381:. Mackiernan carefully recorded positions and landmarks and radioed their progress to Washington. Records of the radio transcripts have not been released by the CIA or the State Department. Mackiernan's log, with additions by Bessac after Mackiernan's death, was declassified in the 1990s, but some alleged that the document had been heavily doctored. By late November, the party reached the 10,000 ft "foothills" of the
359:
employees of the period have described Bessac as a CIA contract agent .(Bessac denied the label, and, other than hearsay, no evidence exists to substantiate Bessac was a contract agent. Later, Bessac pondered if he would have joined the CIA, he could have gotten anti-aircraft guns and mines for the
Tibetan defense of the impending Chinese invasion).
396:. It arrived at the first Tibetan outpost on April 29, 1950. Bessac went over to talk with the Tibetans who were camped nearby. The rest of the party set up tents behind a slight hill. Bessac heard shots and, running over the hill, saw that Mackiernan and two White movement companions, Leonid and Stefan, were dead. Vasili Zvansov was badly wounded.
183:(Sinkiang) Province. In February 1947, Mackiernan missed the adventure of the war and applied to the State Department for a position as a consular clerk at his former location in China. He was eagerly accepted, and by May, he was on his way back. He soon found himself recruited for and ideally suited to espionage work.
294:
Because he was the first CIA officer operating under diplomatic cover as a State
Department employee to be killed, the CIA had not yet established procedures about pensions. Ultimately his wife and children were denied a CIA pension. In 1950, Peggy Mackiernan was awarded a small pension by the State
354:
Mackiernan may have feared that he would be arrested if he had tried to travel through
Communist China, as were other US consuls during that period. By then, Mackiernan's work as an espionage agent was known to the communists. Whatever his motivation, on September 25, 1949, Mackiernan sent his last
286:
had failed to request permission, in a timely fashion, from the
Tibetan government, and Tibetan messengers had not reached all border guards for the Mackiernan party to enter Tibet unharmed. With imminent threat of the Chinese invasion, Tibetan guards had standing orders in the tense spring of 1950
346:
On August 10, 1949, Mackiernan sent a classified coded message to
Acheson that acknowledged that he was operating the long-range atomic explosion detection equipment. By mid-September, Chiang's forces had switched sides without a fight, and Communist troops were due to invade Ürümqi at any point.
358:
Two days later, Mackiernan and a
Fulbright scholar, Frank Bessac, drove out of the main gates of Ürümqi with their gear, which included machine guns, grenades, radios, gold bullion, navigation equipment, and survival supplies. The guards checked Mackiernan's passport and let him through. CIA
403:
with a message of safe conduct for the group. The
American government had delayed sending its request for permission for the Mackiernan party for so long that it was impossible for the Tibetan government to act in time. On June 11, 1950, Bessac and Zvansov finally reached
238:
In the CIA, his scientific background (he had dropped out of MIT after his freshman year) were employed in espionage and other intelligence of the Soviet atomic bomb. Until 2002, the CIA had classified information on
Mackiernan collecting atomic intelligence about the
351:, on August 29, 1949. Mackiernan's work was now finished. Though it was still possible for Mackiernan to have flown out of Ürümqi on a regularly-scheduled flight, Mackiernan and the CIA chose a different path: through Tibet to India.
791:
Frank B. Bessac; Joan
Orielle Bessac Steelquist; Susanne L. Bessac, "Death on the Chang Tang; Tibet, 1950: The Education of an Anthropologist", University of Montana Printing & Graphic Services 2006 Softcover: 0-9773418-2-8
416:, who later befriended Bessac in Lhasa, the Tibetan soldiers who attacked Mackiernan's caravan had hoped to plunder their provisions but were later punished for their callousness. This was also mentioned in Life Magazine, 1950.
734:
839:
Charles Kraus, “To Die On the Steppe: Sino-Soviet-American
Relations and the Cold War in Chinese Central Asia, 1944-1952,” Cold War History 14, no. 3 (August 2014): 293-313, doi: 10.1080/14682745.2013.871262
343:, to be closed as the Communist Chinese were expanding. Mackiernan was ordered to stay behind, officially to destroy consular records and equipment and covertly to continue atomic intelligence activities.
