From the 1940 editorial pages of PM came this column by Henry Paynter (1899 – 1960) who wrote amusingly about the many frustrations facing Japanese spies in North America. Gullible will be one word that comes to mind as you read on. At the height of their irritation, they confided in the German Consul-General stationed in San Francisco – only to learn after the war that he was an FBI informant (you can read about him here). The part that won’t make you laugh is the part where Paynter explains how U.S. Navy intelligence sold a Japanese agent the “plans” of Pearl Harbor for $15,000.00. We can’t help but wonder whether these plans were as distorted and misleading
as the Navy believed, seeing that the Japanese attack on that installation was one of the few Japanese successes throughout the war.
Click here to read a 1942 article about Japanese agents in the United States.
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