Stan. S. Katz

Author of The Emperor and the Spy

San Diego Jewish Journal Holocaust Remembrance Edition May 2016 highlights the historical novel, The Emperor and the Spy and the outstanding achievements of Colonel Sidney Mashbir.

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The first page of article has a photo of General Douglas MacArthur.

It was gifted to Colonel Sidney Mashbir and has an inscription from MacArthur to Mashbir.

This inscription gives a sense of the magnitude of Mashbir’s contributions to the Allies’ Victory in Pacific during WWII.

The inscription reads:

To Mashbir

With admiration and cordial regard from his old comrade-in-arms.

Douglas MacArthur

Tokyo – 1945

 

The Antiquarian and the Creative Writing

by Natalie Jacobs April 29, 2016

Sixteen years ago, Stan Katz had never written a book. The longtime owner of several antiquarian bookstores, Katz knew a lot about books, and had an extensive collection of classics. But he never considered writing one himself, until he heard the story of Colonel Sidney Mashbir.

It was 1999 when someone came into one of Katz’s bookstores with a box of photos and documents.

“I didn’t have any idea what I was really looking at other than it looked really interesting,” he says from his home office in Oceanside.

Katz could immediately gather that the documents were related to intelligence before and during World War II.

“My mom was an Auschwitz survivor and so was her sister. I’ve long had an interest in WWII and what was going on and how it came to be. And then all of a sudden I had the papers of a spy who was very integral in winning WWII, I found out.”

And so began Stan Katz’s investigation into the life and work of Colonel Mashbir, a little-known historical figure from a dense and complicated time period. To help decipher the personal letters and photos from the box he acquired that day in his bookstore, Katz purchased Mashbir’s autobiography, itself an antiquarian rarity (Mashbir’s son later gave Katz the rights to it).

That he had no experience with creative writing didn’t stop Katz from exploring possible ways to use this information, which he immediately felt touched on an important and untold story about a great but mostly forgotten man. Katz spent about a year working on a screenplay, but it didn’t have the “fullness” Katz was looking for. So he settled on an historical novel. But why fictionalize the story if it is so compelling?

“First of all,” he says, “when it comes to spies, you never know the whole story. What happened was, over and over again, I was told by [Mashbir’s] son, by others, that history, in a lot of people’s mind, is boring, it doesn’t engage people.”

To Katz, this was primarily a spy story.

“I would come up with an action-packed espionage novel that’s 70 percent nonfictional in nature, 30 percent fictionalized.”

Katz says he tried to remain true to history even in the fictionalized parts, which required research into people and events that branched off from Mashbir himself. Take, for example, Charles Lindbergh.

“Whether he spoke to Mashbir or not at certain points,” Katz says, “wasn’t as significant as [the fact that Lindbergh] was leading an isolationist movement in America to prevent us from going into WWII. You’ll understand that Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh were leading a massive effort to keep us out of WWII, regardless of what the Jews were going through.”

So instead of a screenplay, in order to explore the depth of not only this figure Mashbir but also the complications of the WWII era, Katz wrote a 500-page novel called “The Emperor and the Spy, The Secret Alliance to End WWII.” The editing process alone took five years.

Sidney Mashbir was Jewish, and very early on in the book, Katz has Mashbir confront that Jewish identity. He’s young and in the Arizona guard, about to embark on a mission to bring the Mexican revolutionary Poncho Villa to a meeting with General John J. Pershing. One of his colleagues says, “Mashbir, is that Jewish?” Mashbir brushes it off, ignoring the question.

“His grandfather was very Jewish Orthodox,” Katz explains. “He forced Mashbir’s mother to move from Tucson where there weren’t that many Jews at the time [late 1800s], to New York to marry a Jewish Russian immigrant. They married, they have a very unhappy marriage. They go back to the Southwest, they try to make it work but Mashbir sees this constant conflict between his Jewish parents and his grandfather who is Orthodox.

“I have to interpret this,” Katz concludes, from his interviews with Mashbir’s son and other genealogical research.

“He got into the military first in 1904. How were Jews treated in our country? How were they seen? Most wouldn’t even be broadcasting that they’re Jewish.”

After a series of military starts and stops, in 1942 General Douglas MacArthur tapped Mashbir to lead the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) within the Southwest Pacific Area. This was a group of nearly 5,000 intelligence agents working to investigate Japanese war crimes.

Katz pulls out a narrow pamphlet filled with names. It’s a list of all the Japanese enemies identified by ATIS; Mashbir’s personal copy.

Katz discovered that Mashbir’s greatest ally in the Japanese government was Emperor Hirohito’s right-hand man, Prince Iyesato Tokugawa.

“There was an intimacy between Mashbir and Tokugawa,” Katz says, holding up a greeting card sent to Mashbir from Tokugawa, and flipping to a photo of the two at a “prestigious luncheon” in Japan.

“[Mashbir] said Prince Tokugawa was so important that if he hadn’t died, the Japanese would not have allied with the Axis Powers. [Mashbir] said that in his autobiography.”

Katz makes the connection that three months after Tokugawa died, in June of 1940, Japan allied with Germany.

“What Mashbir and the war in the Pacific taught was there was a rising fanaticism who felt they were superior to other races and other creeds and they were going to take over by force. The story depicts how the counter effort was – here are individuals, statesmen, who are trying to use cultural, art, science, music interchange, student exchanges, all these different means to create bridges between people so as to prevent conflict and not let militant extremists, close-minded, narrow-minded people, take over.”

For Katz, the fact that Mashbir himself was ultimately unsuccessful in that effort does not diminish his legacy or the importance of diplomacy.

“Mashbir’s insight into the Japanese culture was such that he was able to guide General MacArthur and other leaders, when the war ended, how best to treat occupied Japan and how best to lead it so that it could become the democratic country that we could be allies with.

“We went into a country like Iraq,” Katz says, bringing the argument to present day, “without really understanding the culture, the leadership, how to move forward, and the country fell apart into civil war. The same thing could have happened in Japan.”

Since publishing “The Emperor and the Spy,” Katz has also completed a 300-page online timeline, which chronicles Mashbir and many of the people he came in contact with throughout his life. That document includes rarely seen photographs of Japanese leaders and members of the U.S. military and general society, from documents that Katz has added to his personal collection throughout the years. One of his goals for the book is to see it used in high school and college courses.

“One of these days, it will be used in teaching a very strong message about why the state of Israel happened, how the Holocaust preceded, and about an American Jewish spy who had major impacts in us winning a war. I think he’ll be a household name.”

Katz’s next book project will be a biography on Prince Tokugawa.

Colonel Sidney Mashbir is buried at Fort Rosecrans in Point Loma. Details on the fictionalized account of his life can be found online at TheEmperorAndTheSpy.com

 

 

The second page of article shown below may be hard to read.

For easier reading, the above Transcription was given.

 

 

Front cover: May 2016 San Diego Jewish Journal Holocaust Remembrance Edition

 

BELOW is a Letter to the Publisher of San Diego Jewish Journal, Mark Moss. This letter led to the above magazine article being written.

Dear Dr. Mark Moss,

I hope all is well.

It’s been years since we last met. We have some mutual friends. We spoke to one another at a couple of festive gatherings. Just like yourself, I’m a Dentist whose career went in a very different direction.

Last time we spoke, I mentioned an historical novel I was working on, that had strong connections to Jewish History. You kindly offered to include an announcement or an article linked to the release of this book in the San Diego Jewish Journal.

After sixteen years of writing and research this novel and a website linked to it, are finally completed.

Below are some of the details of this project:

-The title of the novel is, The Emperor and the Spy. It is quite unique, in that it was inspired by my acquisition of the secret personal papers, official documents, and photographs of an American Military Intelligence Officer.

