Mr.
Schiff: Hi, welcome to "FBI 100, A Closer
Look." I'm Neal Schiff of the Bureau's Office
of Public Affairs along with FBI Historian Dr.
John Fox. John, by the start of World War II the
FBI had been around for a little more than 30
years, first as the Bureau of Investigation and
then as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And
the FBI played a role in the second world war,
didn't it?
Dr.
Fox: "Absolutely Neal. Even before the U.S.
entered the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor
the Bureau was already working closely with the
Army and the Navy to beef up our national security
to tackle enemy spies and things like that. And
when the U.S. actually entered the war we entered
in with a bang. Operating on a 24 hour schedule,
increasing our numbers by tens of thousands and
tackling huge problems across the nation, and
even intelligence in the Western Hemisphere."
Mr.
Schiff: What were some of the responsibilities
that President Roosevelt and Congress gave the
FBI?
Dr.
Fox: "The Bureau was in charge, basically,
of security in our homeland. We went after spies,
saboteurs, subversives who were trying to undermine
our war efforts here at home and we were also
in charge of collecting intelligence in South
and Central America. And so we had undercover
agents operating throughout the Western Hemisphere."
Mr.
Schiff: And those tasks kept the FBI busy?
Dr.
Fox: "Absolutely Neal. We went from a couple
of hundred agents and professional support personnel
in the mid 1930s to almost 13,000 by the time
the war was over."
Mr.
Schiff: Sometime we should talk about the
radio stations the FBI had during the war?
Dr.
Fox: "Neal it was a key part of our intelligence
gathering effort and it would be a good thing
to talk about."
Mr. Schiff: From the FBI's Public Affairs
office, along with Bureau Historian Dr. John Fox,
I'm Neal Schiff with "FBI 100, A Closer Look."
Link:
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This Week" ABC Radio Show Archives
Link:
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