Stanley Johnston's blunder
Subtitle: the reporter who spilled the secret behind the U.S. Navy's victory at Midway
By: Elliot Carlson
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 312
ISBN-13: 9781591146797
Subjects: World War, 1939-1945; Trials, litigation; War correspondents; Cryptography; Press coverage; Leaks (Disclosure of information); Censorship; Midway, Battle of, 1942; Chicago Tribune (Firm); History; Biography; Journalists
Other titles: Reporter who spilled the secret behind the U.S. victory at Midway
Description: "Elliot Carlson tells of Stanley Johnston, a Chicago Tribune reporter who exposed a vitally important secret during World War II. After Johnston is embarked in the USS Lexington during the Battle of the Coral Sea, he is assigned to a cabin on the rescue ship Barnett where messages from Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Chester Nimitz are circulated. One reveals the order of battle of Imperial Japanese Navy forces advancing on Midway Atoll. Johnston shares this info in a 7 June 1942 Chicago Tribune front-page story. Navy officials fear the Japanese will discover the article, realize their code has been cracked, and quickly change it. Drawing on seventy-five-year-old testimony never before released, Carlson describes the grand jury room where jurors convened by the FDR administration consider charges that Johnston violated the Espionage Act. Using FBI files, U.S. Navy records, archival materials from the Chicago Tribune, and Japanese sources, Carlson at last brings to light the full story of Stanley Johnston's trial."--Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-298) and index.
Table of contents: title: Mystery in Washington; title: A date with Lady Lex; title: Guts and glory; title: A room with a view; title: Hold the presses!; title: Aid and comfort to the enemy; title: Moments of truth; title: The gathering storm; title: A beautiful mess; title: Johnston and Seligman: men in the middle; title: Full speed ahead; title: McCormick and Knox: showdown; title: The Grand Jury decides; title: Fortunes of war; title: Did the Japanese know?.