The FBI, a 12-Year-Old, and the Code That Almost Sparked an International Incident

In the annals of espionage and cryptography, few stories are as bizarre, humorous, and ultimately harmless as the tale of a 12-year-old boy, a misplaced pair of glasses, and the FBI’s brief but intense investigation into a supposed Japanese spy ring. This is the story of Les Earnest, a young boy in San Diego during World War II, whose innocent foray into cryptography nearly landed him in hot water with the federal government.

The Spark: A Book on Codes and Ciphers

It all began with a book. In 1943, Les Earnest and his friend Bob stumbled upon Fletcher Pratt’s Secret and Urgent, an early popular account of codes and ciphers. The book, published by Blue Ribbon Books in Garden City, NY, in 1942, introduced them to the fascinating world of cryptography. Pratt explained how letter frequencies could be used to break ciphers, noting that the most frequently occurring letters in typical English text are e-t-a-o-n-r-i, in that order. (Interestingly, the letter frequency order in this very story is e-t-a-i-o-n-r, with a higher frequency of “i,” likely reflecting the author’s frequent use of the first person singular.)

Inspired by Pratt’s book, Bob and Les decided they needed a secure way to communicate. They devised an elaborate jargon code based on the principles described in the book. While they spent most of their time together outside of school, they figured it was better to be safe than sorry—you never knew when you might need to send a secret message!

The Code Key and the Misplaced Glasses

To ensure they could always communicate securely, they made two copies of the code key—a description of how to encrypt and decrypt their messages—on a single typewritten sheet. Each boy took a copy and carried it on their person at all times when wearing clothes. Les, who spent nearly all his time outside of school wearing just a pair of maroon swimming trunks, didn’t wear clothes much. He had recently been given glasses but generally kept them in a hard case in the pocket of the trousers he wore to school. He figured this was a good place to hide his copy of the code key, so he carefully folded it to one-eighth of its original size and stuck it at the bottom of the case, under his glasses.

One Saturday, while riding the streetcar home from the beach, the case carrying his glasses slipped out of his pocket unnoticed. Les reported the loss to his mother that night, but the streetcar company said the glasses hadn’t been turned in. After a few weeks of waiting in vain, they began to lose hope. His mother didn’t rush getting replacement glasses, considering they cost about $8—a large sum at that time. To Les, $8 represented 40 round trips to the beach by streetcar or 80 admission fees to the movies.

The FBI Investigation

Unknown to Les and his mother, the case had been found by a patriotic citizen who opened it, discovered the code key, recognized that it must belong to a Japanese spy, and turned it over to the FBI. This was in 1943, just after citizens of Japanese descent had been forced off their property and taken away to concentration camps. Les remembers hearing that a local grocer was secretly a Colonel in the Japanese Army and had hidden his uniform in the back of his store. A lot of people actually believed these things.

About six weeks later, while Les was off on another escapade, his mother was visited by a man who identified himself as an investigator from the FBI. She noticed that there were two more men waiting in a car outside. The agent asked a number of questions about Les, including his occupation. He was quite disappointed when he learned that Les was only 12 years old.

The investigator eventually revealed why Les was being investigated, showed his mother the glasses and the code key, and asked if she knew where it came from. She didn’t, of course. She asked if they could get the glasses back, and he agreed.

Les’s mother told the investigator how glad she was to get them back, considering they cost $8. The agent did a slow burn, then said, “Lady, this case has cost the government thousands of dollars. It has been the top priority in our office for the last six weeks. We traced the glasses to your son from the prescription by examining the files of nearly every optometrist in San Diego.” It apparently didn’t occur to them that if Les were a real Japanese spy, he might have brought the glasses with him from headquarters.

The FBI agent gave back the glasses but kept the code key “for our records.” They apparently were not fully convinced that they were dealing just with kids.

A New Code and a Security Clearance

Since their communication scheme had been compromised, Bob and Les devised a new key. Les started carrying it in his wallet, which he thought was more secure. He doesn’t remember ever exchanging any cryptographic messages, but he was always ready.

A few years later, when Les was in college, he got a summer job at the Naval Electronics Lab, which required a security clearance. One of the questions on the application form was, “Have you ever been investigated by the FBI?” Naturally, he checked “Yes.” The next question was, “If so, describe the circumstances.” There was very little space on the form, so he answered simply and honestly, “I was suspected of being a Japanese spy.”

When he handed the form in to the security officer, he scanned it quickly, looked Les over slowly, then said, “Explain this,” pointing at the FBI question. Les described what had happened. The officer got very agitated, picked up his form, tore it in pieces, and threw it in the wastebasket.

He then got out a blank form and handed it to Les, saying, “Here, fill it out again and don’t mention that. If you do, I’ll make sure that you never get a security clearance.”

Les did as he directed and was shortly granted the clearance. He never again disclosed that incident on security clearance forms.

The Moral of the Story

This story serves as a humorous reminder of the paranoia and suspicion that characterized the World War II era. It also highlights the importance of context and perspective in interpreting information. What seemed like a clear-cut case of espionage to the FBI was, in reality, the innocent curiosity of two boys exploring the world of cryptography.

Les Earnest’s tale is a testament to the power of knowledge and the sometimes absurd consequences of its application. It also underscores the importance of critical thinking and the need to question assumptions, especially in times of heightened tension and fear.

Tags: FBI, cryptography, World War II, espionage, security clearance, codes, ciphers, San Diego, childhood, humor, paranoia, investigation, naval electronics lab, Fletcher Pratt, Secret and Urgent, letter frequencies, e-t-a-o-n-r-i, Japanese spy, concentration camps, optometrist, security officer, clearance process.

Viral Sentences:

• “I was suspected of being a Japanese spy.”
• “Lady, this case has cost the government thousands of dollars.”
• “If you do, I’ll make sure that you never get a security clearance.”
• “We traced the glasses to your son from the prescription by examining the files of nearly every optometrist in San Diego.”
• “It apparently didn’t occur to them that if I were a real Japanese spy, I might have brought the glasses with me from headquarters.”

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