This novel has a strong Jewish theme for various reasons:

1- I’m Jewish and my mother was an Auschwitz survivor.

2- The novel depicts the events leading up to and during the Holocaust, and emphasizes the need for the creation of the State of Israel.

3- The main protagonist in the novel is an unsung hero, an Intelligence agent of Jewish heritage, named Colonel Sidney Mashbir. This master spy allied with top Japanese leaders during the 1920s and 1930s, including members of the Japanese Royal Family. They valiantly attempted to prevent hostilities in Asia, and prevent conflict between their two nations and the outbreak of WWII.

4-Regrettably, when WWII erupted, this intelligence agent of Jewish Heritage, took a major role in defeating the Axis Powers in the Pacific Theater of War. The significant role he took in winning that war will bring pride to the Jewish community, as well as recognition and respect from the general American Public. Colonel Mashbir and the large intelligence organization, ATIS (Allied Translator and Interpreter Section), that he commanded shortened that war by two years!

5- It was surprisingly to discover that one of the peace-loving Japanese leaders who allied with this spy (who is prominently highlighted in the novel), took a pivotal role in the creation of demilitarized “safe zones” in China, that helped save the lives of tens of thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust. These “safe zones” also provided haven to hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians during the years leading up to and during WWII.  This Japanese statesman, Prince Iyesato Tokugawa, an unsung humanitarian hero, put his life in great danger resisting the militarists in his own country and elsewhere, who wanted war.

6- An extensively documented 125 page Application in the name of Prince Iyesato Tokugawa has been created. This application is going to be sent to the commemorative organization in Israel, Yad Vashem. The goal being, that this Japanese statesman receive the honorary recognition of Righteous Among the Nations. This information will also be sent to other humanitarian organizations such as the U.N. to acknowledge this amazing individual.

You’re invited to explore the website, TheEmperorAndTheSpy.com to learn more. This website displays many of the historical documents that inspired the novel.

Please let me know how we might proceed to bring out this story in the San Diego Jewish Journal, honoring unsung heroes from the past.

Thank you so much for your time and attention,

Stan S. Katz

P.S.

Attached to this Letter is the following:

The National Veterans’ Organization, JAVA (Japanese American Veterans Association), reviewed my website’s historical materials and read the novel. They wished to show their support by highlighting the Release of the novel and the website on Page 17 of their 2016 Summer Quarterly Newsletter. That article is included with this email.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Emperor and the Spy, was one of two books highlighted during academic/diplomatic event sponsored by the Prime Minister’s Office of Japan and hosted by San Diego World Affairs Council

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On June 22nd, 2016 the Prime Minister’s Office of Japan sent a delegation of historians, diplomats, military experts, and professors from Japan to America on a goodwill diplomatic/educational tour. They held panel discussions on the rise of international tensions in the Southeast Asian Pacific region, issues involved and possible solutions. The event took place on the campus of the University of San Diego, at the Joan Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice . . . The historical novel, The Emperor and the Spy, honors many Japanese leaders who attempted to prevent World War Two in the Pacific. The author of this novel was invited to do a book signing at this gathering. A copy of the novel was inscribed by the author to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. This copy was given to Kenko Sone the head of the visiting Japanese delegation. Kenko Sone also held the position of Director of Global Communications for the Office of the Prime Minister. Kenko Sone kindly offered to present the inscribed gifted copy to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe upon his return to Japan. Kenko Sone is currently the Consul General to the Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles.

Further description of the above event is given below:

East Asian Geopolitical Realignment, 1930’s and the Present

Hosted by San Diego World Affairs Council

Date and time

Wednesday, June 22, 2016 · 3:15 – 7:30pm PDT

Location

Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, University of San Diego

San Diego, CA 92110

Description

The San Diego World Affairs Council is proud to announce a special event to discuss East Asian geopolitical realignment and regional power shifts in the 1930’s and the present.

The book Fifteen Lectures on Showa Japan: Road to the Pacific War in Recent Historiography structures Panel 2 and is available for discounted sale below and at the event through the sponsorship of the Japan Library.

AGENDA:

Registration: 3:15 PM

Introductions: 3:40 PM

Panel 1: The Role of Japan and its Allies/Regional Partners in Maintaining Peace and Stability in Asia (3:50 – 5:20 PM)

This panel session will examine how Washington, Seoul, Hanoi and other regional partners can work together to maintain regional stability as an increasingly assertive China is rapidly expanding its sphere of influence. While the US bilateral alliances with Japan and South Korea remain vital cornerstones of security in Northeast Asia, China’s challenge to the status quo could escalate tensions and may lead to a crisis in the region. With this as a backdrop, these three experts will provide insights as to how Asian countries are reacting to recent developments in the geopolitical landscape – namely, the South China Sea issue and North Korean nuclear development/missile testing. They will offer their views about how tensions can be diffused to avert a military conflict in the region and create a more stable and secure East Asia.

 

Moderator:

Tosh Minohara (Kobe University)

 

Panelists:

Donald K. Emmerson (Stanford University)

 

Kan Kimura (Kobe University)

 

Chisako Masuo (Kyushu University)

 

Panel 2: Road to the Pacific War in Recent Historiography (5:30 – 6:30 PM)

This panel discussion will celebrate the publication of the book ‘Fifteen Lectures on Showa Japan: Road to the Pacific War in Recent Historiography’. Two Japanese authors whose essays are featured in the book will analyze the events that led to war between the United States and Japan 75 years ago from multiple angles, such as international relations, military balance, Japanese domestic politics and Japanese foreign policy. Professor Doak will moderate the discussion and give an international perspective to this historical analysis

 

Moderator:

Kevin M. Doak (Georgetown University)

 

Panelists:

Haruo Tohmatsu (National Defense Academy of Japan)

 

Kota Watanabe (Teikyo University)

 

Public Reception – Garden of the Sky (6:30 – 7:30 PM)

Hors d’oeuvres and soft drinks

 

During the event we’ll also promote the sale of 2 topically-relevant books:

Fifteen Lectures on Showa Japan: Road to the Pacific War in Recent Historiography
Edited by Tsutsui Kiyotada
Translated by Noda Makito and Paul Narum
***the basis for Panel 2***
sponsored by Japan Library

The Emperor and The Spy: The Secret Alliance to Prevent WWII
by Stan S. Katz
An historical novel based on the brilliant life, exciting exploits and personal papers of American Colonel Sidney Mashbir, who, as a spy, secretly allied with top leaders in Japan, including members of the Japanese Royal Family, in an heroic attempt to prevent conflict between their nations and the outbreak of World War II. On May 18, 2016 an article on Mr. Katz and his book appeared in the San Diego Union Tribune. Mr. Katz will be on hand to sign copies of his book.

Our event is the cusp of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations conference at the University of San Diego (June 23 – 25, 2016).

Organized by

San Diego World Affairs Council

Credit is due to various volunteers from the San Diego World Affairs Council (SDWAC).

Here are two of those who helped organize the event: David Edick Jr. President of  SDWAC and U.S. Ambassador Reno L. Harnish III

 

 

 

 

Osher Lifelong Education Institute – UCSD Presentation. Remarkable story, the alliance between a patriotic U.S. Intelligence Agent, Colonel Sidney Mashbir, and a humanitarian Japanese International Statesman, Prince Iyesato Tokugawa, who heroically delayed and attempted to prevent WWII in the Pacific.