965:
433:
published a book on Mackiernan's work, which revealed Mackiernan's atomic intelligence. Later in 2006, Mackiernan's CIA employment was acknowledged by the CIA, when his name was revealed in the
140:
and explorer. As a child, the young Mackiernan learned English, Spanish, French, and German. He was the oldest of five brothers: Duncan, Angus, Malcolm, and Stuart. His family later moved to
370:. Mackiernan left gold and a radio with Osman, who was seen by the invading Chinese as a rebel taking US support and saw himself as a man fighting for the independence of his people.
295:
Department, which was much smaller than her pension would have been if she had received the CIA pension that was due to her. It was only in 2000 that the first star on the CIA's
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Frank B. Bessac as told to James Burke "These Tibetans Killed an American and Get the Last for It: This was the Perilous Trek to Safety" Life Magazine, November, 1950.
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828:
Linda Benson and Ingvar Svanberg, "The Kazakhs of China: Essays on an Ethnic Minority", "Osman Batur: The Kazakh's Golden Legend", Upsala University Press, 1988.
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telegram, stating that provincial officials had accepted Chinese communist authority, and the communist army was about to enter the city.
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214:(renamed Special Activities Center in 2016 ) by the CIA. As a cover for that work, he was assigned the position of Vice-Consul for the
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on June 19, 1947, to meet with Chinese Hui, Salar, and Kazakh forces, who were fighting both the Outer Mongols and the Soviet Union.
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would be acknowledged to belong to Mackiernan in a secret memorial ceremony. Mackiernan's wife and family were present at the CIA's
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After a month with Osman Bator, the Mackiernan party embarked on a difficult journey by horseback and camel across 1,000 miles of
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437:. However, his work as an agent, and his atomic intelligence, was not fully recognized by the CIA until then-CIA Director
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In the fall of 1949, Mackiernan led a party of five (including the two men who would survive the trip, Vasili Zvansov and
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as a physics major in 1932 but dropped out and became a research assistant at the university. He served as a major in the
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The Tibetan guards realized that they had made a mistake only five days later when they met a group of couriers from the
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to shoot all foreigners who attempted to enter Tibet. Furthermore, Mackiernan and his party were dressed as Kazakhs; the
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244:
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James A. Millward, "Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang", Columbia University Press, 2007, hardcover:
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regarding this note to Acheson see National Archives RG 59, 125.937D/8-1049 as cited on pg 306 of Into Tibet
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248:
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Ted Gup, "The Book of Honor: The Secret Lives and Deaths of CIA Operatives" Anchor Books, 2001 hardcover:
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In March, the small group struggled over the mountains and then trekked across the vast uninhabited
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On September 2, 1945, the Japanese surrendered after they had inflicted great hardship during the
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282:. Mackiernan was shot dead by Tibetan border guards after crossing the Chang Tang of Tibet. The
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615:"Into Tibet - the CIA's first atomic spy and his secret expedition to Lhasa by Thomas Laird"
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on July 29, 1950. His work as a CIA agent was first written about in a chapter of a book by
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144:, where he worked at his father's filling station business, and he and his brothers became
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and his Kazakh warriors, who fought against the Chinese Communists, who were invading the
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Heinrich Harrer, "Seven Years in Tibet", E P Dutton, 1954 hardcover: ASIN: B0006ATJRY.
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http://images.library.wisc.edu/FRUS/EFacs/1947v07/reference/frus.frus1947v07.i0008.pdf
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officially and publicly described Mackiernan's work during a speech in October 2008.
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and the Tibetans were traditional enemies and raided each other across the border.
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Mackiernan's death, as a State Department official, was subsequently reported by
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Into Tibet: The CIA's First Atomic Spy and His Secret Expedition to Lhasa
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Regarding Bessac's work as a CIA contract agent, see pg 244 of Into Tibet
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during the spring and the summer of 1949. On July 29, Secretary of State
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Also, the Soviets had just completed their first atomic test in nearby
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allies and rode out to spend more than a month with the Kazakh leader
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385:, where it spent the winter with Hussein Taiji of the Kazakhs.
116:(April 25, 1913 – April 29, 1950) was the first officer of the
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429:, in 2001. However, it was not until 2003 that the journalist
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and, from November 1943 to the end of the war, in Tiwha (now
512:"Douglas Mackiernan: The first CIA officer killed on duty"
966:
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
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Mackiernan and Bessac met up with three anti-communist
735:"Amnesia to Anamnesis — Central Intelligence Agency"
377:. It traveled south-southwest by night towards the
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255:). Mackiernan activities were first revealed by
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463:. Columbia University Press. pp. 179–.
