress and singer Marlene Dietrich was a fierce critic of the Nazi regime. She collaborated with the OSS by recording anti-Nazi propaganda broadcasts and performing for Allied troops across Europe. Her charisma and defiance made her a powerful morale booster and symbol of resistance.

Marlene Dietrich with high heels lying on outdoor bench
Marlene Dietrich, shown here lying down on a bench in a publicity photo, worked with the OSS to produce anti-Nazi materials during World War II. Image: Public domain

Julia Child — The Culinary Analyst

Before becoming a beloved chef, Julia Child, who was too tall to join the Women’s Army Corps, volunteered for the OSS. She began as a research assistant in the Secret Intelligence division, where she meticulously typed thousands of names onto small white note cards, a vital system for tracking officers in the pre-digital age. Later, she joined the Emergency Sea Rescue Equipment Section, contributing to the development of shark repellent.

From 1944 to 1945, she served overseas in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and China as Chief of the OSS Registry, handling top-secret communications and supporting classified operations across Asia.

Sterling Hayden — The Guerrilla Sailor

Hollywood actor Sterling Hayden, known for Dr. Strangelove and The Asphalt Jungle, served in the OSS under the alias “John Hamilton.” He conducted covert maritime operations in the Adriatic, ferrying supplies to Yugoslav Partisans and rescuing downed Allied airmen. His bravery earned him the Silver Star, and his wartime experience deeply influenced his postwar life.

John Ford — The Combat Cameraman

Legendary director John Ford was recruited by the OSS to head its Field Photographic Branch. Ford commanded a team of combat cameramen and technicians who captured extensive footage across multiple theaters of war. His unit produced millions of feet of film, ranging from public morale-boosting documentaries to classified training films.

John Ford
Director John Ford standing before a portrait of himself and an Academy Award statue, circa 1946. Image: Los Angeles Daily News/Public domain

Among his most notable works included The Battle of Midway (1942), December 7th (1943), and How to Operate Behind Enemy Lines (1943). This final one was used to train OSS agents in covert operations.

Bob Broughton — The Disney Technician

A camera effects artist at Disney, Bob Broughton applied his technical skills to OSS training films and documentation. His work helped standardize the use of film in intelligence operations, laying the groundwork for visual analysis techniques later adopted by the CIA.

Richard Maibaum — The Bond Architect

Screenwriter Richard Maibaum, who’s best known for his work on many of the classic James Bond films, served in the OSS producing morale-building films and war documentaries. His storytelling skills were instrumental in crafting persuasive media that supported Allied psychological operations and fostered troop morale.

Peter Ortiz — The Legionnaire Spy

Colonel Peter J. Ortiz was one of the most decorated Marines of World War II and among the few to serve in combat in Europe. Fluent in 10 languages and a veteran of the French Foreign Legion, Ortiz joined the OSS and parachuted into occupied France to organize resistance cells and conduct sabotage missions. His daring exploits behind enemy lines earned him two Navy Crosses and a reputation as a real-life action hero. Ortiz’s blend of linguistic skill, battlefield experience, and fearless charisma made him one of the OSS’s most valuable operatives.

Fairbairn-Sykes knife
The Fairbairn-Sykes knife, aka OSS Stiletto, became standard issue in 1943. While an OSS instructor, Lt. Col. William Faibairn created a special version of the knife for the service. Image: CIA

R. Joe Savoldi — The Wrestling Operative

Known as “Jumping Joe” in the wrestling ring, R. Joe Savoldi was a former Notre Dame football star turned professional wrestler who brought his physical prowess and multilingual fluency to the OSS. During World War II, Savoldi conducted covert missions in Italy, leveraging his Italian heritage and athleticism to infiltrate enemy lines, extract intelligence, and assist in sabotage operations. His OSS work remained classified for decades, but his contributions were vital to Allied efforts in the Mediterranean theater.

Notable OSS Operations

The OSS conducted a wide array of covert missions that significantly contributed to the Allied victory. Here are a few of those that had a major impact on the war:

Operation Torch (1942)

OSS agents were deployed to North Africa ahead of the Allied invasion to build intelligence networks and coordinate with local resistance. Their groundwork helped ensure the success of the campaign against Axis forces in Algeria and Morocco.