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Osher Lifelong Education Institute – University of California San Diego

January 8th, 2020 the author of historical novel The Emperor and the Spy & the biography The Art of Peace gave a presentation on significant unknown events linked to U.S. Japan relations during the first half of the twentieth century. Highlighted is the fascinating career of the the intelligence agent, Colonel Mashbir, and the outstanding diplomatic and political achievements of Prince Iyesato Tokugawa. Spotlighted is the close friendship and alliance of Colonel Mashbir and Prince Tokugawa.T

The below one hour video that was followed by a one hour non-recorded question and answer session with inquiries from the one hundred attendees.  Hope you enjoy.

1948 – Walt Disney and his corporate pilot Marine Colonel Kelvin Bailey (retired) promote the Marine Corps League Toys for Tots gift campaign.

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One of Colonel Sidney Mashbir’s good friends was Marine Lt. Colonel Kelvin Bailey. When Kelvin Bailey retired from the military, he became corporate pilot for Walt Disney. This 1948 Photo was taken in Walt Disney’s office in Burbank, California. Standing with Walt (he didn’t like being called Mr. Disney) is Kelvin Bailey. They are accompanied by Kelvin’s wife Gwen, who was something of a starlet in her day.

The author of this blog post was gifted this photo by Colonel Robert F. Warren, who was a mutual friend of Colonel Sidney Mashbir and Colonel Kelvin Bailey.

Please note the Marine Corps League Toys for Tots gift boxes in the photo. This national non-profit organization distributes toys to needy kids during the Holidays. Kelvin was an ideal representative for the United States Marine Corps Reserve who run the program. The poster was designed by Walt, and it was the first poster designed for the Toys for Tots program.

Robert Warren shared the below biographical details about Kelvin Bailey.

Kelvin Bailey’s Marine Corps service in WWII included combat flying dive bombers in the Philippine Islands, were exemplary.

Years later, Kelvin became the staff pilot for Medal of Honor recipient Marine Major General Christian Schilt – Schilt received the MOH at a White House Lawn ceremony in 1928. It was presented by President Calvin Coolidge for General Schilt’s heroic action during the Banana Wars in Central America during the 1920s. During a battle, Schilt saved the lives of many wounded Marines by landing his bi-plane, under intense gunfire, on a dirt road in the middle of a town in Nicaragua, delivering ammunition and taking out the wounded who were fastened to the wings. Christian F. Schilt was the 2nd person promoted to the rank of 4 Star Marine Corps General. Previously, the only 4 Star Marine Corps General was the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Schilt received his promotion to 4 Stars on the day he retired.

Robert first met Sidney Mashbir’s friend Kelvin in 1952, at the El Toro Marine Air Station in California, when Robert started his five year tenure as General Schilt’s Aide. The reason Robert was selected for that job was because he could teach Schilt to fly a helicopter. Schilt wore his Lieutenant General (3 Star) rank as the Director of Marine Aviation when Kelvin Bailey and Robert Warren worked for him in Washington for a couple of years.

Robert and Kelvin planned the General’s multiple trips to the Far East and many around the USA as well, often to Washington, D.C. When General Schilt retired in 1957, Kelvin started flying from Washington National Airport, his flights included Presidential candidates Goldwater, Kennedy, and Nixon, monitored by the CIA.

Unexpectedly, Kelvin received a call from a Walt Disney Productions Executive who asked if he would be interested in flying a newly manufactured Disney jet called “Mickey Mouse One.” He accepted the offer and became Walt Disney’s personal pilot, flying the Walt Disney Productions Gulfstream for over ten years. He often flew Walt to Kissimmee, Florida during the planning and building of Walt Disney World. The Gulfstream call sign was, ‘2-3-4 Mickey Mouse’.

 

 

This news article gives details about the Toys for Tots gifting program and the history of Walt Disney Co. as one of the earliest supporters of this organization, working with the Marine Corps Reserves.

Below is a transcription of this article:

Written by Teresa Anicola, Courier-Post, Camden, New Jersey, 07 November 2002, Page 17.

“Bring a new toy to the movie”

“If you’re planning to see Disney’s holiday movie The Santa Clause 2 starring Tim Allen this month bring along something extra – a new toy. Collection bins for the Marine Corp Reserve’s Toys for Tots Program will be place in theaters nationwide so needy children can receive a new toy this holiday season. Toy collections began Sunday and continue through Dec. 18. In addition to theaters, the bins will be place in restaurants and major malls nationwide.

55th season

This year marks the 55th holiday season the Marine Corp Reserves and Disney, a founding sponsor of the drive, have joined to brighten the lives of children. “The mission of both Toys for Tots and the Walt Disney Co. is to help bring a smile to a child’s face.” Said Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner.

The Walt Disney Co. has been an original sponsor of the program since its inception in 1947. In 1948, Walt Disney personally designed the original Toys for Tots logo, which is still in use. He also designed the first poster created for the campaign in 1956 featuring Donald Duck dressed as Santa Claus driving the Toys for Tots logo train.

“We are extremely grateful to Walt Disney for all of their years of support,” said Maj. Bill Green of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Last year, more than 6 million children received toys. Toy collection and distribution will take place in 1,400 communities.

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Regrettably, Colonel Bailey had a serious automobile accident and his health went downhill, but Robert remained his close friend throughout the remainder of Kelvin’s life.

For the past several years, Robert recommended Kelvin Bailey be enshrined in the Michigan Aviation Hall Of Fame.

On April 18th, 2020, a dinner ceremony was scheduled to honor Bailey’s induction into that museum.

What is the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinement? 

The Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame was established in 1987 to recognize men and women who have made significant contributions to aviation. Each year, the Air Zoo is proud to induct a new class of enshrines, who take their place in the Hall of Fame exhibit located inside the Air Zoo. Learn more at airzoo.org/michigan-aviation-hall-of-fame.  

An image of Kelvin Bailey is in the upper left of the above illustration.

Robert stated that he was proud of his long association with Kelvin Bailey and was very pleased with Kelvin’s forthcoming inclusion into military aviation history.

“He richly deserves this high honor.”

 

 

This website includes additional historical information about Kelvin Bailey’s good friends Colonel Sidney Mashbir and Colonel Robert F. Warren.

Below are the autobiographies of these two distinguished military officers:

 

 

 

 

Almost a textbook on Military Intelligence. Originally published 1953.

 

There is also a historical espionage novel about Colonel Mashbir’s adventures. 

 

 

 

 

Colonel Sidney Mashbir’s good friend Colonel Robert F. Warren has just had his autobiography “Only In My America” published highlighting his distinguished military aviation career.

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As an author and historian who has studied and written about Colonel Sidney Mashbir, it was my good fortune when Marine Colonel Robert Warren and his son Marine Captain William Warren contacted me three years ago in 2018 to discuss their close friendship with Colonel Mashbir decades earlier.

During the years leading up to and during World War One, Mashbir had taken a pivotal role in maintaining US homeland security against foreign enemy agents. During WWII, Mashbir headed a top-secret intelligence gathering organization for the Allies that greatly shaped military strategy in the Pacific theater of war. Mashbir met and shared this information with General Douglas MacArthur on a daily basis throughout the war. MacArthur five times recommended Colonel Mashbir be promoted to Brigadier General, but political differences following WWII, resulted in Colonel Mashbir never getting that deserved promotion. To learn more about Colonel Mashbir, fascinating exploits, you’re invited to explore this website TheEmperorAndTheSpy.com when you get the opportunity.

Robert and William Warren, both being younger than Mashbir, were inspired and influenced by Colonel Mashbir’s dedication to the United States of America. Colonel Mashbir was likewise impressed by the heroic military careers of Robert and William Warren and their dedication to their nation. William and Robert were interviewed and generously shared various personal and historical insights about their friend Sidney Mashbir. They also shared some fascinating photos linked to Mashbir’s career.

