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to purchase the house after the war. After it was acquired by the
Diocese in 1947, the house was renamed and began its new life as a part of the diocesan summer camp and retreat center, Camp DeWolfe. On June 7, 2014 - the day after the 70th anniversary of D-Day - the
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decided to create a cover operation to convince the Nazis that he and other spies were still working for
Germany. The FBI took over Benson House and moved a special agent, Donworth Johnson, and his family into the house, with a cover story that Johnson suffered from
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and so needed quiet and fresh air. The illness would also explain his military deferment. Johnson's wife, Betty Ann, cooked meals for her husband and other agents who moved in and out under cover of night. They worked on the second and third stories of the house.
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car engine was bolted to the floor of the basement to supply power. A muffler helped deaden the noise. Large antennas were required to be placed outside, but were hidden by trees, helped by the then isolated location of the house.
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In order to carry out the operation, several large shortwave radios were installed in the house. In order not to attract attention due to the large amount of electricity needed to run the radios and associated equipment, a
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Until recently, very little has been written or publicly known about the building or the operation carried out there. Benson House was named in honor of Mary Benson, who donated funds to the
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and the diocese dedicated a plaque affixed to the house, which explains the building's significance.
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The main mission of the operation was to broadcast coded radio transmissions to the
Germans in
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counterintelligence operation, designed to deceive
Germany and Japan about Allied war plans.
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505:"Camp DeWolfe | Summer camp and Year-Round Retreat and Conference Center, Long Island, NY"
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Transmissions were also received. Intelligence about German interest in developing an
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475:"Wading River retreat house was FBI disinformation operation in World War II"
373:"National Register of Historic Places nomination, Wading River Radio Station"
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Houses on the
National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
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plans was transmitted. False information about Allied plans to invade
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nominated it to the
National Register; it was listed later that year.
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New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and
Historic Preservation
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National
Register of Historic Places listings in Riverhead, New York
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National
Register of Historic Places in Riverhead (town), New York
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in the
Pacific was also sent, to be passed on to Japanese forces.
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409:"National Register of Historic Places actions for May 4, 2018"
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445:"Long Island Home's Secret Role in WWII Espionage Revealed"
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238:, is a three-story, red-shingled wood-frame home in
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History of the National Register of Historic Places
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246:, on a 150-foot-high (46 m) bluff overlooking
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250:. From 1942 until 1945 it housed an important
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1249:Military communications of the United States
1152:National Register of Historic Places Portal
371:Batvinis, Ray; Tees, Matt (February 2018).
341:Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI
1229:Federal Bureau of Investigation operations
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569:U.S. National Register of Historic Places
317:'s decision to develop an American bomb.
273:spy defected to the American legation in
38:U.S. National Register of Historic Places
16:Historic house in New York, United States
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1244:Military deception during World War II
532:Hoover's Secret War Against Axis Spies
55:South elevation and west profile, 2016
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313:, received in 1942, played a role in
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1234:Signals intelligence of World War II
1191:National Register of Historic Places
232:National Register of Historic Places
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473:Kessler, Robert E. (May 31, 2014).
1219:Houses in Suffolk County, New York
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242:, situated on the North Shore of
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455:from the original on 22 May 2020
443:Valiquette, Joe (June 6, 2014).
336:Episcopal Diocese of Long Island
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279:Federal Bureau of Investigation
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277:, early in World War II, the
129:Show map of the United States
1103:National Historic Landmarks
315:President Franklin Roosevelt
19:United States historic place
259:Historic Preservation Board
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413:U.S. National Park Service
236:Wading River Radio Station
30:Wading River Radio Station
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204:NRHP reference
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48:
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856:Richmond (Staten Island)
194:Architectural style
1239:World War II espionage
592:Keeper of the Register
240:Wading River, New York
143:Wading River, New York
1112:Outside New York City
607:National Park Service
587:Contributing property
530:Raymond J. Batvinis.
796:New York (Manhattan)
269:When an Argentinian
93:Show map of New York
1099:Bridges and tunnels
509:www.campdewolfe.org
275:Montevideo, Uruguay
257:In 2018 New York's
170:40.9680°N 72.8406°W
166: /
87:Location of within
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597:Historic district
485:on August 3, 2014
389:on March 17, 2018
248:Long Island Sound
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175:40.9680; -72.8406
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415:. May 4, 2018
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217:Added to NRHP
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1179:Architecture
1063:Poughkeepsie
991:New Rochelle
891:St. Lawrence
531:
512:. Retrieved
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499:
487:. Retrieved
483:the original
468:
457:. Retrieved
449:NBC New York
447:. New York:
417:. Retrieved
403:
391:. Retrieved
384:the original
366:
333:
319:
308:
289:
284:tuberculosis
268:
256:
252:World War II
235:
228:Benson House
227:
225:
117:Benson House
81:Benson House
1092:Other lists
941:Westchester
871:Schenectady
666:Cattaraugus
330:Current use
311:atomic bomb
244:Long Island
220:May 4, 2018
173: /
149:Coordinates
1213:Categories
931:Washington
851:Rensselaer
786:Montgomery
771:Livingston
676:Chautauqua
514:2017-01-08
459:2020-11-17
359:References
161:72°50′26″W
158:40°58′05″N
1073:Rochester
1068:Rhinebeck
1058:Peekskill
1019:Manhattan
876:Schoharie
756:Jefferson
639:by county
393:March 16,
211:100002389
1132:Category
1078:Syracuse
1004:Brooklyn
951:Southern
946:Northern
916:Tompkins
906:Sullivan
881:Schuyler
866:Saratoga
861:Rockland
811:Onondaga
751:Herkimer
746:Hamilton
726:Franklin
711:Dutchess
706:Delaware
701:Cortland
696:Columbia
686:Chenango
651:Allegany
573:New York
453:Archived
347:See also
302:and the
139:Location
1165:Portals
1083:Yonkers
986:Buffalo
974:by city
958:Wyoming
901:Suffolk
896:Steuben
826:Orleans
816:Ontario
801:Niagara
776:Madison
736:Genesee
691:Clinton
681:Chemung
489:June 9,
479:Newsday
419:May 14,
300:Formosa
292:Hamburg
265:History
234:as the
1009:Queens
981:Albany
926:Warren
921:Ulster
886:Seneca
846:Queens
841:Putnam
836:Otsego
831:Oswego
821:Orange
806:Oneida
791:Nassau
781:Monroe
741:Greene
731:Fulton
671:Cayuga
661:Broome
646:Albany
580:Topics
534:(2014)
999:Bronx
972:Lists
963:Yates
936:Wayne
911:Tioga
766:Lewis
721:Essex
656:Bronx
637:Lists
387:(PDF)
376:(PDF)
323:Buick
296:D-Day
186:Built
1142:List
716:Erie
491:2014
421:2018
395:2018
271:Nazi
226:The
189:1912
571:in
206:No.
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507:.
477:.
451:.
429:^
411:.
378:.
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561:e
554:t
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423:.
397:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
