Operation Broken Reed
Truman's Secret North Korean Spy Mission That Averted World War III
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
At the height of the Korean War, President Truman launched one of the most important intelligence -- gathering operations in history. So valuable were the mission's findings about the North Korean-Soviet-Chinese alliance that it is no stretch to say they prevented World War III. Only one man -- sworn to secrecy for a half-century -- survived Operation Broken Reed. Arthur Boyd recalls his role as cryptographer on a team of Army Rangers, Navy Frogmen, Air Force officers, and CIA operatives that posed as the captured crew of a B-29 bomber in January 1952. Given cover names and cyanide capsules in case of discovery, the men were transported by Chinese Nationalists wearing Communist uniforms across North Korea, where undercover allies delivered information about troop strengths, weaponry, and intention. Fraught with danger, the mission came apart on its last day when the Americans came under fire from Chinese forces wise to the operation. The members of Broken Reed supplied Truman with proof of massive Chinese and Soviet buildups and a heavy Soviet bomber group in Manchuria, fully loaded with atomic weapons. With the potential destruction of the world outlined in front of him, Truman chose not to escalate the Korean War, saving millions of lives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Career army officer Boyd breaks his half-century of silence to tell the remarkable story of a top-secret "black" operation behind enemy lines during the Korean War. Code-named Broken Reed, the operation sent a 10-man team into North Korea to collect badly needed intelligence "on enemy capabilities and intentions" to aid President Harry Truman in making "a fateful decision": to escalate the conflict or accept a stalemate. Boyd, a young signal corps lieutenant, was selected for the mission because of his top-secret clearance and his knowledge of Morse code. Boyd would transmit whatever intelligence the team gathered to a communications aircraft over the Sea of Japan. Inserted into North Korea by submarine, the team collected and transmitted intelligence that "revealed a staggering enemy buildup" and convinced Truman not to escalate the conflict. Discovered and ambushed, seven of the team were killed and three wounded two grievously. In a desperate flight, the wounded reached their rendezvous point and were rescued by a waiting ship. If true and there are "no records, transcripts, or evidence" of the operation and Boyd is the "only known survivor" this suspenseful saga of heroism and sacrifice is further proof that truth can be stranger than fiction.