Both Colonel Mashbir and Colonel Warren had a mutual interest in military aviation – Colonel Mashbir designed the first sonar-guided blind-landing aviation guidance system for the military. And anticipation of the potential outbreak of WWII, Mashbir took a pivotal role in guiding the US industrial production of essential Naval aviation equipment and supplies during the decade prior to WWII.

 

 

BELOW IS A DESCRIPTION OF COLONEL ROBERT F. WARREN’S IMPRESSIVE AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

This is the engaging life story of a decorated United States Marine Corps aviator, who served with distinction in World War II, Vietnam and Korea. Colonel Robert F. Warren is the only Marine aviator who has commanded both a Marine Helicopter Squadron and later a Marine Jet Attack Squadron. Along the way, Colonel Warren earned three Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Legion of Merit with Combat “V” and many other awards in recognition of his heroism and achievements in aerial flight, and his significant contributions to the success of the United States Marine Corps.
Born in Riverside, MI and raised in nearby Coloma, MI after being orphaned by the death of his mother, and the absence of his father, Bob was later adopted by family members. Separated from his older brother, they would both grow up to be pilots – Bill a pioneer in commercial aviation, and Bob a career military pilot.

Bob joined the Navy Flight Training Program in August, 1942. He received his Naval Aviator Wings and Marine Corps 2nd Lieutenant commission at the age of 19. He trained to be a night fighter pilot at Vero Beach, FL in 1944.

In 1945, during World War II, Bob fought as a Marine night fighter pilot during the Battle for Okinawa, and he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for “heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight”.

Warren instructed Marine fixed-wing pilots transitioning to helicopters, at the outbreak of the Korean War, as part of Helicopter Experimental Squadron One in Quantico, VA (HMX-1).  He was one of three original officers assigned to Helicopter Squadron 161 (HMR-161); the first U.S. Military all-helicopter squadron, commissioned in January of 1951. Seven months later, HMR-161 embarked on the USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE-86) for Korea.

Warren was a pioneer helicopter pilot during the Korean War, designing and manufacturing external sling hoists and quick releasing cargo hooks, in the machine shop on board the Sitkoh Bay, en route to Korea. In Korea, HMR-161 was located farther into North Korea than any other U.S. or South Korean force.

Warren participated in Operations Windmill I and II, the first time entire front line battalions were relieved in place, completely by helicopter. Warren was awarded a second Distinguished Flying Cross for Operation Blackbird, a combat operation executed in complete darkness. It was considered the most dangerous mission during the squadron’s entire Korean combat tour. Warren was awarded a third Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroic efforts to rescue a downed pilot forty miles behind enemy lines.

After 14 years of helicopter flying, without an accident, Warren transitioned to flying swept-wing jets. He was assigned as Commanding Officer of a A-4 Marine Attack Squadron 331 (VMA-331). Colonel Warren served a thirteen month tour with distinction in Vietnam. Returning to CA, he commanded a Marine Air Group at MCAS, Tustin.

Warren retired in September, 1969 after more than 27 years of military flying. Between 1981 and 1987, Warren was recalled to active duty six times, to serve at the Pentagon on an Advisory Committee on Retired Personnel.

 

Below are some additional fascinating historical materials and information linked to the military career of Robert Warren:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1965: Colonel Robert F. Warren VMA 331 CO.

Below is the jet linked to Colonel Robert F. Warren:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1969: Colonel Robert F. Warren.

Col. Robert F. Warren was honored into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame on May 21, 2011. This hall of fame is part of what is known as the Air Zoo, which described below:

 

About the Air Zoo

The Air Zoo is a highly charged, multi-sensory atmosphere that goes beyond anything you’ve ever seen. It’s like no place else on Earth!

The Air Zoo, founded as the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, is an aviation museum and indoor amusement park next to the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport in Portage, Michigan. The Air Zoo holds many historical and rare aircraft, including the world’s fastest air-breathing aircraft, the SR-71B Blackbird. Many of its antique planes are airworthy. Among its other attractions are a 180-degree Theater that projects a 4-D simulation of a B-17 bombing mission during World War II. There are also various amusement park-style rides, including Full-Motion Flight Simulators of a rocket trip to Mars, U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornets, a stunt biplane, a hot air balloon, and more. Air Zoo is a Smithsonian Affiliate.

https://www.airzoo.org/

Voted the “Best Place to Take Out-of-Towners” and “Best Place to Spend a Day with Your Family” three years in a row, offering historical exhibits and educational activities.

Our Mission is to preserve the legacy of flight for present and future generations.

Our Vision is to be the number one aviation museum in the world.

Our Pledge is to provide the best experience possible to everyone, every time.

 

The below biographical material comes from the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame:

Colonel Robert F. Warren, USMC, Retired

1923-

Colonel Robert F. Warren was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1923 and went on to join Helicopter Experimental Squadron One in Quantico, Virginia where he instructed marine fixed-wing pilots transitioning to helicopters at the outbreak of the Korean War. Warren was one of three original officers assigned to Helicopter Squadron 161 (HMR-161), the first U.S. Military all-helicopter squadron.

Seven months after receiving its first helicopter, HMR-161 embarked on the USS Sitkoh Bay for Korea. Using the ship’s machine shops on route to Korea, Warren helped design and manufacture external sling hoists and quick-loading external cargo hooks which became the norm for helicopter operations for years to come.

Warren was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for Operation Blackbird, a night combat operation executed in complete darkness and considered the most hazardous by HMR-161 during its entire Korean combat tour.
On February 8, 1952, he rescued a downed pilot 40 miles behind enemy lines for which he was awarded a second Distinguished Flying Cross. In 14 years of helicopter flying, he never had a single accident, although he experienced complete engine failure twice. Both times he auto rotated to a safe landing.

Back in the U.S., Warren was promoted to major and selected as aide-de-camp to Medal of Honor winner General Christian Schilt, USMC. Upon Schilt’s retirement in 1957, Warren returned to Santa Ana where he joined HMM-363. He was in charge of a three helicopter special mission which transported President Dwight Eisenhower from the San Francisco International Airport to the Presidio.

In the U.S., he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and served as a helicopter tactics instructor in the Marine Corps Command and Staff College in Quantico for the next four years. He was then transferred to the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, S.C. to transition to flying fixed-wing jets. Upon completion, he was assigned as commanding officer, Marine Attack Squadron-331 (VMA-331). Warren is the only pilot to have commanded both a Marine Corps helicopter squadron (HMH-363) and a Marine Corps jet attack squadron (VMA-331).

In June of 1968, he returned to California in command of a Marine helicopter air group comprising seven squadrons and more than 5,000 Marines. He retired in September, 1969 after 27 years of active duty flying. From 1981 to 1987 he was recalled to active duty and ordered to the Pentagon six times to serve on an advisory committee for the Secretary of the Navy.
Col. Robert F. Warren was enshrined into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame on May 21, 2011.

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Currently available as an EBook.

Print Edition available October 1, 2021, but can be pre-ordered. 

Being a new release, please consider sharing  a book review with Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Goodreads – Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This BLOG POST presents Robert Warren and William Warren’s personal memories of their secret agent friend Sidney Mashbir, someone they both highly respected. 

Another BLOG POST highlights Colonel Kelvin Bailey, a mutual friend of Colonel Mashbir and Colonel Warren, who after retiring from his distinguished military aviation career, became the personal/corporate pilot for Walt Disney.

 

 

 

Colonel Mashbir was instrumental in correcting an injustice that made a life-changing difference to a couple of young soldiers he never met. This historical material also gives insights into U.S. Korean relations and the rise of communism just prior to the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-1953).

