Frederick Mayer, who served in World War II, has died. He was 94.
Mayer, a Jewish refugee from Germany and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services, the World War II predecessor to the CIA. He then volunteered to lead Operation Greenup, one of the most daring and successful missions behind German lines.
Mayer was first nominated for the Medal of Honor on Sept. 17, 1945, for knowingly and willingly risking his life to gather secret intelligence for United States during World War II.
The War Department rejected the nomination, recommending him for the Legion of Merit instead. His commander then asked the Army to submit a new recommendation for the nation's top award or for the Distinguished Service Cross, but this request also was rejected.
Fred Mayer directed there be no funeral, his daughter said. He donated his body to medical research at the West Virginia School of Medicine.
He is survived by his life-partner Virginia Nash, his daughters Claudette and Irene, his grandson Shane, his sister Rush, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Detail On Mr. Mayer's life as found in the book, "Return to the Reich" by Eric Lichtblau Attempting to enlist in the US Army on 8 Dec (he had to wait until the 8th because the recruiting offices were closed on Sunday, 7 Dec) be was turned away because as an enemy alien, he was ineligible to enlist. Eventually, with the realization that the nation would need every able bodied man, the rules changed and he was permitted to enlist. He took the place of his older brother (Julius) in the draft to enable Julius to finish his college degree. Tiring of the mindless "hurry up and wait" Army of the times, he was a lackluster soldier but given an opportunity to demonstrate his his mettle, he excelled. In the Army's 1943 Arizona summer war games held in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts, he proved to be an ingenious, natural leader, combining stellar stamina and a remarkable ability to improvise. In one days long exercise, he broke away from his troop and singlehandedly managed to sneak behind the "enemy's" lines where he captured the opposing forces HQ and its commanding general. General Marcus Bell, the general he had captured the previous day called him in to his office and asked if Mayer would prefer to do something more daring? Bell explained the OSS (for-runner of the CIA) was looking for soldiers, especially those able to speak foreign languages, to penetrate enemy lines in secret espionage missions. He wanted to know if Private Mayer was interested? Private Mayer had but one question for General Bell, "What was the OSS?" After training he would go on to join two others to form a team that was inserted by parachute behind the German line in Austria on the night of 25 Feb 1945. At times he impersonated a wounded German Officer (as seen in pictures on this memorial) recovering in Innsbruck as part of his intelligence gathering activities. That enabled him to identify and locate badly needed resupply trains destined for the Italian front. His intelligence reports allowed the Army Air Corps to successfully interdict and destroy those supply trains. He was betrayed in early April 1945. He suffered and resisted severe torture at the hands of the Gestapo maintaining he was just a simple French electrician working for the German Railway. He maintained his cover story so well that the Germans brought in a French interpreter to translate the Germans' questions for him. Eventually the Germans brought in another captured member of the resistance who identified him as an American agent. With unbelievable luck, the number 2 ranking Nazi official in Austria, Kreisleiter Dr Primbs, interceded to stop his ongoing torture. Primbs would introduce him to the senior most Nazi official in Austria, Gauleiter Franz Hofer. During these meetings, he some what managed to convinced them that the war was truly lost and that he (Sergeant Mayer) could protect them. The high level interference, in part, led to the Gestapo's decision to send Sgt Mayer to the Reichenau Concentration camp where other prominent victims of the Nazi regime were being held as hostages in protective custody. Dr Primbs located Mayer in Reichenau and had him released temporarily into his custody. Later, with American forces within 20 miles of Innsbruck, Hofer was scheduled to make a radio address calling on Germans and Austrians to make a last stand and resist the American to their final bullet. Dr Primbs was against that but ultimately it was Sgt Mayer who convinced Hofer to instead ask German forces to accept the inevitable by laying down their arms and surrendering. Telling Hofer that he would be "making the mistake of his life" if he called for this last ditch battle and that if Hofer surrendered, he (Sgt Mayer) gave his word as an officer (FYI: Sgt Mayer was NOT a commissioned officer) that he would make Hofer a POW and protect him and his family by placing them under house arrest. That led to Hofer declaring Innsbruck an open city and accepting an unconditional surrender. Hofer would later repeat his radio call for unconditional surrender. The Austrian Tyrol was once feared as the secret Alpine Redoubt where Nazi forces were concentrating for the final major WII European battle. Instead, Sgt Mayer's actions directly led to the bloodless surrender of the Tyrol and the turnover of Innsbruck to the American without a shot being fired on 4 May 1945. This occurred 3 full days before the complete and unconditional surrender of all of Nazi Germany. Both Dr Primbs and Hofer would eventually make their way to occupied Germany where they lived out their days. Dr Primbs resumed his medical practice and he and Mayer would become "good friends" as Mayer credited him with saving his life while in Gestapo hands. Mayer would met his Gestapo torturer, Walter Guttner, shortly after the war while Guttner was in jail awaiting charges. Guttner begged for Mayer for mercy, and pleaded with Mayer not to hurt his wife or four children despite what he had done to Mayer. Mayer responded, "What do you think we are---Nazis?" and walked away. Guttner was released from American custody without explanation a short time later. In 1955 Guttner was belatedly put on trial for war crimes to include the torture of Mayer but the charges were dropped after key witness, to include Mayer who was working for the US government's Voice of America Radio in Europe at the time, could not be located.
