Introduction to Richie Boys

• WWII era intelligence officers, generally overlooked group
• ~20,000 intelligence officers trained in US
• May/may not have been born in US
• Trained in counter-intelligence, aerial photo analysis, intelligence operations
• US badly needed intelligence capabilities at WWII outset

Demographics and Composition

• 60% American-born (including Native American soldiers)
• ~2,800 Jewish refugees from Germany (out of 20,000 total)
• People who escaped just before/got lucky with right to leave
• Many lost entire families in Nazi death camps
• Japanese citizens whose families were in internment camps
• Still volunteered for US Army despite being in American internment camps

Richie Girls (Women's Auxiliary Corps - WACs)

• ~200 women from Women's Auxiliary Corps (WACs)
• 22 women instructors at Camp Richie
• Notable examples:
  • Sally Davis: trained in order of battle, served with MacArthur
  • Lillian Tomer: Eisenhower's personal Polish interpreter, received Bronze Star

Camp Richie Training Program

• 8-week program at Camp Richie, Maryland
• Started as National Guard camp, Army took over
• Highly secretive intelligence training camp
• After Camp Richie, sent to England for advanced intelligence training
• Spread across every battle, branch, unit in WWII

Training Curriculum

• Foreign language instruction/utilization
• Aerial photo analysis (for pilots, bombing targets)
• Spotting camouflaged objects (planes under 3D camouflage netting)
• Hand-to-hand combat training (former wrestler instructor)
• Counter-intelligence techniques
• Cultural bonding for interrogation effectiveness

Notable Personnel

• JD Salinger was a Richie boy
• Could "spot a phony a mile away" - valuable for identifying spies

Intelligence Operations and Techniques

• 60% of all actionable battlefield intelligence came from Richie boys/girls
• "Red Book" (Order of Battle of German Army):
  • Ongoing list of everything learned about German Army
  • Unit information, leaders, battle locations, outcomes
  • Master intelligence compilation
• Interrogation techniques:
  • Cultural bonding over cigarettes, local sports teams
  • More effective than physical coercion
  • Dressing as Soviet officers to scare German POWs
  • Germans feared Soviet custody, became talkative with Americans

Individual Stories

• Ernst Kramer:
  • 18 years old, survived Buchenwald
  • Got affidavit for US release
  • Wrote German pamphlets urging surrender
  • Set up newspapers in bombed German cities post-war
• David Akira Itami:
  • Interned in Japanese internment camp
  • Volunteered for Army
  • Became lead interpreter at Tokyo war crimes trials

Post-War Recognition

• Largely unknown until mid-2000s
• 2005 German documentary brought attention
• 2022: US Holocaust Memorial Museum awarded collective Eli Wiesel award (highest honor)
• Congressional bill pending for Congressional Gold Medal
• 65 received Silver Stars, many Bronze Stars
• At time, not recognized as special designated group

Media Coverage and Future

• 60 Minutes segment available
• Movie adaptation expected
• Guy Richie's "The Richie Boys" film referenced