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Shown below are a letter, a photo, and a four page document that were sent to me by Jody Baltz, the son-in-law of Robert Wilson Murphy, of one of those two soldiers.

Jody and his wife Lesa, who is the youngest of Wilson’s three daughters, contacted me to let me know that Colonel Mashbir was a hero not only to his father-in-law, but also to Jody and Lesa’s entire family, who deeply respected Colonel Mashbir for what he did.

Jody and Lesa live in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Circa 1950, Robert Wilson Murphy

Robert Wilson Murphy was restored to duty on 25 March 1949.

——————————————————————————————————

September 2020

Stan:

Attached is the Memo that Col. Mashbir wrote in 1948 that restored my future father-in-law, Robert Wilson Murphy (1928-2017), to duty. He was in the 6th Division, 20th Infantry Regiment, during the Korean occupation (post-WWII) and stationed in Kwangju. The unit was involved in demobilizing the Japanese forces and providing back up to the Korean constables as Korea was overrun at that time by organized criminal and/or communist gangs. During his tour of duty he and another soldier were attacked, but blame was assessed against them, and both were court-martialed and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. Eventually they were pardoned and restored to duty.

For over fifty years my father-in-law had a lot of guilt and embarrassment about being court-martialed and imprisoned. He would never talk about his service, but since we were interested he finally let us digitize his photo scrapbook that covered his time in the army and began to tell us about what had happened. In 2006 he obtained a copy of his service file (scorched and partially burned, but it survived the infamous 1973 St. Louis fire) and that is when we found out that Col. Mashbir was instrumental in correcting an injustice. He had written a memo that analyzed the case and recommended his restoration to duty, which was ultimately approved.

After reading about Col. Mashbir’s background and service, we soon realized that it was a miracle that Wilson’s case crossed his desk at that time – first, in that Mashbir was at the Pentagon only a short time before retiring, so the window of opportunity for him to review the case was small, and secondly, in that no one could better appreciate the Korean/Far East situation at the time.

We know it was not a big incident in Mashbir’s career, but it sure made a life-changing difference to a couple of young soldiers he never met and that is why I thought you would be interested in it.

If you have any questions, or need more info, just let me know. If convenient, please reply so that I know the email with the attachments got through to you.

 

Regards,

Jody Baltz

P.S. As an aside, for many years we could not understand why one of Wilson’s favorite movies was “A Few Good Men” since he rarely watched movies with profane language; that is, until we heard his story.

 

——————————————————————————————————

The following four page document highlights Colonel Mashbir’s decision to exonerate Robert Wilson Murphy and another young soldier.

-Below the images of this document is a Transcription of the four pages.

This document almost didn’t survive a major fire, but it now lives on as a tribute to one of Colonel Mashbir’s many worthy achievements.

Colonel Mashbir’s father was an attorney, who went blind, and at the age of 13 Sidney Mashbir assisted his father in reading his legal documents to him, and various other legal responsibilities. His attorney  skills are apparent in the below document.

Thanks go out to you Jody and your family for sharing this material.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRANSCRIPTION OF THE ABOVE FOUR PAGE DOCUMENT:

 

COPY:

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

OFFICE OF THE ADJUTANT GENERAL

Washington 25, D. C.

AGEZ 220.89   (2 Dec 48)                                                  7 December 1948

 

MEMORANDUM FOR:    Colonel Lloyd R. Garrison, Chief, Correction Branch, AGO

 

SUBJECT:       Restoration to duty of Sergeant Robert W. Murphy, RA 14 219 538 and Private First Class Curtis V. Allred, RA 19 281 204.

 

DISCUSSION

 

  1. Both of these men were sentenced for “acting jointly and in pursuance of common intent” with certain Koreans, in the damaging of a field safe valued at $40.12; in the felonious taking, stealing and carrying away of a pistol, ammunition and military payment certificates of a total value of $4,333.75 (changed by the court to $1,500); and of wrongly displaying cowardice in permitting depredation of the Non-Commissioned Officers Club, 20th Infantry, and for wrongly displaying cowardice in failing to properly safeguard the contents of the club after overpowering the attackers, by permitting them to commit depredations of government property.

 

  1. Certain facts are at once apparent:

 

a. These men were convicted by evidence of two Koreans, admitted criminals, whose testimony was contradictory to that of the Americans.

 

b. When first attacked by the armed Koreans, although unarmed, they instantaneously, entirely as a reflex action without time for consideration, and with great personal courage attacked and disarmed the latter, one of them receiving a hand injury while so doing.

 

c. (1) As is clearly evidenced, on being given a chance to think of the matter these soldiers used very sound and, for their years, quite mature judgement.

 

(2) Murphy realized that the military payment certificates had no real value for the Koreans and told them so.

 

(3) In fact, he pretended to go along with their [illegible – fire damaged]

attempting revenge on the 1st Sergeant, and [illegible – fire damaged]

to burn the certificates. This clearly shows that he

used excellent judgement in that destruction [illegible – fire damaged]

entail no real loss. It must have been obvious to him

 

[Page 1]

 

 

AGEZ 220.89 (2 Dec 48)                                7 December 1948

SUBJECT:       Restoration to duty of Sergeant Robert W. Murphy, RA 14 219 538 and Private First Class Curtis V. Allred, RA 19 281 204.

 

that the threats to burn the club would, if carried out, be much more costly than some certificates which could be and were for the most part recaptured.

 

(4) Furthermore, the judgement he used in not shooting the Koreans when he had the shotgun is underlined by the fact that if he killed them both, he would have at least been convicted of manslaughter; had he only killed one, the other would have sworn him into prison. It must be borne in mind that the testimony of the Koreans who were self-confessed criminals, which was accepted to convict these men was directly contradictory to the evidence of the Americans themselves.

 

(5) Had they shot the Koreans the prosecution undoubtedly would have adduced evidence to prove that the duties of the soldiers were that of cook and mess-attendant; that they were not officially posted as sentries, and that the use of force was illegal. This latter point would have been emphasized by showing that Murphy shot them with a shotgun instead of a service weapon.

 

(6) The threats of the Koreans to the effect that their communist friends were surrounding the building and would kill the Americans and burn the building were admitted by the trial JA to have been the principal motive and cannot be discounted, as throughout the war we found the Koreans to be cowardly as individuals but cruel in gangs. The Korean conscript laborers when captured complained much more of the cruelty of their own Korean non-coms than that of the Japs. After the earthquake in Japan (1 September 1923) bands of Koreans began to loot, burn and rape, and to poison wells almost as soon as the fifteen minute first shock ended.

 

(7) It was a fair assumption, even to two youngsters relatively new to the Orient, that the two men alone would hardly have attempted the crime, unless covered by a larger force.

 

(8) The disparity in sizes was meaningless [this page section was fire destroyed]

all adult males are taught some form [this page section was fire destroyed]

 

-2-

 

 

AGEZ 220.89 (2 Dec 48)                                                                            7 December 1948

SUBJECT:       Restoration to duty of Sergeant Robert W. Murphy, RA 14 219 538 and Private First Class Curtis V. Allred, RA 19 281 204.

 

Had they been expert athletes could the boys have coped with them unarmed. One of our earlier prisoners – a Korean coolie – feigned illness in the compound and when the Australian sentry came over to aid him, this five foot prisoner flipped the six foot armed Aussie half way across the yard.

 

  1. Entirely aside from the threat of the Koreans that the band of communists would kill them later and burn the club, we have two American youths of excellent character, from average families, with good religious and family upbringing, to whom undoubtedly the killing of anyone – let alone unarmed men – would be repugnant, faced with the decision of calmly shooting them down with a shotgun in cold blood, or permitting them to damage a safe and burn some certificates or steal them knowing they would surely be caught. They had already shown their courage by their instinctive reflex action to surprise.