Mayer, a Jewish refugee from Germany and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services, the World War II predecessor to the CIA. He then volunteered to lead Operation Greenup, one of the most daring and successful missions behind German lines.
Mayer was first nominated for the Medal of Honor on Sept. 17, 1945, for knowingly and willingly risking his life to gather secret intelligence for United States during World War II.
The War Department rejected the nomination, recommending him for the Legion of Merit instead. His commander then asked the Army to submit a new recommendation for the nation's top award or for the Distinguished Service Cross, but this request also was rejected.
Fred Mayer directed there be no funeral, his daughter said. He donated his body to medical research at the West Virginia School of Medicine.
He is survived by his life-partner Virginia Nash, his daughters Claudette and Irene, his grandson Shane, his sister Rush, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Detail On Mr. Mayer's life as found in the book, "Return to the Reich" by Eric Lichtblau Attempting to enlist in the US Army on 8 Dec (he had to wait until the 8th because the recruiting offices were closed on Sunday, 7 Dec) be was turned away because as an enemy alien, he was ineligible to enlist. Eventually, with the realization that the nation would need every able bodied man, the rules changed and he was permitted to enlist. He took the place of his older brother (Julius) in the draft to enable Julius to finish his college degree. Tiring of the mindless "hurry up and wait" Army of the times, he was a lackluster soldier but given an opportunity to demonstrate his his mettle, he excelled. In the Army's 1943 Arizona summer war games held in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts, he proved to be an ingenious, natural leader, combining stellar stamina and a remarkable ability to improvise. In one days long exercise, he broke away from his troop and singlehandedly managed to sneak behind the "enemy's" lines where he captured the opposing forces HQ and its commanding general. General Marcus Bell, the general he had captured the previous day called him in to his office and asked if Mayer would prefer to do something more daring? Bell explained the OSS (for-runner of the CIA) was looking for soldiers, especially those able to speak foreign languages, to penetrate enemy lines in secret espionage missions. He wanted to know if Private Mayer was interested? Private Mayer had but one question for General Bell, "What was the OSS?" After training he would go on to join two others to form a team that was inserted by parachute behind the German line in Austria on the night of 25 Feb 1945. At times he impersonated a wounded German Officer (as seen in pictures on this memorial) recovering in Innsbruck as part of his intelligence gathering activities. That enabled him to identify and locate badly needed resupply trains destined for the Italian front. His intelligence reports allowed the Army Air Corps to successfully interdict and destroy those supply trains. He was betrayed in early April 1945. He suffered and resisted severe torture at the hands of the Gestapo maintaining he was just a simple French electrician working for the German Railway. He maintained his cover story so well that the Germans brought in a French interpreter to translate the Germans' questions for him. Eventually the Germans brought in another captured member of the resistance who identified him as an American agent. With unbelievable luck, the number 2 ranking Nazi official in Austria, Kreisleiter Dr Primbs, interceded to stop his ongoing torture. Primbs would introduce him to the senior most Nazi official in Austria, Gauleiter Franz Hofer. During these meetings, he some what managed to convinced them that the war was truly lost and that he (Sergeant Mayer) could protect them. The high level interference, in part, led to the Gestapo's decision to send Sgt Mayer to the Reichenau Concentration camp where other prominent victims of the Nazi regime were being held as hostages in protective custody. Dr Primbs located Mayer in Reichenau and had him released temporarily into his custody. Later, with American forces within 20 miles of Innsbruck, Hofer was scheduled to make a radio address calling on Germans and Austrians to make a last stand and resist the American to their final bullet. Dr Primbs was against that but ultimately it was Sgt Mayer who convinced Hofer to instead ask German forces to accept the inevitable by laying down their arms