Operation Jedburgh (1944)

In preparation for D-Day, the OSS partnered with British SOE and Free French forces to form Jedburgh teams. These three-man units parachuted into occupied France, Belgium, and the Netherlands to train resistance fighters, sabotage German infrastructure, and support the Allied advance.

Operation Jedburgh team in front of B-24 Liberator bomber
An OSS Jedburgh team stands in front of a B-24 Liberator in England. The operation dropped three-man teams of Allied operatives into Nazi-occupied Europe ahead of Operation Overlord. Image: OSS

Operation Carbon (1944)

OSS operatives infiltrated Norway to disrupt German supply lines and sabotage infrastructure. These missions hindered Nazi operations in Scandinavia and supported broader Allied efforts in the region.

Operation Sunrise (1945)

OSS officers played a pivotal role in negotiating the surrender of German forces in Italy, working behind the scenes with Swiss intermediaries and German commanders. This diplomatic success helped shorten the war in southern Europe.

Dissolution and Legacy

Despite its achievements, the OSS faced resistance from rival agencies like J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI and the Military Intelligence Division. After World War II, President Harry S. Truman dissolved the OSS on September 20, 1945. Its core intelligence functions were absorbed by successor organizations, including the Strategic Services Unit (SSU) and the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), which evolved into the CIA in 1947.

underwater combat swimmer OSS
An underwater combat swimmer of the OSS Detachment 404 Maritime Unit experiences hypoxia while using a rebreather in 1944. It was a temporary malfunction and resolved quickly. Image: U.S. Coast Guard

Final Thoughts

The OSS transformed intelligence operations and laid the foundation for modern espionage. Its legacy endures in the CIA, which continues to shape global intelligence and national security. More than a pioneering agency, the OSS was a hub of brilliant, unconventional minds who proved that diverse talents could play a vital role in wartime intelligence.

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Joe Medicine Crow: The Last American Indian War Chief by Will Dabbs

This is Joe Medicine Crow, the last genuine Indian war chief. He was a legendary American.

Joe Medicine Crow was born in October 1913 on the Crow Indian Reservation outside Lodge Grass, Montana, to Amy Yellowtail and Leo Medicine Crow. His name translated High Bird. Crow society was matrilinear. This meant that property and hereditary rank passed through your mom. Regardless, his father Leo Medicine Crow was a respected war chief himself.

Table of contents

Hard Core History

This is White Man Runs Him, Joe Medicine Crow’s step-grandfather. He was an eyewitness to the massacre at Little Big Horn.

Joe was raised, for the most part, by his maternal step-grandfather, a respected Indian warrior named White Man Runs Him or simply Yellowtail. In the early 1900s, the American West was still littered with veterans of the Indian Wars. White Man Runs Him had served as a scout for General George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry. He had been an eyewitness to the bloody 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn.

As Joe was coming of age, he was mesmerized by war stories from his step-grandfather. Joe’s son later said of his father, “His Grandfather Yellowtail trained him in the old warrior ways. In wintertime, they chopped a hole in the ice and took a refreshing morning plunge. Then Yellowtail told him to run a hundred yards in the snow barefoot. In summer and fall, Dad learned hunting and tracking skills. My father was raised as a farm boy, rancher, outdoorsman, hunter, cowboy, jockey, and exercise boy — he was an all-round man.”

Education Of Medicine Crow

Despite struggling early on, Joe Medicine Crow was a powerful advocate of education for his people.

Joe was a smart kid, but he had not been raised speaking English. On his first day in formal school, he developed a bad case of hiccups and was unable to pronounce “excuse me” to the teacher’s satisfaction. This bought him a timeout in the sandbox playing with blocks while wearing a dunce cap. However, once he mastered the language, Joe thrived academically.

Joe pitched for the school baseball team and excelled in throwing the javelin. By the time he finished high school, he had mastered six musical instruments—the clarinet, saxophone, flute, accordion, piano, and Indian hand drum. In short order, Joe had absorbed all his high school had to offer.

Next-Level Learning

In addition to some serious warrior skills, Joe Medicine Crow was also an exceptional scholar.