 

  1. As opposed to this, and after their first reckless attack which did disarm the Koreans, the two men were confronted with the decision as to whether or not they should risk – what from the threats which they believed, appeared to be – certain death and the destruction of the entire club building and all its contents, in order to safeguard some comparatively worthless items which it was not, repeat not, their duty to guard with their lives.

 

CONCLUSIONS:

 

  1. That the men both showed adequate courage in attacking and disarming the Koreans.

 

  1. That, realizing the relative uselessness of the material to the Koreans and the moral certainty of its recapture, with good judgement the did not uselessly,

 

  1. Risk what they believed to be certain death from the communists.

 

  1. Risk destruction by fire of the clubhouse and all [illegible – fire damaged] tents which were much more valuable, than the articles taken.

 

  1. That had they shot one or both of the unarmed Koreans [illegible – page section fire damaged]

gun they would inevitably have been charged with murder [illegible – page section fire damaged]

 

-3-

 

 

 

AGEZ 220.89 (2 Dec 48)                                               7 December 1948

SUBJECT:       Restoration to duty of Sergeant Robert W. Murphy, RA 14 219 538 and Private First Class Curtis V. Allred, RA 19 281 204.

 

convicted, and had one or both Koreans survived, their perjured testimony would surely have convicted the two Americans.

 

  1. That the disparity in physical size was meaningless in view of the age, toughness and probable skill in Judo of the Koreans.

 

  1. That neither man was duly posted or armed as a sentry and that as cook and mess attendant it was not, repeat not, their duty to risk their lives for a $40.00 field safe, a non-regulation privately owned pistol and $1500 in military payment certificates which were worthless to the thieves.

 

  1. That for some unknown reason, which might possibly have political implications, the sworn testimony of two American soldiers of excellent character, who could not have and were not alleged to or proven to have derived any pecuniary benefit, was disregarded and the evidence of self-admitted foreign criminals was accepted.

 

  1. That the threat of seven communist confederates who would kill them and burn the building was highly credible… and was obviously fully believed by the two young Americans. This is admitted by the trial Judge Advocate to have been the real activating force.

 

  1. That no civil crime of any kind was involved and the crime of larceny should not have been alleged.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

  1. That both men be restored to duty at the earliest practicable moment.

 

  1. That steps be immediately inaugurated to set aside the findings of the court martial.

 

/s/ Sidney F. Mashbir

 

SIDNEY F. MASHBIR

Colonel [illegible – fire char]

Branch [illegible – fire char]

 

 

-4-

 

 

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COLONEL MASHBIR, YOU’RE INVITED TO VISIT THE WEBSITE:

TheEmperorAndTheSpy.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colonel Sidney Mashbir’s widow Alice gifted her husband’s portrait of General MacArthur to his good friends Marine Captain William Warren and Marine Colonel Robert F. Warren…Robert and William shared their personal experiences with their friend Sidney.

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Having studied and written about Colonel Sidney Mashbir, it was my good fortune when Robert Warren and his son William Warren contacted me in 2018 to discuss their close friendship with Colonel Mashbir many years earlier.

William and Robert generously shared various historical materials linked to Colonel Mashbir (1891-1973). This blog post will present a number of those items, as well as Robert and William’s recollections of Colonel Mashbir. Also included is biographic material about Robert and William Warren, who being younger than Mashbir, were inspired and influenced by Colonel Mashbir’s heroic dedication to our nation.

-The oil painting illustration of General Douglas MacArthur shown above is courtesy of the William Warren.

 

Further details about the General MacArthur oil painting.

Below is an email sent by William (aka Bill) dated April 17, 2018, giving more info about the history of the painting and why it was gifted to him.

“Stan, here are photographs of the portrait of General MacArthur.  I have provided three views, one where I stood back in order to give you an idea of the relative size of it.

According to Alice Mashbir, she thought that Sid would have wanted me to have this portrait as it was one of his most loved things.  The portrait hung over his mantle at his house in Emerald Bay (Laguna Beach).  Also according to Alice, Sid acquired this portrait from an art store in New York (City I think) and it was a big secret about what he may have paid for it.  It was apparently commissioned by General MacArthur’s wife.  The story goes that when she discovered an infidelity she threw champagne at the portrait.  That may be true since one can clearly see very faint dribbles of something.

The artist of the portrait was Julian Lamar.  I am not sure when it was painted.  A bit about Julian Lamar:

Born Julian Kitchen Lamar Miller in Augusta, Georgia, he shortened his name to Lamar in 1922 to honor his mother’s family and to make his name more memorable as an artist. Although he began painting as a child, his family encouraged him to attend the United States Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1918. After the Armistice, he resigned his commission to concentrate on his career as an artist. Lamar lived for a while in Chicago, then moved to New York in 1920.

He maintained an active studio in New York, but traveled extensively to paint his subjects in their native surroundings. He painted many prominent figures, including Prime Minister Winston Churchill; President Franklin D. Roosevelt; Franklin H. Martin, President, American College of Surgeons; and Governor Frank Dixon, Alabama. He was also an accomplished landscape painter.

You can Google him…there is a lot of information about him on the web.

Enjoy Stan.  I will forward documents this afternoon.

Bill Warren”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 19, 1945, Lt. General Kawabe, Takashiro met by Mashbir.                Source of photo: courtesy of William Warren.                                      

Besides taking a decisive role in the winning of WWII, Colonel Mashbir also helped orchestrate the Japanese Surrender Signing Ceremony, officially ending the conflict. In the above photo, Mashbir receives the Japanese Surrender Signing Arrangement committee in Manila, Philippines. They would work together to organize the details for the surrender.

The term V-J Day represents both the initial announcement of Japan’s surrender on the afternoon of August 15, 1945 in Japan, and because of time zone differences, August 14, 1945 when it was announced in the United States and the rest of the Americas and Eastern Pacific Islands. V-J Day is also represented as September 2, 1945, when the actual signing of the surrender document occurred, officially ending World War II.

 

A Gift to Colonel Mashbir from General MacArthur

The Photo inscription reveals Mashbir’s significant role in winning World War Two.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“To Mashbir”


“With admiration and cordial regard from his old comrade-in-arms.”


“Douglas MacArthur”


“Tokyo – 1945”   

 

 

Twenty seven years later, in 1972, the below inscribed portrait photo of Colonel Mashbir was respectfully gifted to his good friend Robert Warren, who Mashbir addressed as:

“Colonel Bob Warren, a gallant Marine”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert’s son, William, has added the below description linked to this photo.

“Here is a photo of Sid with an inscription to my Dad and Mother (Millie).  Mother passed away in January 2010, but she, my Dad, Sid and Alice became good friends over the years.  This photo is dated 1972.  There are two photos of my Dad that I thought you might like to have, one was his official USMC photo taken in 1969 I think and the other where he is posed on the jet was taken, I think, in 1965 (see below).  He was then a Lt. Colonel and was the Commanding Officer of the Marine Attack Squadron, VMA-331 based in Beaufort, SC.  The squadron flew the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.  A side note, one of the previous Commanding Officers of VMA-331 was Lt. Colonel Don Conroy who was the “Great Santini” character in Pat Conroy’s novel of the same name.” 

 

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________________

 

Presented below is further Information about Colonel Mashbir and other topics gathered during an interview with Colonel Robert F. Warren – May 18, 2018.

Colonel Robert F. Warren proudly mentioned that his son William had been an infantry platoon leader in Viet Nam, and that the survival rate for that position averaged only 4-6 months. Thank God he made it back.