and surrendering. Telling Hofer that he would be "making the mistake of his life" if he called for this last ditch battle and that if Hofer surrendered, he (Sgt Mayer) gave his word as an officer (FYI: Sgt Mayer was NOT a commissioned officer) that he would make Hofer a POW and protect him and his family by placing them under house arrest. That led to Hofer declaring Innsbruck an open city and accepting an unconditional surrender. Hofer would later repeat his radio call for unconditional surrender. The Austrian Tyrol was once feared as the secret Alpine Redoubt where Nazi forces were concentrating for the final major WII European battle. Instead, Sgt Mayer's actions directly led to the bloodless surrender of the Tyrol and the turnover of Innsbruck to the American without a shot being fired on 4 May 1945. This occurred 3 full days before the complete and unconditional surrender of all of Nazi Germany. Both Dr Primbs and Hofer would eventually make their way to occupied Germany where they lived out their days. Dr Primbs resumed his medical practice and he and Mayer would become "good friends" as Mayer credited him with saving his life while in Gestapo hands. Mayer would met his Gestapo torturer, Walter Guttner, shortly after the war while Guttner was in jail awaiting charges. Guttner begged for Mayer for mercy, and pleaded with Mayer not to hurt his wife or four children despite what he had done to Mayer. Mayer responded, "What do you think we are---Nazis?" and walked away. Guttner was released from American custody without explanation a short time later. In 1955 Guttner was belatedly put on trial for war crimes to include the torture of Mayer but the charges were dropped after key witness, to include Mayer who was working for the US government's Voice of America Radio in Europe at the time, could not be located.
Frederick Mayer, who served in World War II, has died. He was 94.
Mayer, a Jewish refugee from Germany and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services, the World War II predecessor to the CIA. He then volunteered to lead Operation Greenup, one of the most daring and successful missions behind German lines.
Mayer was first nominated for the Medal of Honor on Sept. 17, 1945, for knowingly and willingly risking his life to gather secret intelligence for United States during World War II.
The War Department rejected the nomination, recommending him for the Legion of Merit instead. His commander then asked the Army to submit a new recommendation for the nation's top award or for the Distinguished Service Cross, but this request also was rejected.
Fred Mayer directed there be no funeral, his daughter said. He donated his body to medical research at the West Virginia School of Medicine.
He is survived by his life-partner Virginia Nash, his daughters Claudette and Irene, his grandson Shane, his sister Rush, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Detail On Mr. Mayer's life as found in the book, "Return to the Reich" by Eric Lichtblau Attempting to enlist in the US Army on 8 Dec (he had to wait until the 8th because the recruiting offices were closed on Sunday, 7 Dec) be was turned away because as an enemy alien, he was ineligible to enlist. Eventually, with the realization that the nation would need every able bodied man, the rules changed and he was permitted to enlist. He took the place of his older brother (Julius) in the draft to enable Julius to finish his college degree. Tiring of the mindless "hurry up and wait" Army of the times, he was a lackluster soldier but given an opportunity to demonstrate his his mettle, he excelled. In the Army's 1943 Arizona summer war games held in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts, he proved to be an ingenious, natural leader, combining stellar stamina and a remarkable ability to improvise. In one days long exercise, he broke away from his troop and singlehandedly managed to sneak behind the "enemy's" lines where he captured the opposing forces HQ and its commanding general. General Marcus Bell, the general he had captured the previous day called him in to his office and asked if Mayer would prefer to do something more daring? Bell explained the OSS (for-runner of the CIA) was looking for soldiers, especially those able to speak foreign languages, to penetrate enemy lines in secret espionage missions. He wanted to know if Private Mayer was interested? Private Mayer had but one question for General Bell, "What was the OSS?" After training he would go on to join two others to form a team that was inserted by parachute behind