In 1929, while in the 8th grade, Joe began taking classes at the Bacone College of Muskogee, Oklahoma. He earned his Associate of Arts degree in 1936 and his bachelor’s two years later. The following year, Joe earned his master’s degree in anthropology from USC in Los Angeles. As I said, Joe was a pretty quick kid.

Joe was the second member of his extended tribe to go to college and the first to earn a post-graduate degree. His Master’s thesis, The Effects of European Culture Contact upon the Economic, Social, and Religious Life of the Crow Indians, was widely read. By 1941 he had completed the coursework for his PhD but had not had an opportunity to defend his thesis. It turned out Adolph Hitler had other plans. Now, hold that thought…

Joe Medicine Crow Foundations

The Plains Indians were fierce mounted warriors.

The Crow tribe of Plains Indians historically lived in the Yellowstone River valley. They allied with the United States against the Cheyenne and the Sioux. The Crow enjoyed a distinctively unique language.

Like all of humanity, the history of the American Indians is characterized and punctuated by war, domination, and wanton slaughter. The earliest origins of the Crow people can be traced back to an area around Lake Erie in modern-day Ohio. Organized attacks by their neighbors pushed the Crow into Manitoba and then North Dakota.

Allegiances came and went. The Crow allied with the Kiowa and Plains Apache as it suited them, driving the Shoshone westward to seize their territory by force. Once settled into the Yellowstone River valley, the Crow fractionated into four distinct entities.

Communities

The Crow adapted well to the hunter/gatherer lifestyle. Their four groups included the Mountain Crow, the River Crow, Kicked in the Bellies, and Beaver Dries Its Fur. I have no idea the significance of those terms, but I find them fascinating.

Beginning around 1730, the Crow, along with most all Plains Indians, organized their culture around the horse and buffalo hunting. Buffalo provided sustenance, clothing, and shelter. The Indians burned their dried excrement for heat. As did they all, the Crow stole horses and raided their neighbors to attain local advantage.

Crow Tribal Allegiances

The Battle of the Little Big Horn saw the deaths of General George Armstrong Custer along with 267 of his men.

In the 1850s, a young man named Plenty Coups had a vision wherein he predicted that the incoming white men would eventually become the dominant force in their world. Plenty Coups later grew up to become the greatest Crow chief in the tribe’s history. He espoused that, were the Crow to retain any of their lands, they would have to remain on good terms with the encroaching white men.

The Battle of the Little Big Horn and the defeat of General George Armstrong Custer in 1876 by the Cheyenne and Sioux took place on the Crow Indian Reservation. However, this sparked the subsequent Great Sioux War that saw the defeat of the Lakota Sioux and their Cheyenne allies. Crow warriors actively served with US Army forces during this war. Joe Medicine Crow came from a people of warriors.

Tradition

The Plains Indians had a highly refined hierarchy. According to the Crow tradition, there were four requirements for a warrior to be designated a war chief. One must lead a successful war party, touch an enemy soldier without actually killing him (called counting coup in the vernacular), disarm an enemy soldier, and capture an enemy’s horse.

Native Americans played a significant role in the planetary fight against tyranny during WW2.

As did so many of his generation, when the United States went to war, Joe Medicine Crow answered the call. The small-statured Native American soon found himself serving as a scout with the 103d Infantry Division during the assault across France in 1944. In this capacity, Medicine Crow once led a seven-man team through withering artillery fire to breach German defensive positions on the Siegfried Line with explosives.

A Traditional Indian Fights Modern War

Joe Medicine Crow brought his people’s ancient warrior traditions to a modern battlefield.

Whenever he went into battle, Medicine Crow wore his war paint. This consisted of two red stripes down his arms that were not visible underneath his uniform. He also kept a sacred yellow-painted eagle feather tucked inside his helmet.

The feather had been a formal gift from a “Sun Dance” medical man prior to his deployment overseas. It was in this configuration while covertly creeping through a contested French village that Medicine Crow rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a strapping German Landser much larger than he.

Both men were surprised. However, for reasons lost to history, Medicine Crow did not shoot the man. Perhaps he was trying to remain stealthy in an enemy-held area. Instead, he reflexively kicked the big German in the balls, causing him to drop his rifle. Joe then dove on the enemy soldier, wrapping his fingers vise-like around the man’s throat.