Robert stated he spent many hours with Mashbir and recalled that Mashbir was angry with General Willoughby, who was General MacArthur’s chief of staff GHQ during WWII. Robert said that Mashbir would mockingly imitate Willoughby’s accent. Mashbir’s anger stemmed from his feeling that Willoughby had often prevented Mashbir from directly delivering urgent strategic information to MacArthur, and that Willoughby regularly took credit for many of Mashbir’s ideas.

Below are a number of other comments Colonel Warren made related to Colonel Mashbir.

-When Mashbir returned to the Imperial Hotel after surviving the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Hotel Manager Inmaru (sp?) responded as if, “He couldn’t be more surprised if he’d seen the Buddha step out of Hell.”

-Robert clarified a matter linked to the historical novel about Colonel Mashbir, titled The Emperor and the Spy. Robert said that Mashbir’s good friend James Moriarty (Marine) was sent to China first, then to Japan.

-Sidney Mashbir’s son Forrester (his older son) became the manager of entertainment at the Sands Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas.

-Robert met Don Mashbir (Sidney’s younger son) and Don’s wife Rosa.

-Sid told Don that Sid didn’t want heroics to keep him alive when he got near the end.

-Sidney Mashbir’s home was in Emerald Bay, in Laguna Beach, which has beautiful views.

-Sid came to Robert’s military retirement party.

-Sid started the Pan-Pacific Club of Tokyo. Robert said, “Sid had a strong positive feeling for the whole nation of Japan.”

-Robert stated, “Sid had respect for the top levels of the Japanese hierarchy who were against war; they were almost prisoners of the military or they were eliminated altogether.”

-When Mashbir was leaving Japan, he laid on the floor of the ship, so as not to see Mt. Fuji, because he was superstitious that if you do not wish to return to Japan, you should not look back at that magnificent mountain view.

 

William Warren wrote the below letter:

“I have just ordered two copies of your book [The Emperor and the Spy], one for my father and one for myself. Both of us had the pleasure of calling Colonel Mashbir our friend. I personally spent many, many hours with Colonel Mashbir at his home in Laguna Beach. He and his second wife, Alice were host to me on many, many weekends when I was a young Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps. Sid also invited me to the Army and Navy Club in Washington DC where I believe he was a charter member. He was a most amazing man and one of my all-time heroes!! After Sid’s death, Alice sent me the original oil painting of General MacArthur that was one of his prized possessions. This portrait hung over the mantel in his Laguna Beach home. Alice told me that Sid would have wanted me to have this portrait and that I was to forever keep this in my family, never giving it to a museum or selling it. That portrait still hangs in my home today. Alice also gave me a copy of Sid’s book, “I was an American Spy” and she endorsed the book for me.

I have not yet read your book, but would love to keep in touch with you. Thank you for honoring this great man.

(William) Bill Warren, 9026 Mossy Hill Lane, Indian Land, SC 29707.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presented below are William Warren’s comments after reading this novel:

“Review of “The Emperor and the Spy”

“A true story of intrigue, history and a little known American hero.”

By Bill Warren on May 27, 2018

“I had the good fortune to have met Colonel Sidney Mashbir when I was a newly minted Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. It was my distinct honor to have spent hours and hours with him over the years, visiting him both in his home in Laguna Beach, California and at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC where he enjoyed the status as a charter member. During those visits, Colonel Mashbir related hundreds of stories and showed me untold number of documents and I think I spent hundreds of hours listening to him. I am not sure what cemented the relationship I had with this fascinating hero, but I treasured every moment and consider him to have been among my very best friends, mentor and teacher. I am both in awe of and pleased with Stan S. Katz who recognized a real hero of our country and that he undertook the mission to write this book. His research for The Emperor and the Spy, appears to be meticulous and he tells a story that NEEDS to be told. Not many would ever have guessed that Colonel Mashbir served with General Pershing in Mexico. Likewise, who would have believed that Colonel Mashbir would have become so endeared with, respected by and maintained a secret alliance with the royal family of Japan prior to World War II. The Colonel indeed had a special relationship with Prince Tokugawa, the Emperor Hirohito and their families. Through these relationships, Colonel Mashbir made a valiant attempt to avert WWII in the Pacific. That is just part of the story. The other part is the intelligence work performed for General Douglas MacArthur during the war that, without a doubt, shortened the war with Japan. Even after the war, Colonel Mashbir utilized his deep understanding of the Japanese and his friendship with many of its leaders to make major contributions to the peaceful occupation of Japan and without those efforts, the outcome of post-war Japan would have been a completely different country.

Stan Katz skillfully weaves this story into a very readable and exciting historical fictionalized novel. His facts, based on the stories told to me by Colonel Mashbir are genuine and because of the nature of Colonel’s work, are irrefutable. Stan easily stands with Bernard Cornwell, Jeff Sharra and Michael Sharra in his skill constructing a superb story around historical facts and with Brad Meltzer in his ability to develop historical characters while keeping the adventure exciting. If you like historical novels and want to learn about a real American hero, you will find it in this magnificent book.” Note: On May 13th, 2018, Bill Warren called his father Robert and related, “That his Dad had read the first half of The Emperor and the Spy, and was thoroughly enjoying it.”

 

Another Interview with William Warren linked to Colonel Mashbir.

William described Sidney Mashbir as the consummate gentlemen. Rarely, if ever, did he hear him raise his voice. William commented that I had captured the essence of the man in The Emperor and the Spy, and that he thought Sidney and I would have gotten along well, which made my day. 

William confirmed what his father Robert had told him, that during WWII, Mashbir hated General Willoughby and they had numerous confrontations/tussles. William felt that Willoughby outranked Mashbir and Mashbir had to take it. “Mashbir couldn’t stand the man.” William said, “Willoughby might have blocked Mashbir from getting directly to General MacArthur, but Mashbir probably violated the chain of command to get to General MacArthur on occasion.”

William stated I got the story right in the novel, that when recruiting the Nisei for the WWII intelligence organization ATIS, it helped that they could both speak and read the language. Speaking Japanese is relatively easy, but reading it is much more difficult.

William said he thought that MacArthur felt somewhat abandoned in the Pacific theater, with most of the military resources going to the European theater of war.

 

THESE BOOKS OFFER FURTHER INSIGHTS INTO THE FASCINATING AND EXCITING EXPLOITS OF COLONEL MASHBIR.

 

 

 

This biography highlights one of Colonel Mashbir’s most influential Japanese allies, Prince Tokugawa Iesato.

During the 1920s and ’30s, Mashbir and Tokugawa heroically strove to maintain the goodwill between their nations. 

Available in Print and Kindle EBook

 

 

 

EBOOK REPUBLICATION OF COLONEL MASHBIR’S 1953 AUTOBIOGRAPHY

 

 

 

 

PARTING NOTE:

It was a pleasure meeting Robert and William Warren, two impressive gentlemen who proudly served our nation.

Colonel Robert F. Warren wrote a screenplay, and in association with U.S. military historian and writer, Navy Lt. Charles Wyatt, they completed an adaptation of that screenplay into a short novel titled: The Elephants of Trabong – This dramatic and engaging story is linked to Robert’s experiences during the Viet Nam War, where his assignment was to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese citizenry thru improving the economic life in their villages. It would definitely make a great movie!

*Representatives of the film industry can receive a synopsis of the screenplay and novel thru the below contacts:

William Warren:   [email protected]

Colonel Robert F. Warren also wrote an autobiography on his personal life story & military experiences in three wars. 

Blog link on the website for more information about Colonel Warren and his autobiography “ONLY IN MY AMERICA”.

