Notorious Spy Scandal: Two Degree of Separation

My wife’s cousin Karen was in the Navy. During family gatherings, she and I sometimes trade military stories. It was one such conversation that intrigued me.

During the Cold War, the Navy had placed magnetic sensors underwater, outside the Murmansk harbor in Russia. Every time a ship went over them, the sensors recorded its passing. These were so sensitive that they could tell what type ship had passed.

Karen asked if I had heard of them. She told me that she belonged to the unit that monitored the sensors. That is, until they were compromised. Karen told me that they were betrayed by none other than John Walker, one of the most notorious traitors in history.

Wow. Two degrees of separation from one of the worst spy scandals of the 20th Century.

John Walker was a senior Navy NCO who sold secrets to the Russians. They believe that as a result of some of his treachery, the Russians asked the North Koreans to grab the USS Pueblo so they could get their hands on some of the gear on board.

Ironically, I have a second two-degree separation there. I attended a talk given by one of the Pueblo officers and spoke with him afterward.

Karen’s unit was set up later, and was compromised by Walker’s ongoing spying in the late 70s or early 80s.

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Karen spent time in the Aleutian Islands during the Navy service. She told me they placed pieces of culvert pipe between installations .If anyone was trapped outside during a sudden storm, they could take refuge in the pipe.

I heard a story of one of my uncles who was with the Navy Seabees (Construction Battalions). During the battle for the Aleutian island of Attu, some Japanese hid in caves. Rather than flush them out, the Seabees were brought into action. My uncle was supposedly one of the Seabees who drove armored bulldozers to seal caves where the Japanese were hiding. Of course, that generation of family is gone and I have no way to verify the story.