<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It never ceases to amaze me that some people are shocked and horrified when the headlines blare out the fact that (gasp) many countries engage in spying, surveillance, and other covert operations. \u00a0We like to think the fate of the world depends on world leaders exercising their diplomatic skills to sort things out, but there are a lot of things bubbling under the surface in these political wranglings, both domestic and foreign. \u00a0Did these political imbroglios have an effect on those of us living on the fringes of the country, far removed from the hotbeds of political discourse? \u00a0Even as kids growing up in the Upper Peninsula during the era remembered as \u201cThe Cold War\u201d, we were exposed to some of the \u201cunder the surface\u201d things that went along bigger things happening on the world stage. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A colleague and I were recently talking about our shared frustrations with the current state of \u00a0politics in our fair state. \u00a0I said something along the lines of, \u201cThe next thing you know, we will have the Red Squad going through our trash,\u201d which to my surprise was as a total mystery to my discussion partner. \u00a0\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d he asked. \u00a0\u201cWhat on Earth is a \u201cRed Squad\u201d?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If one digs into the history of the Cold War a bit, the whole \u201cMcCarthyism\u201d thing of hunting for communists under every rock and behind every bush is well documented. \u00a0What many don\u2019t remember is that some state governments chose to organize their own investigations via their own state departments. \u00a0In Michigan, at least some of this work was carried out by the Michigan State Police. \u00a0In the U.P., there were suspected hot spots of socialism that originated with some of the Finns who had immigrated from the Finnish\/Russian border region. \u00a0Having grown up in Finnish immigrant homes, both of my parents spoke the Finnish language. \u00a0As a detective for the State Police with U.P. roots and the ability to speak Finn, my dad was tabbed to investigate any suspected reports of possible communist activity in the Upper Peninsula. \u00a0It almost seems laughable to us now, but this was serious business in the late 1950s and early 1960s. \u00a0How serious did they take the whole communist threat in Michigan? \u00a0Serious enough that my father worked out of the Marquette State Police Post, but his paycheck and orders came directly from Lansing. \u00a0He was expected to drop all other work when he was dispatched to some far flung place like Eben Junction or Felch to follow up on some tidbit that was reported to the statewide network that handled suspected \u2018communist activity\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I can\u2019t say how serious the \u2018Red Menace\u2019 posed by these socialist Finns was, but most of the reports were generated by the national anti-communist frenzy that existed in parts of our nation at that time. \u00a0For example, dad was sent to a small farming community in the western U.P. because someone found evidence that someone was holding anti-government rallies at the school there. \u00a0After investigating the rumor and asking a few questions, he examined the evidence: \u00a0sure enough, there were signs stashed under the stage at the local school advocating the impeachment of the president! \u00a0He found the signs precisely where his informant had said they would be and they were clearly anti-government. \u00a0\u00a0They were aimed at stirring up the citizenry to impeach the president. \u00a0President Roosevelt, that is. \u00a0Teddy Roosevelt! \u00a0This definitely pointed to issues that preceded the \u2018Red Menace\u2019 phase of our history by nearly fifty years and the investigation was filed under the \u2018no imminent threat\u2019 category.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As I observed my father perform his duties as a detective, I learned two valuable lessons that are still with me today. \u00a0The first is to be observant and aware of what is going on around you. \u00a0The second is equally simple, but sometimes hard to do: \u00a0There are times when it is best to simply keep one\u2019s mouth shut. \u00a0The first skill set has served me well but I will admit to struggling with the second more than a little. \u00a0The fact that I can keep a secret at all surely will come as a surprise to some who know me well. \u00a0One indicator that I have had some success in this area is illustrated by a story that didn\u2019t see the light of day for over fifty years. \u00a0The recent Tom Hanks movie about the Cold War prisoner exchange on a bridge reminded me of the tale.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We used to always spend my dad\u2019s two week summer vacation at our camp on Huron Bay. \u00a0We returned home after one such vacation and my dad looked at his \u2018file closet\u2019 and said, \u201cWe have been visited.\u201d \u00a0When we moved into the Norway Ave. house, my mother realized we were in need of a closet near the kitchen door entrance for our boots, coats and so on. \u00a0When my dad did the renovations, he built in a hidden rifle rack above the sliding doors and a set of shelves on the left side where he kept his important papers. \u00a0We were simply told to leave the guns and dad\u2019s papers alone. \u00a0When I asked what he meant by, \u201cWe have been visited,\u201d he showed me an empty file folder that he said used to have an award from the FBI. \u00a0It upset me that someone had taken something from our house while we were away but dad said he was okay with it. \u00a0Of course, early teenage me couldn\u2019t see how this was okay so he sat down and told me the prequel to this incident.