The Last Heroes (Men at War 1)

The several departments and agencies of the Government shall make available to the Coordinator of Information all and any such information and data relating to national security as the Coordinator, with the approval of the President, may from time to time re

quest.

The Coordinator of Information may appoint such committees, consisting of appropriate representatives of the various departments and agencies of the Government, as he may deem necessary to assist him in the performance of his functions.

Nothing in the duties and responsibilities of the Coordinator of Information shall in any way interfere with or impair the duties and responsibilities of the regular military and naval advisers of the President as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy.

Within the limits of such funds as may be allocated to the Coordinator of Information by the President, the Coordinator may employ necessary personnel and make provisions for the necessary supplies, facilities, and services.

William J. Donovan is hereby designated as Coordinator of Information.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

‘‘I notice, Mr. President, that it’s already signed,’’ General Marshall said.

‘‘Is that the first thing that came into your mind, George?’’ the President asked.

‘‘Actually, Mr. President,’’ Marshall said, ‘‘the first thing that came into my mind was that it sounds as if it was dictated by the British. By that Commander Fleming, say, or by that fellow Stevenson who seems so chummy with Edgar Hoover.’’

The President smiled broadly, which could mean that he was either genuinely amused or that he was furious.

‘‘What I thought, George,’’ the President said, ‘‘when I read it, was that it sounded like me. Or as if it had been written by someone who had studied the carefully ambiguous phrase at Columbia Law.’’

Marshall and Stimson smiled stiffly. Franklin D. Roosevelt and William J. Donovan had been law-school class-mates at Columbia.

‘‘But I also learned there that no contract cannot be improved, ’’ the President said. ‘‘I agree with both of you that Bill was taking a bit much.’’

‘‘Sir?’’

‘‘In Donovan’s original draft, there was a paragraph that went, as I say, a bit far. I knew it would anger you. So I deleted it.’’ The President smiled. ‘‘I wouldn’t want you to get the idea I was carrying the old-boy network too far.’’

He handed Stimson a sheet of paper, on which was typed a single paragraph.

4. The Coordinator of Information shall perform these duties and responsibilities, which include those of a military character, under the direction and supervision of the President as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.

Stimson read it and handed it to Marshall without comment.

‘‘Admit it, George,’’ the President said pleasantly, ‘‘isn’t that what stuck in your craw?’’

‘‘If I may speak freely, Mr. President,’’ General Marshall said, ‘‘the whole thing sticks in my craw. The military and naval intelligence services are perfectly capable of handling intelligence for the nation. We do not need another bureau-cracy—especially one that’s openly in bed with the British.’’

‘‘We’ve already discussed that,’’ Roosevelt said flatly ‘‘I have concluded we need what I have provided for. If this makes you feel any better, I quite seriously considered turning the whole thing over to J. Edgar Hoover, who isn’t going to be any more pleased about this than you are. I decided against that because Bill Donovan will do what I tell him, while Edgar sometimes tends to follow his own lights. And Bill—Colonel Donovan—with a few exceptions, gets along with the military and understands its problems.’’

‘‘As you say, Mr. President, you have made your decision, ’’ General Marshall said.

‘‘If you’re not otherwise tied up, General,’’ the President said, ‘‘I hope that you will be able to find the time to stay here until Donovan arrives and I make this official. I’d like you to be here for that.’’

‘‘I am at your orders, Mr. President,’’ General Marshall said.

‘‘Good,’’ the President said, flashing another wide and toothy smile. ‘‘The secretary of the Navy, and chief of naval operations, and the director of the FBI seem to be tied up elsewhere. Or so they say.’’

Paris, France August 12, 1941

Before the Wehrmacht entered Paris fourteen months before, on June 14, 1940, and marched triumphantly around the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile and down the Champs-Élysées, Eldon C. Baker had been one of a dozen nicely dressed, softly spoken young men attached to the American embassy as consular officers. Baker had been specifically assigned to the office charged with the issuance and renewal of passports, the issue of visas, and similar administrative tasks.

While it was commonly acknowledged within and without the embassy that many of the consular officers carried on the rolls as agricultural attachés and visa officers spent much of their time gathering intelligence information for transmission to Washington, it was generally believed that Eldon C. Baker was nothing but what he was officially announced to be. Most of his peers thought he was stuffy and more than a little boring.

When the fall of Paris became inevitable, the French government had moved to Vichy, and the neutral embassies, which of course included the United States embassy, had followed it. Few people on the embassy staff had been surprised when Eldon C. Baker was left behind, as officer-in-charge of the deserted embassy building. To them, Eldon C. Baker was the type of man who could be spared for care-taking chores while his brighter associates went about the important business of diplomacy.