 

 

 

 

 

Captain Sidney Mashbir’s successful 1922 secret mission prevented a potential war in Asia. However, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 again destabilized Japan – During the challenging first months following that major disaster, Mashbir spearheaded a U.S. Medical Relief Effort to assist many of the injured Japanese.

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In 1922, Mashbir completed a dangerous mission in Vladivostok, Russia, preventing the outbreak of a regional war between Japan, China, and Russia, which might have expanded further!

The following year on September 1, 1923, the most destructive natural disaster in modern Japanese history occurred, The Great Kantō Earthquake (関東大震災, Kantō daishinsai), a Japanese natural disaster in the Kantō region of the island of Honshū. This earthquake destroyed Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka, and approximately 140,000 people died. During the challenging first months following that major disaster, Mashbir spearheaded an American Medical Relief Effort to assist many of the injured Japanese – As part of this humanitarian process, Mashbir created the first English – Japanese Medical Translation Dictionary that was used by English speaking health care workers while treating Japanese speaking patients.

The Great Kanto Earthquake, dramatically threw Japan back into a state of political and social instability. The Emperor and the Spy historical novel reveals Mashbir’s involvement during these dramatic events.

 

 

 

 

The above November 10th, 1923 photo is labeled: The Volunteer Workers American Relief in Japan

Mashbir (fourth from the left) led this group immediately after the Great Kanto Earthquake. These were the first relief workers to coordinate a major rescue/medical response to this major disaster. Mashbir and his team’s altruistic efforts were gratefully appreciated and remembered by the leaders of Japan. This picture was taken approximately two months after the earthquake, once things had been gotten under control, with Mashbir and his team proudly standing in front of the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, after a job well done. The back of this photo is presented below.

 

Most of these volunteers’ names listed below:

1- Lieutenant A. H. McCollum, U. S. Navy
2- Unnamed civilian
3- Captain T. M. Martin, U.S. Army
4- Major Sidney F. Mashbir, U.S. Army
5- Lieutenant Dillingsworth, U.S. Army
6- Captain Joe Hickey, U.S. Marine Corps
7- Robert F. Moss, a civilian
8- Mr. Harper, a civilian
9- Major Edward Witsell, U.S. Army
10- Reverend Ziemans, civilian
11- Colonel Chas (Charles) Burnett U.S. Army
12- Unnamed civilian
13- Major P. R. Faymonville U.S. Army
14- Captain W. J. Clear, U. S. Army
15- Lieutenant David Tait, U. S. Army
16- Unnamed civilian

Side note: Who would have thought when this photo was taken, it would be almost a century later that this never before publicly seen photo would be shared over the world wide web, honoring these volunteers’ heroic efforts.

The backdrop for the above group photo, the Imperial Hotel, was Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural masterpiece. It was one of the very few large structures not destroyed by the earthquake. Due to the vast destruction throughout Japan, this hotel was temporarily used as the American Embassy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A 1920’s postcard photo of the Imperial Hotel.

Captain Sidney Mashbir realized that language barriers would get in the way of English speaking emergency health care providers from being able to communicate with and assist the injured Japanese who spoke only Japanese, so he cleverly created an English to Japanese / Japanese to English Medical Translation Dictionary to better facilitate the  treatment of these injured Japanese during the traumatic aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake; further below is this 24 page bilingual medical dictionary.

It was republished in 1942, by the then Colonel Mashbir, probably to assist in the treatment of Japanese prisoners of war, who needed U.S. medical treatment. That conflict which Mashbir had devoted his efforts to prevent between the U.S. and Japan during the 1920s and 1930s, regrettably, could not be avoided. The below medical dictionary honors Colonel Mashbir’s altruistic intentions towards the Japanese, and it might also served as a template for an updated version for today to assist in medical situations involving English / Japanese translation while taking a patient’s medical history and to better understand the patient’s current symptoms/injuries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Evening Post magazine in 1948 presented a three part weekly series on Colonel Mashbir titled, ”I Was An American Spy.” This probably inspired Mashbir to write his autobiography titled: I Was an American Spy, which was published in 1953.

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Two and one half years after the end of WWII, Colonel Mashbir felt the time was finally right to share some of the details of his many adventures in espionage

The below Saturday Evening Post magazines from March 27th, 1948, April 3rd, 1948, and April 10th, 1948 present a three part series about Colonel Mashbir, which has the same title as as Mashbir’s upcoming 1953 autobiography titled; I Was an American Spy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above magazine photo presents Colonel Mashbir greeting the Japanese surrender signing arrangement delegation in Manila, Philippines, in preparation for the official Japanese Surrender Signing Ceremony that took place on the deck of USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945 which ended WWII. This was a conflict that Mashbir had devoted his full energies during the 1920s and 30s attempting to prevent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is an Amazon link to Colonel Mashbir’s autobiography:

I Was an American Spy

Colonel Mashbir’s autobiography, “I Was an American Spy”

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It is an honor to announce the publication of:

The 65th Anniversary Edition of Colonel Sidney Forrester Mashbir’s exciting 1953 autobiography:

I WAS AN AMERICAN SPY

 

Besides being a fascinating story, Colonel Mashbir’s autobiography is a textbook in the art of espionage and counter-espionage.

Colonel Mashbir (1891-1973) led an adventurous life – At the age of thirteen, he began his military career as a bugle boy in the Arizona Guard, in the still untamed Arizona Territory. During 1914-1916, he served under General Funston and General Pershing, and went on daring missions across the U.S./Mexican border during the Mexican Revolution, attempting to maintain stability between those nations. He personally escorted the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa to a peace parley with General Pershing in 1914.

During World War One, Mashbir protected U.S homeland security. He headed the U.S. Army’s Eastern Division of counter-espionage where he eliminated an extensive domestic spy network.

After WWI, Mashbir was attached to the U.S. Embassy in Japan in the early 1920s. Mashbir became fluent in the Japanese language and intimately familiar with the Japanese culture. During the early 1920s, Mashbir was sent on a perilous top secret mission into Russia and China, where he used his clever bluffing abilities to prevent a regional war.

During the two decades prior to WWII, Mashbir allied and befriended many leaders of Japan, including members of the Japanese Royal Family. Together, they strove to preserve peace between their nations. But the winds of war could not be stopped – When WWII erupted, Colonel Mashbir became General MacArthur’s top intelligence advisor – He commanded a top secret intelligence gathering organization called A.T.I.S. (Allied Translator and Interpreter Section) that dramatically shaped the successful strategy in the Pacific. In spite of it being many decades since the end of WWII, ATIS is still little known about. This organization was composed mainly of thousands of Japanese American Nisei (persons born in the United States whose parents were immigrants from Japan) who served as translators, interpreters, interrogators, and also went out into the battlefield. Their heroic contributions significantly shortened the war, saving countless lives.

Once WWII ended, Mashbir took a pivotal role in bringing Japan and the U.S. together again as allies. He served as translator and liaison between General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito during eleven top secret meetings during the early reconstruction period of Japan.

As a pioneer of modern military intelligence, Mashbir was one of the two men who prepared the first draft implementing directives for the creation of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) at the request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

On a related note – The historical novel The Emperor and the Spy dramatically highlights the exciting life and accomplishments of Colonel Mashbir. The research required for writing this novel drew from Colonel Mashbir’s autobiography I Was an American Spy, combined with having access to Mashbir’s personal library of  letters, official documents, and photos, along with many other historical resources discovered over two decades of research. TheEmperorAndTheSpy.com website presents this material thru blog posts.

Colonel Mashbir is an unsung American hero!

The 65th Anniversary Edition of his autobiography reveals the epic odyssey of this Master Spy who engaged in behind the scenes diplomacy and dangerous missions to shape world events.

The EBook is available on Amazon