In June 1943 an OSS agent in London uncovers a mysterious Nazi interest in something they call “Auge Orion”. Major Amos Mead, USMC, is charged with answering the questions of “what and why”. The twists and turns of Mead’s quest end half way around the world in a violent confrontation.

Code Name: ORION’S EYE

    Code Name: ORION’S EYE is the first in a planned series of action/adventure novels featuring protagonist Major Amos Ethan Mead, USMC. Mead is an OSS agent during World War II who manages to get some interesting assignments. In this story he discovers that the Nazi Germans are trying to locate and steal a new and important breakthrough in radar technology. Ultimately, Mead must shepherd the device, assigned to the 1^st Fighter Control Squadron, on its journey to war. Along the way he assembles a most unlikely team of fellow spy catchers. 

     Unknown to Mead and the team, Nazi leaders Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler are in direct competition with each other to capture the device for their own paranoid purposes. Thus, Mead and company are challenged from many directions. Into the mix is thrown a suspected spy – a U.S. military officer who is on one of the espionage missions for the Nazis.

       Growing up, I had often heard the story of the sinking of the troopship, S.S. Cape San Juan, from my father, an officer in the Maritime Service. In later years, after the passing of my father, I thought of somehow writing about the ship. Serendipity stepped in as it often does. In 1996 I read an article in the Contra Costa Times about a reunion of an Army unit that was aboard the troopship when she sunk. I searched out a phone number and reached one of the soldiers. He was more than generous in sharing his experiences with me. To my good fortune, the soldier, Chester Dreist, was the ex-officio historian of the unit, the 1^st Fighter Control Squadron. He provided me with his research, including first hand memoirs of his fellow soldiers. He even made me an “honorary member” of the 1^st Fighters.

       A comment Chet made during one of our conversations became the seed that grew into the plot of Code Name: ORION’S EYE. He said, “You know, Tom, most of our guys didn’t realize how secret our radar gear was.”

      So we have the ship and secret radar gear in 1943, which was precisely when the German Luftwaffe was being decimated by Allied bombers and long range fighters. We had it – they needed it. We have conflict, we have a story.

     One last note. As I “met” – on the internet and phone – other men who were eye witnesses to the events, I became very aware of my need to honor them and their service with a good, accurate report. Even though this is a novel, the historic elements are well researched, and reflect well on them. The three main players, Chet Dreist, Arthur Jeter, and Edward Bonfoey have all passed on. They would not have recognized some of their words and actions in the book, but they did witness first hand the events that unfolded during that fateful time from June to November 1943. God bless them and their service to all Americans.