Description:

Berg Moe 1902 - 1972 The Catcher Was A Spy! Moe Berg refuses to accept the Medal of Freedom - signed portion of his draft letter!

Accompanied by his copiously underscored copy of "Towards a Russian Policy" published the year he began working for the CIA.

Comprises:

(1)The Letter Moe Berg wrote rejecting his Medal of Freedom

Part of Moe Berg's draft of his letter, most probably torn with great emotion by him. Partial Autograph Letter Signed "M. Berg" in pencil, 1.5 pages, 3.5" x 5.5", front and verso. Portion torn from a larger letter. [156 Roseville Avenue, Newark, New Jersey, December 12, 1946] To "Mr. Skinner" in "Washington, D.C." Folds, creases. Very Good condition. Berg's handwriting is in bold italics. In full, "I have you[r letter of 26 November] I regret [that I must refuse to] accept, and I rejec[t the medal] awarded me, I do [this with the] appreciation and [respect for the] spirit in which [it is offered.]" The second paragraph, also handwritten by Berg, refers to "an accounting of the sum of $21,439.14 which is outstanding against you on the Special Funds' books" also mentioned in Skinner's November 26, 1946 letter (see photocopy). Moe Berg handwrites: "I acknow äó_ the full amount stat äó_ in the enclosure att... I did in our conversation... Europe... [on verso] a year before... and Siberia extended... Sincerely yours M. Berg."

(2)Book "Towards a Russian Policy" owned by Moe Berg

Book copiously underlined and highlighted in pencil (every page!) by Moe Berg, Towards a Russian Policy - A second look at some popular beliefs about Russia and the Soviet Regime by R. Gordon Wasson, 25 pages 4.25" x 6.5". On the colophon page: "One thousand copies of this address delivered before the Practising Law Institute on February 17, 1951, have been printed at The Overbrook Press, Stamford, Connecticut April, 1951." Very Good condition.

Moe Berg worked for the CIA from 1951 to 1953. This was Moe Berg's copy of Towards a Russian Policy published in 1951. Berg has underlined sentences, bracketed paragraphs, and starred what he felt was especially important throughout this book. Starred phrases include "we are tragically ignorant about Russia, about Russians, and about their rulers," "In world affairs, as at the Bar, it is well to know your foe," "the question whether Russia is the riddle or whether we are," "Our gyrations must often seem strange and unpredictable to the Kremlin," "it is a mistake to say the Russian people have always distrusted and disliked foreigners."

Background

In 1932, Morris "Moe" Berg, a catcher, and pitchers Ted Lyons and Lefty O'Doul, began a tour of Japan to teach baseball seminars at Japanese universities. Berg returned to Japan in 1934 with a group of All Stars, including Ruth and Gehrig, to play against a Japanese all star team. Unbeknownst to his teammates, Moe Berg sneaked onto the roof of one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo and filmed the city and harbor with his movie camera. During the summer of 1942, just months after Pearl Harbor, Berg screened the footage he shot of Tokyo Bay for U.S. Army intelligence officers. He worked with the OSS (Office of Strategic Services),forerunner of the CIA, in World War II. After President Truman's dissolution of the OSS in October 1945, the Strategic Services Unit (SSU) was established within the War Department.

On November 26, 1946, Lt. Col. Selby M. Skinner, the SSU's liaison officer, wrote to Moe Berg. In part, "Four items need to be mentioned at the present time. The first is thatyou have been awarded the 'Medal of Freedom'; while in my letter the details of your work were given quite fully under the TS classification, the commendation writeup has been so worded that it is a very commendatory description of your work in general terms and which can be released without loss of security. We need to know whether you wish to come here for the ceremony of presentation and, if so when..." Photocopy of the retained letter from the "Moe Berg OSS Personnel File" is present.

On December 12, 1946, from Newark, New Jersey, Moe Berg wrote to William W. Quinn, Colonel, Infantry, Director. In full, "I have your letter of 6 December. On 2 December, on being notified of the award,I wrote your Colonel Skinner:'I regret that I must refuse to accept and I reject the medal awarded me. I do this with the respect for the spirit with which it is offered.'I am grateful to those War Department officials who were kind enough, under the circumstances, to offer this award for my very modest contribution. But I cannot accept it." Photocopy of Berg's letter to Quinn from the "Moe Berg OSS Personnel File" is present. , Moe Berg's sister accepted the Medal of Freedom after her brother's death in 1972. It is now on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame. His baseball card is on display at CIA headquarters.

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