Chapter Eleven
On January 2, Luke was busy meeting his new commanding officer, Colonel John Walburn, and the other Officers he would be associating with on the faculty of the Department of Medicine and Surgery at the Medical Field Service School. He was also kept busy doing paper work for signing into his new position, and he was assigned a desk in the company grade Officers’ section.
He wanted to break away and pay a visit to the military police officer in order to discuss the information he had received in Ottawa about a Russian spy ring operating at Fort Sam Houston. More specifically, he felt he should discuss the possibility that occupational therapy student, Lt. Ann Orloff, might be involved.
He kept remembering what an attractive woman she was, and he disliked the idea of turning her in, but her behaviour before he left Fort Sam Houston the previous April, and intelligence information he had garnered in Ottawa about Russian spy groups operating within US military bases, made him realize that he must do so.
He checked the roster of occupational therapy students, and found that she was still enrolled. However, he had so much to do fitting into his new assignment that days went by before he found time to proceed with the matter.
Finally he found a free afternoon, and determined to have a talk with the MPs. But before he went, he stopped by the Officers’ club for lunch. While in the chow line, he felt someone standing very close behind him, in fact, someone’s breasts were touching his back! He started to turn around when a sultry female voice said, "Hi, doctor! I’m sure glad to see that you got back from Baffin Island safely!"
When he finished turning around, there was Lt. Ann Orloff, as pretty and charming as ever!
Many thoughts raced through Luke’s mind as he tried to decide how to handle the situation. It occurred to him that this fortuitous meeting might give him the chance to talk with her openly about the whole matter, and give her the opportunity to turn herself into the MPs herself. So he invited her to have lunch with him, and she readily agreed.
They went through the chow line, and he picked an isolated table over in the corner where their conversation would not be overheard.
She began by saying, "I am so glad you are back! I really missed you, and I am dying to hear about your trip to Northeast Air Command!"
Luke replied, "Ann, how did you know that I went to northeast Canada? It was classified as a secret mission."
She answered, "It was easy! Some loose lips in the Adjutant’s office told me that you were being sent to Walter Reed to begin a classified tour of duty. Then all kinds of articles began appearing in the press and in magazines telling about US task forces going to build radar stations and airfields in northeast Canada to detect and warn of possible deployment of Russian missiles and aircraft coming over the north pole. And then the Pentagon made a ruckus about classified information on new air defense measures in Canada being released to the public. So it did not take a rocket scientist to put two and two together."
Luke watched her face as she spoke, and it was a lovely face. She certainly spoke convincingly. But he went on, saying, "Tell me why you were so interested where I was being assigned last April, and why did you follow up at the adjutant’s officer?"
She winked at him coquettishly and replied, "Because I had a personal interest in you, Dr. Martin!"
He continued, "And why did you try to seduce me at the Officers’ club swimming pool?"
Her answer came right back, "Because I was hot for your body!"
He retorted, "Are you sure there were not other reasons?"
She said, "Of course not. You really attracted me, and I wanted to go to bed with you!"
Luke decided he was not getting anywhere with this line of questioning, so he tried another tack, saying, "While I was getting you a towel at the pool that day, you spoke to a man I did not see, but I heard you talking in a foreign language, which you said was Polish. I am not an expert linguist on Slavic languages, but I’ll bet you were speaking in Russian! How about that?"
She looked a bit surprised, but quickly replied, "That was my friend Boris from Michigan. He is a Medical Service Corps Officer stationed at Brooke Army Hospital. I knew him in high school back home, and don’t worry, he is not my boyfriend! And perhaps we were speaking in both Russian and Polish, since we both know a smattering of each language. But what are you leading up to?"
Luke hesitated, gave a sigh, and then said, "I hate to do this. I do find you to be most attractive, and what I have to say will probably destroy our relationship, but it has to be done. So I’ll give it to you straight. When I was up on Baffin Island, we exposed a Royal Canadian Air Force Sergeant who had turned to spying for Russia. While being grilled about the Soviet spy network in the United States and Canada, he admitted that there was an extensive undercover group of Russian spies at numerous American military bases, including Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where several male and female army Officers were involved. He also said these spies are fluent in both English, Russian, and other languages. Would you care to comment if you fit into this picture?"
She looked startled, but quickly regained her composure, and said, "Don’t be ridiculous, Luke! Some of my family came from Russia way back, but we have no political ties with the Soviet Union."
Luke replied, "Are you sure? This turncoat Canadian Sergeant said that one reason he turned to spying was because some of his family still live in Russia, and that government threatened to harm them if he did not cooperate."
She answered strongly, "Absolutely not! As I said, my interest in you is personal, and I have no Russian connections!"
Luke went on, saying, "I hope, for your sake, that this is true, but I must tell you more. The Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have notified our military intelligence in Washington, and the FBI about the reported Russian spy groups operating within our military bases, including this one, and there will soon be an intensive investigation here."
He continued, "And I would be derelict in my duty if I did not go to the local MPs with the information I have brought back from Canada. In fact, I plan to do just that this afternoon. And I hate to say this, but if you are in any way implicated, I urge you to go with me, and turn yourself in to the MPs. They will go easier on you if you do."
Her expression changed to one of anxiety and some anger, and she replied, "Please do not do this to me! It will ruin my career as an occupational therapy Officer in the Army! You say you find me attractive. If you do not turn me in, I shall sleep with you, be your mistress, or even marry you."
Luke felt sick inside as he said, "There are no other options here. You must do it my way!"
She continued to plead with him, but finally saw that he was adamant. She was crying as she said, "All right! Please give me a few minutes to dry my eyes and powder my nose, and then I’ll go with you."