the German line in Austria on the night of 25 Feb 1945. At times he impersonated a wounded German Officer (as seen in pictures on this memorial) recovering in Innsbruck as part of his intelligence gathering activities. That enabled him to identify and locate badly needed resupply trains destined for the Italian front. His intelligence reports allowed the Army Air Corps to successfully interdict and destroy those supply trains. He was betrayed in early April 1945. He suffered and resisted severe torture at the hands of the Gestapo maintaining he was just a simple French electrician working for the German Railway. He maintained his cover story so well that the Germans brought in a French interpreter to translate the Germans' questions for him. Eventually the Germans brought in another captured member of the resistance who identified him as an American agent. With unbelievable luck, the number 2 ranking Nazi official in Austria, Kreisleiter Dr Primbs, interceded to stop his ongoing torture. Primbs would introduce him to the senior most Nazi official in Austria, Gauleiter Franz Hofer. During these meetings, he some what managed to convinced them that the war was truly lost and that he (Sergeant Mayer) could protect them. The high level interference, in part, led to the Gestapo's decision to send Sgt Mayer to the Reichenau Concentration camp where other prominent victims of the Nazi regime were being held as hostages in protective custody. Dr Primbs located Mayer in Reichenau and had him released temporarily into his custody. Later, with American forces within 20 miles of Innsbruck, Hofer was scheduled to make a radio address calling on Germans and Austrians to make a last stand and resist the American to their final bullet. Dr Primbs was against that but ultimately it was Sgt Mayer who convinced Hofer to instead ask German forces to accept the inevitable by laying down their arms and surrendering. Telling Hofer that he would be "making the mistake of his life" if he called for this last ditch battle and that if Hofer surrendered, he (Sgt Mayer) gave his word as an officer (FYI: Sgt Mayer was NOT a commissioned officer) that he would make Hofer a POW and protect him and his family by placing them under house arrest. That led to Hofer declaring Innsbruck an open city and accepting an unconditional surrender. Hofer would later repeat his radio call for unconditional surrender. The Austrian Tyrol was once feared as the secret Alpine Redoubt where Nazi forces were concentrating for the final major WII European battle. Instead, Sgt Mayer's actions directly led to the bloodless surrender of the Tyrol and the turnover of Innsbruck to the American without a shot being fired on 4 May 1945. This occurred 3 full days before the complete and unconditional surrender of all of Nazi Germany. Both Dr Primbs and Hofer would eventually make their way to occupied Germany where they lived out their days. Dr Primbs resumed his medical practice and he and Mayer would become "good friends" as Mayer credited him with saving his life while in Gestapo hands. Mayer would met his Gestapo torturer, Walter Guttner, shortly after the war while Guttner was in jail awaiting charges. Guttner begged for Mayer for mercy, and pleaded with Mayer not to hurt his wife or four children despite what he had done to Mayer. Mayer responded, "What do you think we are---Nazis?" and walked away. Guttner was released from American custody without explanation a short time later. In 1955 Guttner was belatedly put on trial for war crimes to include the torture of Mayer but the charges were dropped after key witness, to include Mayer who was working for the US government's Voice of America Radio in Europe at the time, could not be located.
Mayer, a Jewish refugee from Germany and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services, the World War II predecessor to the CIA. He then volunteered to lead Operation Greenup, one of the most daring and successful missions behind German lines.
Mayer was first nominated for the Medal of Honor on Sept. 17, 1945, for knowingly and willingly risking his life to gather secret intelligence for United States during World War II.
The War Department rejected the nomination, recommending him for the Legion of Merit instead. His commander then asked the Army to submit a new recommendation for the nation's top award or for the Distinguished Service Cross, but this request also was rejected.
Fred Mayer directed there be no funeral, his daughter said. He donated his body to medical research at the West Virginia School of Medicine.
