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The Boy Spy

Pearl Harbor is Attack by Japanese

Nov 27, 2006 Mary Trotter Kion

At Pearl Harbor the Kuhn boy visits American ships and asks questions. Pearl Harbor is attack. The Kuhns are caught spying.

Hans Kuhn got his turn at spying when his mother would dress him in a cute little sailor suite. Then his father would stroll along the waterfront with him. He was so adorable that, often, naval officers would invite him aboard their ships. Hans was even more charming with his constant boyish questions about the great big boats.

Mr. Kuhn never came aboard during these times to prevent suspicion being directed at him self. Who could have ever believed, or even thought, that the cute little curious fellow in a miniature sailor suit could be a spy? Nor could they have suspected that his father had well trained the boy to ask key questions, to observe everything he saw, and to remember everything.

Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor

The Kuhns continued spying on Pearl Harbor military ships and installations right up to December 7, 1941. Five days before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the Kuhns transmitted to the Japanese descriptions of every American ship in Hawaiian water.

During the attack on Pearl Harbor the Kuhns huddled in their attic, observing all that was happening and flashing the information to the Japanese consulate. Eventually, military intelligence became aware that someone was sending signals in this way and traced them to their source. The Kuhns were caught in the act.

The Kuhns Pay the Price

Mr. Kuhn stood trial, was found guilty of spying, and ordered to be shot. His sentence, however, was commuted to 50 years at hard labor after he had divulged valuable information concerning his Japanese and Nazi contacts. He served only four years for his treachery. Mrs. Kuhn was given a light sentence and in time returned to Germany with her son. Susie Ruth served a few years in prison and, also, returned to Germany.

Bernard Kuhn: A Spy of Many Faces: Susie Ruth Uses Charms for Spying.

Source:

Wallechinsky, David. Irving Wallace. The People's Almanac. Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York, 1975.

The copyright of the article The Boy Spy in American History is owned by Mary Trotter Kion. Permission to republish The Boy Spy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.