She went to the ladies’ room, and Luke remained at the table, feeling miserable about the whole situation. Fifteen minutes went by and she had not returned. Luke was sure that she had not left the rest room, since he had kept his eye on the door, which he could see from his chair at the table. Another five minutes went by, so Luke, growing uneasy, went over, knocked on the rest room door, and called her name. There was no response.
With growing anxiety, he asked a lady Officer in the club to go to the ladies’ room, and check on Lt. Orloff. The Officer did, but soon came running out crying, "She is down in one of the toilet stalls, and the door is locked! I, I think she must have fainted!"
Luke brushed the obliging lady Lieutenant aside and rushed into the rest room. Lt. Orloff was indeed on the floor beside the toilet, and not responding. He tried to open the door to the stall, but it was indeed locked. In desperation, he tore the door off by the hinges, and carefully pulled the prostrate Lt. Orloff out onto the floor of the rest room.
He noted that she was not breathing, but yet did not look cyanotic. She had no carotid pulse in he neck. Luke ran his finger through her mouth, and found no obstruction. He turned her over in the prone position, and started artificial respiration, shouting to the accumulation of bystanders to get the first aid unit and ambulance from nearby Brooke Army Hospital on the double. He turned her back over and stuck the front of her chest sharply with his fist to try to get her heart started. He put his ear to her chest, but could hear no heart sounds. He rolled her back over, and continued artificial respiration.
The medics arrived with five minutes and started giving her oxygen by mask. Artificial respiration was continued for another fifteen minutes, but to no avail. Luke then ordered cessation of treatment, and sorrowfully pronounced her dead.
As he got up, he noticed a small pill container in her hand with a label containing Russian Cryillic letters on it. He muttered to himself, "I’ll bet it’s cyanide!"
He told the club manager to call the military police at once, and ordered everyone to stay away from the body and pill bottle.
In just a few minutes the MPs arrived, a Lt. William Conklin, along with two sergeants with large MP bands on their left sleeves. Luke briefly told them the story of what had transpired, and they methodically examined the toilet stall, the body, and the floor around it. They interviewed the lady Lieutenant who originally discovered the body, the club manager and occupants, carefully deposited the pill bottle in a sealed plastic bag, and one of the sergeants rushed it to forensics for analyzing. Lt. Conklin reported to his superior at MP headquarters, and then ordered the ambulance driver to take the body to the morgue at Brooke Army Hospital for autopsy examination and toxicological studies.
The Lieutenant then reported the death to the commanding Generals of the Medical Field Service School and Brook Army Medical Center, and to Lt. Orloffs commanding officer in the occupational therapy program. He asked the latter to try to reach the deceased’s family. He then turned to Luke and said, "Dr. Martin, please come with me to headquarters so we can get more information from you."
Luke rode with the MPs to their headquarters in a MP staff car, and was introduced to the commander, Colonel John Hill, and the Officers on his staff. They sat down around a table and asked Luke to tell his story from the beginning.
He told of his unusual meeting with Lt. Orloff when he was in the student detachment, about her peculiar behaviour at the Officers’ club swimming pool, and her conversation with the shadowy Lt. "Boris" in Russian. He then told about the spying of Sgt. Wilcoff at Frobisher, and how he had told of elaborate Russian espionage networks comprised partly of American military personnel, at many major US military installations, including Fort Sam Houston, He told them that he was on his way to talk with them about it when Lt. Orloff intercepted him at the Officers’ club, and the conversation between Luke and herself, which apparently caused her to commit suicide.
When Luke concluded, Colonel Hill said, "Thank you. Lt. Martin. Please give us a complete written report on this as soon as possible. I want you to know that we have just received orders from Washington to start an intensive search to root out the spy ring here, and you have given us a head start!"
Luke answered, "Sir, may I suggest that you start an immediate search for this Lt. Boris something or other, an MSC officer that Lt. Orloff spoke about, at Brooke Army Hospital. I suspect that he is also implicated in this espionage ring. I heard his voice speaking Russian at the Officers’ club swimming pool last April; however, I did not actually see him, so I cannot identify him myself."
The meeting broke up, and Luke returned to his BOQ room to rest and think. The strain of the day’s events left him exhausted and emotionally drained. It would have been so easy to have fallen in love with Lt. Orloff! She was so attractive. But his practical side told him that this could never have been so. However, he felt considerable remorse and guilt over her suicide.
Eleven months passed, and in early December, 1953 he received a letter and Christmas card from Sarah Caribou, posted from St. John’s, Newfoundland. She told him all about her first year in nursing school, how much she enjoyed it, and that she had an A-minus average so far. She thanked him again for arranging it all for her.
He quickly wrote back, and congratulated her on her progress. He felt very proud of her in every way.
He also received a letter from Corporal Ian Bulloch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He said that an American Air Force medical Officer had been assigned permanently to Frobisher Bay, and was helping with the care of the Inuit people, but he did not have Luke’s dedication. A new dispensary was being built and an Air Force Nursing Officer was to be assigned. Ian also said that the people wanted their blood brother, Luta Martin, to come and visit them again. He also reported that the radar station was in full operation, and that no Russian Bear bombers had dared come their way. He concluded by saying that the Russian airman’s broken leg had finally healed. He had been deported to Russia as an illegal alien in May, 1953, and Moscow had reacted favourably.
Luke, of course, already knew that North Korea had signed armistice papers with the United Nations at P’anmunjom on July 27, 1953. He wondered how much the previous events dealing with the Russians while he was at Frobisher Bay influenced the North Koreans to sign the armistice. He suspected quite a lot! But the Cold War was not to come to an end until about 1962.
Updated: August 3, 2002