The Boy Scout Who Caught German Spies

By Dennis Wolf

In 1917, Charles Davinport Wailes, Jr. was a member of the Chickasaw Council Troop 22 of the Boy Scouts of America.  He was very active in scouting, eventually making Eagle Scout.  He was also a radio‑telegraphy hobbyist known as the troop’s “radio nut.”

Radio-telegraphy involves sending and receiving text messages by tapping out patterns of dots and dashes on a telegraph key, typically using Morse code.  This was relatively new technology in 1917, as Guglielmo Marconi’s first successful demonstrations occurring around 1895, and the first transatlantic wireless transmission occurred in 1901.

In April 1917, the government invoked the Radio Act of 1912.  Civilian transmitting stations were closed and amateur radio came under military oversight.  The technical science magazine Electrical Experimenter urged hobbyists to help authorities track down unlicensed transmitters, which was something Wailes was capable of doing.

Wailes used his shortwave radio set to monitor legitimate commercial and transportation traffic, mostly Mississippi riverboats and railroad signals.  He also had a portable station-finder, which he used to determine the location of a radio signal source.  This was specialized equipment and indicated Wailes’ serious interest in radio-telegraphy.

The United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917.  One evening shortly thereafter, Wailes was monitoring radio traffic on his shortwave set when he heard “seemingly random characters” that were not Morse code or any pattern Wailes was familiar with from monitoring railroad and riverboat radio traffic.  He said the signals were clear and strong, indicating a nearby and powerful transmitter.

Wailes decided that the signals were probably coming from a German spy.  He went to the home of his scoutmaster, Mervin “Mindy” Rosenbush and told him what he had heard and his suspicion that it was from German spies.  Rosenbush was skeptical and suggested that Wailes leave the matter to local authorities.

A strong willed seventeen year old, Wailes was determined to find the source of the signal.  For several nights he wandered the streets of Memphis with his direction-finding equipment.  This was precise work and required taking bearings from several locations to triangulate the intersection point.  He was able to pinpoint the signal to a house in the 500 block of Vance Avenue near Wellington Street (what is now Danny Thomas Blvd, the exact address was not mentioned in any source document).

He once again went to the home of Scoutmaster Rosenbush and told him he had the location.  Convinced that Wailes had uncovered something, they went to the local office of the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Investigation.  The authorities raided the house and discovered ammunition and a German made sophisticated shortwave radio set in the attic.

As to what happened to the occupant(s) of the house, sources vary on that.  One source said, “The occupant, whose listed occupation was recorded only as ‘traveler,’ was arrested.”  A different source said “Justice agents…arrested a number of German agents who had worked up elaborate schemes for sabotage.”

Unfortunately, there was no press coverage of this incident at the time, and no details such as the name, nationality, or subsequent prosecution of the individual(s) involved, were found in the source material.  The Bureau of Investigation routinely suppressed publicity around counterintelligence arrests during World War I to avoid alerting other operatives, so the absence of a press record is understandable.

In addition to catching spies, Charles Wailes and Troop 22 made a significant contribution to the war effort by selling Liberty Bonds.  Thirty troops of the Chickasaw Council participated in the 1917-1918 war bond drive.  Troop 22 outsold every other scout troop in the country, selling $672,100 worth of bonds.  Wailes was the troop’s top salesman, selling $445,500 worth of bonds to 1,312 people, the most of any scout in the country.  President Woodrow Wilson recognized Troop 22 for this achievement, awarding the troop a United States flag.

Sources:

Dowdy, G. Wayne (2010). Hidden History of Memphis.  Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickasaw_Council

St. Nicholas Magazine, July 1918

The Commercial Appeal, March 23, 1942, page 10

The Memphis Press-Scimitar, September 17, 1966, page 6

The Memphis Press-Scimitar, May 27, 1969, page 7