He is survived by his life-partner Virginia Nash, his daughters Claudette and Irene, his grandson Shane, his sister Rush, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Detail On Mr. Mayer's life as found in the book, "Return to the Reich" by Eric Lichtblau Attempting to enlist in the US Army on 8 Dec (he had to wait until the 8th because the recruiting offices were closed on Sunday, 7 Dec) be was turned away because as an enemy alien, he was ineligible to enlist. Eventually, with the realization that the nation would need every able bodied man, the rules changed and he was permitted to enlist. He took the place of his older brother (Julius) in the draft to enable Julius to finish his college degree. Tiring of the mindless "hurry up and wait" Army of the times, he was a lackluster soldier but given an opportunity to demonstrate his his mettle, he excelled. In the Army's 1943 Arizona summer war games held in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts, he proved to be an ingenious, natural leader, combining stellar stamina and a remarkable ability to improvise. In one days long exercise, he broke away from his troop and singlehandedly managed to sneak behind the "enemy's" lines where he captured the opposing forces HQ and its commanding general. General Marcus Bell, the general he had captured the previous day called him in to his office and asked if Mayer would prefer to do something more daring? Bell explained the OSS (for-runner of the CIA) was looking for soldiers, especially those able to speak foreign languages, to penetrate enemy lines in secret espionage missions. He wanted to know if Private Mayer was interested? Private Mayer had but one question for General Bell, "What was the OSS?" After training he would go on to join two others to form a team that was inserted by parachute behind the German line in Austria on the night of 25 Feb 1945. At times he impersonated a wounded German Officer (as seen in pictures on this memorial) recovering in Innsbruck as part of his intelligence gathering activities. That enabled him to identify and locate badly needed resupply trains destined for the Italian front. His intelligence reports allowed the Army Air Corps to successfully interdict and destroy those supply trains. He was betrayed in early April 1945. He suffered and resisted severe torture at the hands of the Gestapo maintaining he was just a simple French electrician working for the German Railway. He maintained his cover story so well that the Germans brought in a French interpreter to translate the Germans' questions for him. Eventually the Germans brought in another captured member of the resistance who identified him as an American agent. With unbelievable luck, the number 2 ranking Nazi official in Austria, Kreisleiter Dr Primbs, interceded to stop his ongoing torture. Primbs would introduce him to the senior most Nazi official in Austria, Gauleiter Franz Hofer. During these meetings, he some what managed to convinced them that the war was truly lost and that he (Sergeant Mayer) could protect them. The high level interference, in part, led to the Gestapo's decision to send Sgt Mayer to the Reichenau Concentration camp where other prominent victims of the Nazi regime were being held as hostages in protective custody. Dr Primbs located Mayer in Reichenau and had him released temporarily into his custody. Later, with American forces within 20 miles of Innsbruck, Hofer was scheduled to make a radio address calling on Germans and Austrians to make a last stand and resist the American to their final bullet. Dr Primbs was against that but ultimately it was Sgt Mayer who convinced Hofer to instead ask German forces to accept the inevitable by laying down their arms and surrendering. Telling Hofer that he would be "making the mistake of his life" if he called for this last ditch battle and that if Hofer surrendered, he (Sgt Mayer) gave his word as an officer (FYI: Sgt Mayer was NOT a commissioned officer) that he would make Hofer a POW and protect him and his family by placing them under house arrest. That led to Hofer declaring Innsbruck an open city and accepting an unconditional surrender. Hofer would later repeat his radio call for unconditional surrender. The Austrian Tyrol was once feared as the secret Alpine Redoubt where Nazi forces were concentrating for the final major WII European battle. Instead, Sgt Mayer's actions directly led to the bloodless surrender of the Tyrol and the turnover of Innsbruck to the American without a shot being fired on 4 May 1945. This occurred 3 full days before the complete and unconditional surrender of all of Nazi Germany. Both Dr Primbs and Hofer would eventually make their way to occupied Germany where they lived out their days. Dr Primbs resumed his medical practice and he and Mayer would become "good friends" as Mayer credited him with saving his life while in Gestapo hands. Mayer would met his Gestapo torturer, Walter Guttner, shortly after the war while Guttner was in jail awaiting charges. Guttner begged for Mayer for mercy, and pleaded with Mayer not to hurt his wife or four children despite what he had done to Mayer. Mayer responded, "What do you think we are---Nazis?" and walked away. Guttner was released from American custody without explanation a short time later. In 1955 Guttner was belatedly put on trial for war crimes to include the torture of Mayer but the charges were dropped after key witness, to include Mayer who was working for the US government's Voice of America Radio in Europe at the time, could not be located.
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