As the German soldier’s eyes rolled back in his head he called out, “Mama, Mama!” This touched something primal in Medicine Crow’s heart. He later told his son Ronald, “I let go of him and got my rifle back and he became my prisoner. We sat down, away from all the shouting and fighting, and I shared a cigarette with him.”

Horse Thievery

The Germans made extensive use of horse-drawn transport right up until the end of the war.

Another time, Medicine Crow infiltrated a Waffen SS encampment. Despite fighting a mechanized war, much of the German military machine remained dependent upon horses until the armistice.

Before his commander could launch an assault against the SS position, Joe volunteered to liberate their horses. Improvising a bridle just as his ancestors might, Joe mounted one of the animals bareback and then herded a further fifty to freedom. Once he was clear, his commander launched an artillery barrage that caused the German troops to surrender. As he rode into the distance, the short Indian warrior sang a traditional Crow honor song.

Joe Medicine Crow was a steely-eyed soldier who was stone-cold in a fight.

If you’re keeping track, that operation checked the last of the four boxes. Joe Medicine Crow led a war party, counted coup, disarmed an enemy soldier, and took an opponent’s horses. By the time Joe came home from Europe, he was a full-fledged Crow war chief, the last of his breed.

A Veteran’s Story

Upon his return from Europe, Medicine Crow took a job as tribal historian and anthropologist. Beginning in 1951, he began working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. His historical scholarship and advocacy for Native Americans was widely respected. In 1999 he addressed the United Nations.

Medicine Crow became a regular speaker at the Little Big Horn College as well as the Little Big Horn Battlefield Museum. Having put his oral history to paper, his script of the Little Big Horn fight guided the reenactment on the battlefield every year beginning in 1965. He was also a widely published author.

Medicine Crow’s works included Crow Migration Story, Medicine Crow, the Handbook of the Crow Indians Law and Treaties, Crow Indian Buffalo Jump Techniques, and From the Heart of Crow Country. He also penned a children’s book called Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird.

The Rest of the Medicine Crow Story

Joe Medicine Crow was eventually decorated by the President.

Joe Medicine Crow was eventually granted three different honorary doctorates. His military decorations included the Bronze Star, the French Legion of Honor Chevalier Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

In 2009, President Obama awarded Medicine Crow with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. At the awards ceremony, the President referred to Medicine Crow as bacheitche, or a “good man,” in his native Crow language. There’s a lot about which Obama and I disagreed, but that was pretty classy.

Over the course of a long life spanning more than a century, Joe Medicine Crow served as an ambassador and advocate for his people.

Joe Medicine Crow continued to write and deliver historical lectures, usually in native regalia, all the way up to his death in 2016 at the ripe age of 102. He left behind a son, two daughters, and a stepdaughter. Joe Medicine Crow, the last of the Crow war chiefs, indeed lived a warrior’s life.

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When the Viet Cong Sank an Aircraft Carrier By Friedrich Seiltgen

The U.S. Navy’s carrier force is the envy of the world, having earned its stripes in the early, dark days of the Pacific War. One of those that first served during that conflict was the USS Card.

As an escort carrier, the USS Card served America for almost 30 years and received three Battle Stars and a Presidential Unit Citation. She was responsible for sinking 11 German U-boats as part of a Hunter-Killer Group. During the Vietnam War, she transported much-needed aircraft and supplies. She also made history as being the only aircraft carrier sunk due to enemy action since World War II.

Vietnamese postage stamp commemorating the sinking of the USNS Card
Vietnamese postage stamp commemorating the sinking of the USS Card. Image: U.S. Navy

History of the USS Card

Named for Card Sound in Biscayne Bay, Miami, the USS Card (AVG/ACV/CVE-11) began its service in 1942 as one of 45 Bogue-class escort carriers. These ships carried 24 anti-submarine or fighter aircraft, such as Corsairs, Wildcats or Avengers.

USS Card underway with F4F Wildcat and TBF Avengers
The USS Card underway in the Atlantic on 15 June 1943. On deck are F4F Wildcat fighters and TBF Avenger torpedo bombers. Image: U.S. Navy

Her first mission was in May 1943, as an escort for convoy UGS-8A, which consisted of troop ships and equipment for the invasion of Sicily. After offloading, the Card returned with the convoy, but now it was given more freedom to hunt subs as long as it could protect the convoy. This was the beginning of the U.S. Navy’s submarine Hunter-Killer Group operations (HKG).