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0During the height of the Red Squad days, dad had gotten a phone call from a hotel owner in Negaunee. \u00a0He said, \u201cEd, you speak Finn, right? \u00a0Well, I got a guy staying here that speaks \u2018funny Finn\u2019. \u00a0Would you come and take a look?\u201d \u00a0Dad assured him he would stop by and check it out. \u00a0He collected some information on the gentlemen in question and interviewed the owner to find out what made him suspicious of his guest: \u00a0\u201cI know a lot of people who speak Finn, some right off the boat from Finland, but this guy doesn\u2019t sound like any of them.\u201d \u00a0Foregoing \u00a0a face to face encounter with the suspected \u2018funny Finn\u2019, dad visited the Marquette FBI agent, passed along what he knew and left it at that. \u00a0Months later, the FBI agent called dad up and said, \u201cYou remember the \u2018funny Finn\u2019 guy? \u00a0Turns out he was from the area of eastern Finland near the Russian border. \u00a0He had been recruited by the KGB and was on the first leg of his trip to infiltrate the U.S. by coming into the country from Canada. \u00a0We pulled him in for questioning and he is still being interrogated.\u201d \u00a0The spy network he was attached to was deep enough that he was eventually traded for some high level U.S. detainees ala the Tom Hank\u2019s movie.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To say I was a little stunned by this information would be a great understatement. \u00a0I still didn\u2019t understand how this was connected with our house being burgled while we were gone. \u00a0\u201cOh that isn\u2019t hard to understand,\u201d dad said. \u00a0\u201cWith these kinds of things, they sometimes agree to simply pretend that some of these things didn\u2019t happen. \u00a0More than likely, they purged all the files about this incident and it was on record that the Marquette FBI agent and I had gotten commendations from the FBI for uncovering this guy\u2019s infiltration. \u00a0If they purged the files, they got rid of everything. \u00a0I wouldn\u2019t ask him, but the Marquette agent was probably the one who came and collected my commendation while we were at camp.\u201d \u00a0My next logical question was, \u201cWell, why didn\u2019t he just ask for you to give it back?\u201d \u00a0\u201cIf he asked, then I would have knowledge that the file purge happened. \u00a0I am just guessing that this is what happened. \u00a0It also means you can\u2019t tell anyone about anything I told you about this. \u00a0You never know who might hear it and tell it to someone else.\u201d \u00a0I swore I would keep it to myself which I did until my dad passed away five years ago figuring if he made it to 93 years old, the other parties involved in all this must be similarly aged and\/or deceased. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I had no reason to doubt dad\u2019s theory about purged files. \u00a0Well into his 80s, I was given another clue that these things did indeed happen. \u00a0When dad retired from the State Police, he had a modest pension. \u00a0As he got older, he noticed that some of his fellow State Police retirees were getting small cost of living adjustments on their retirement pay. \u00a0Naturally, he contacted the Department of Retirement Services. \u00a0They had a simple answer: \u00a0Even though he had been getting a retirement check for his service in the State Police and Department of Licensing and Regulation for nearly forty years, there were no records of him ever working for the State Police! \u00a0Apparently his direct connection to Lansing during the Red Squad years also lead to his employment files being purged as well. \u00a0He eventually found a Lieutenant that he had worked with back in the day now living in a local nursing home. \u00a0Based on the Lieutenant’s written testimony that dad had indeed been in the State Police for nearly thirty years, this information was proof enough to get him a little bumper on his retirement.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When I read all the kerfuffle in the paper about spying and covert operations, I always think back to how calm my father was about his small role in a spy ring bust being expunged from the history books. \u00a0As long as those involved in these cloak and dagger incidents understand the need for what they do and can accept the level of secrecy that goes with the territory, I guess it gives me some level of confidence that world politics are not just left in the hands of the politicians. \u00a0I am much more comfortable with someone who knows what they are doing pulling a few strings in the background than I am reading about the childish escalating war of the tweets (or twits if you will) that keep popping up as \u2018news\u2019. \u00a0They can do all the saber rattling they want to as long as they stick with the old adage: \u00a0\u00a0\u201cTrust . . . but verify.\u201d \u00a0To this I can only add a hearty \u201cAmen!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Top Piece Video – Johnny Rivers sums up the intrigue of the 1960s . . .