When the United States was thrust into war in 1941, leaders immediately realized they would need an organization that could not only collect, analyze, and disseminate tactical intelligence information to field commanders, but conduct counterintelligence operations to flesh out enemy informants and spies. As such, the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps was born on January 1, 1942.
The Counterintelligence Corps, or CIC had an initial complement of about 550 officers and 4,440 enlisted men. Because so many of the men were enlisted, and held relatively low rank, they wore plain clothes or uniforms without any rank designation. When asked for identification, they would flash their badge and identify themselves as “agent” or “special agent.”
The CIC had great latitude to conduct its operations during World War II and they were often described as being an “army within the army.” CIC detachments were deployed at all levels and throughout all theaters of operations. CIC agents, who often possessed foreign language skills, interrogated captured enemy soldiers and translated captured enemy documents to provide tactical intelligence to field commanders. The CIC also provided security for the Manhattan Project, which produced the world’s first nuclear weapons. After the war, CIC agents helped locate German rocket scientists and other experts in nuclear weaponry and cryptography.
In Grown Men Cry Out at Night, Caspar Lehman is CIC agent who has been assigned to lead a newly formed unit, the 323 CIC Detachment (a unit which actually existed by the way) in Bremen Germany. Lehman has been fighting in the war since the very beginning and took part in the Battle of the Bulge and the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. You will see that his war experiences have left him with what would have been described in his day as “battle fatigue” or “shell shock.” Today, we know his symptoms to be those of post-traumatic stress.
A number of notable men served within the CIC, including former U.S. senator Frank Church, Rhode Island governor and senator John Chafee, and former NBA and NFL player Don Eliason. Former members of the CIC who would also go on to careers in the arts and literature include young adult fantasy author Lloyd Alexander who wrote more than 40 books that were translated into over 20 languages. One former CIC member actually submitted and published his first work while serving in the CIC in Germany. You may recognize him in the photo above. His name, J.D. Salinger.
Intrigued? Want to read more? Here’s where you can buy Grown Men Cry Out at Night. The print, paperback version of the novel releases on Friday, December 23 and is available for pre-order now.