USNS Card underway from San Francisco with F-102 Delta Daggers
USS Card underway with its deck loaded with F-102 Delta Dagger interceptors. The Card left San Francisco and was bound for Vietnam. Image: U.S. Navy

The group was part of the testing and development of the Mark 24 FIDO Air-Dropped acoustic torpedo and the Hedgehog forward-firing depth charge, which was essentially a depth charge mortar. The Hedgehog was fired ahead of the ship to a range of 250 meters, and was equipped with contact fuses that required contact with a hard surface, such as a submarine hull, instead of timed or bathymetric (depth) fuses.

The Hunter-Killer Groups used “Ultra” signals Intelligence provided by Great Britain to track German “Enigma” cipher machines to locate enemy submarines.

The Card then launched its submarine-hunter aircraft, which destroyed the subs with their air-dropped FIDO torpedoes. By the war’s end, the Card had racked up 11 German submarines sunk.

USNS Card in Saigon 1968
The USS Card offloads its cargo in Saigon, 1968. Among the cargo being offloaded are housing trailers and aircraft. Image: U.S. Naval Institute

After World War II, the Card made a few “Magic Carpet” cruises, transporting troops home from overseas, and in 1946, was placed into the reserve fleet in Norfolk, Virginia.

A Second Life

In the mid-1950s, the Card was returned to the fleet as a helicopter escort carrier, then a utility carrier, and finally, in 1959, as an aviation transport ship with the Military Sea Transportation Service (now Military Sealift Command). As an aviation transport ship, it was designated as USNS Card and operated with a civilian crew.

USNS Card in 1965
The refitted USS Card in February 1965. She is seen loading cargo into her enlarged cargo elevator. Image: U.S. Naval Institute

In the early 1960s, the Card began transporting aircraft and helicopters to Vietnam, and returning them to the U.S. for repairs as the war escalated.

The First Attempt

While few know about the sinking of the Card, even fewer know about the first attempt at sinking a carrier. On December 9, 1963, Lam Son Nau — a South Vietnamese man loyal to the north — was a stevedore at the harbor in Saigon and attempted to sink the USNS Core, a similar-type transport ship.

In Early 1963, Nau joined the Viet Cong (VC) as a commando. As spies tend to do, Nau was always collecting intelligence while at work to hand over to the Viet Cong. Nau recruited two other VC sympathizers and set out to sink the Core using IEDs constructed of U.S.-made C-4 explosive with TNT boosters.

USS Card underway during World War II March 1943
The USS Card underway during World War II during March 1943. Image: Florida State Archive

Nau and his men set out on the little canoes used by civilian employees in the harbor through a sewer tunnel that emptied into the harbor. Nao wanted a successful mission, so he measured the tunnel’s height, width, and length to ensure the device would pass through without issue.

While out in the harbor, they were stopped by a harbor security patrol. They gave them a story about boarding a cargo ship to steal some American-made radios, promising them a few as a bribe on their return.

Nao and the accomplices set these charges onto the hull of the Core. When the charges failed, Nao returned to the Core and removed them, discovering the timer batteries had died. This was the first attempt to sink a carrier, and no one aboard the ship even knew about it.

USS Card underway during World War II during anti-submarine patrols in the Atlantic Ocean
The USS Card photographed from US Navy blimp K-20 during an anti-submarine patrol in the Atlantic Ocean. Image: US Navy

Nao returned to the local VC commander and asked for permission to try again. The commander was impressed that Nao had gotten so close to pulling off the bombing and to returning to retrieve the charges. Nao was encouraged to try again and to destroy a ship at all costs, telling him to conduct the operation before sunrise to lessen the chance of civilian deaths.

Lam Son Nao

In an interview with the U.S. Naval Institute, the VC Commando who sank the Card spoke about the operation.

“When I found out that the Card was coming up the river — this was a ship which was carrying all kinds of airplanes to the country to kill the Vietnamese people — I got extremely mad. But I was able to turn my anger into action when I was given the job of trying to blow the ship up in order to give support to the political struggles of the city population.”