266:) out of Ürümqi. They first spent time with
148:operators. MacKiernan was of Irish descent.
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635:
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460:Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang
136:, to an adventurous father who had been a
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408:, just weeks before the beginning of the
120:(CIA) to be killed in the line of duty.
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946:United States Army Air Forces colonels
672:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
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247:(tested just across the border at the
226:. He was sent to Peitashan during the
484:McDermott, Peter (February 7, 2017).
153:Massachusetts Institute of Technology
7:
486:"Putting self above national heroes"
341:Xinjiang Province, Republic of China
335:ordered the US consulate at Ürümqi,
259:, and confirmed by the CIA in 2008.
885:Miscellaneous collected information
278:by horseback and camel en route to
14:
159:during World War II, first as a
16:American CIA officer (1913–1950)
926:American people murdered abroad
510:Clancy, CJ (February 7, 2022).
961:American expatriates in Mexico
772:, Grove Press 2002 hardcover:
337:Second East Turkestan Republic
272:Second East Turkestan Republic
224:Second East Turkestan Republic
1:
936:American expatriates in Tibet
721:Life Magazine, November, 1950
561:"Measuring Change at the CIA"
196:United States Army Air Forces
151:Mackiernan spent one year at
545:. 1997-09-07. Archived from
212:Special Activities Division
118:Central Intelligence Agency
106:Central Intelligence Agency
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457:James A. Millward (2007).
323:were defeated by those of
274:, and then traveled on to
114:Douglas Seymour Mackiernan
23:Douglas Seymour Mackiernan
705:Harrer, Heinrich (1953).
916:American anti-communists
537:"They Fired Three Shots"
313:Second Sino-Japanese War
142:Stoughton, Massachusetts
951:American meteorologists
931:People from Mexico City
911:Assassinated CIA agents
329:Chinese Communist Party
249:Semipalatinsk Test Site
198:and was then posted to
128:Mackiernan was born in
863:"The First Atomic Spy"
741:on September 19, 2008.
587:"The First Atomic Spy"
846:Website for the book
228:Battle of Baitag Bogd
124:Early life and career
941:Amateur radio people
708:Seven Years in Tibet
218:at its consulate in
881:, September 7, 1997
878:The Washington Post
859:with sample chapter
542:The Washington Post
435:CIA's Book of Honor
216:US State Department
163:officer in 1942 in
76:Cause of death
854:2020-03-21 at the
780:, 2003 paperback:
422:The New York Times
192:lieutenant colonel
179:), the capital of
875:by Ted Gup, from
867:Technology Review
820:978-0-231-13924-3
763:978-0-385-49541-7
470:978-0-231-13924-3
375:Taklimakan desert
321:Republic of China
307:Final CIA mission
301:Langley, Virginia
245:first atomic bomb
157:US Army Air Corps
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289:Kazakhs in China
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595:. Retrieved
591:the original
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547:the original
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519:. Retrieved
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493:. Retrieved
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431:Thomas Laird
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333:Dean Acheson
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264:Frank Bessac
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257:Thomas Laird
241:Soviet Union
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208:World War II
185:
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127:
113:
112:
59:(1950-04-29)
906:1950 deaths
901:1913 births
865:from MIT's
576:p. 566-567.
368:Osman Bator
268:Osman Batur
171:officer in
130:Mexico City
86:Nationality
43:Mexico City
895:Categories
849:Into Tibet
659:2009-06-08
625:2008-10-04
597:2009-06-08
445:References
410:Korean War
401:Dalai Lama
349:Kazakhstan
325:Mao Zedong
253:Kazakhstan
234:CIA career
35:1913-04-25
711:. Putnam.
390:Changtang
379:Himalayas
65:Changtang
852:Archived
668:cite web
194:for the
181:Xinjiang
102:Diplomat
89:American
521:May 11,
495:May 11,
427:Ted Gup
392:on the
206:during
104:at the
818:
810:
796:
784:
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220:Ürümqi
190:and a
177:Ürümqi
173:Alaska
138:whaler
134:Mexico
47:Mexico
653:(PDF)
646:(PDF)
406:Lhasa
280:India
276:Tibet
251:, in
200:China
69:Tibet
816:ISBN
808:ISBN
794:ISBN
782:ISBN
774:ISBN
759:ISBN
751:ISBN
674:link
523:2023
497:2023
465:ISBN
100:and
54:Died
29:Born
339:or
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