The Successful Attack

On May 2, 1964, Lam Son Nau pulled off a seemingly impossible operation, the sinking of a U.S. aircraft carrier. Once again, Nau and his partner, Hung, bribed the port officers who stopped them. They staged the charges in a canoe inside the sewer tunnel.

Hagensen Pack for underwater demolition
The “Hagensen Pack” designed during World War II by Navy Frogman Carl Hagensen. The satchel contained GI wool socks stuffed with C-2 explosive for use by Underwater Demolition Teams. Image: Author/US Navy SEAL Museum

At approximately midnight, Nao and Hung began their operation and swam to the Card, which was located near the sewer tunnel, carrying a device.

The pair spent about an hour planting the two IEDs on the USNS Card just above the water line near the engine compartment and the bilge. One was constructed with 80 kilos of TNT, while the other was 8 kilos of C-4 explosives. Once the charges were planted, the timers were set at 0245 with a 15-minute delay.

The pair swam towards their canoes, then headed to meet the corrupt port security officers, who were awaiting their 2nd bribe.

As they approached, the device went off at approximately 0300, blowing a 12-foot-by-3-foot hole through the hull, flooding the engine room, and sending it down 48 feet to the muddy bottom by the dock where it was moored.

There is a controversy as to whether or not crew members were killed. Some versions claim five crew members were killed in the explosion, while others say there were zero casualties.

USNS Card in Subic Bay
The USNS Card photographed in Subic Bay, Philippines some time in 1969. Image: US Navy

The crew of the Card acted quickly, closing watertight doors and preventing the ship from capsizing. By sunrise, the Card sat aft down. Salvage operations began immediately, and bilge pumps removed water until the Navy brought in a special 6-inch, high-flow discharge pump to dewater the engine room.

On May 19, the Card had been raised approximately 48 feet, enabling the crew to tow the ship to Subic Bay, Philippines, for further repairs before heading to Yokosuka, Japan, for complete repairs and an updated, enlarged elevator deck to accommodate larger cargo.

Following the attack, Navy divers, salvage teams, the tugboat USS Tawakoni (ATF-114), and the salvage ship USS Reclaimer (ARS-42) arrived to assist.

One of the divers was Roy Boehm, a founding member of the U.S. Navy SEALs. After inspecting the damage, Boehm claims he found the remains of a Hagensen Demolition Pack, a specialized charge invented by Navy “frogman” Lt. Carl Hagensen and used by U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) during World War II.

It consisted of eight G.I. wool socks filled with 2.5 pounds of C-2 explosive, contained in a satchel. Boehm believed the Hagensen pack was stolen from a South Vietnamese naval unit by a deserter.

USS Card raised with bilge pumps
Bilge pumps shown in operation on the USNS Card. They helped raise the ship after the attack. Image: US Navy

The sinking of the Card was a propaganda dream for the North, which claimed the sinking and total destruction of the Card.

On the other side, it was a disaster for the United States. The U.S. didn’t want it known that its ships were this vulnerable, as this would also highlight the pitiful security situation at the civilian-run port and the corruption within the South Vietnamese Government.

The U.S. simply reported that the Card was damaged in Saigon. The blackout on the operation prevented the recognition of the outstanding work of the salvage teams, who were able to raise the ship in a mere 17 days.

The North Vietnamese postal service even issued a postage stamp commemorating the sinking. While the U.S. Postal Service did not recognize the stamp, the Canadian postal service had no problem with it.

planes from the USS Card sink German U-boat U-177
Planes from the USS Card sink German U-boat U-177 during November 1943. Image: US Navy

The Card returned to service in December 1964 and continued its mission of helicopter transport support until March 1970, when it was again placed into the reserve fleet after serving with distinction throughout its service life. Approximately one year later, the Card was withdrawn from the reserve fleet and sold for scrap to the Zidell Explorations Corp. for $93,899.99.

The Legacy

The successful attack on the Card changed port security operations forever, and the attack remains a training example to this day. Lam Son Nau was a revolution-educated citizen whose job was to observe and collect intelligence on American forces. With a simple IED, a Vietnamese commando made history with an early example of asymmetrical warfare.

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