Carl Frederick Eifler (June 27, 1906 – April 8, 2002) was a U.S. Army officer best known for having commanded Detachment 101, which served behind the enemy lines in Japanese-occupied

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He helped stand up 13 army reserve detachments outside major universities to preserve the expertise and knowledge of the returning GIs.

Biography

Eifler was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to Carl Eifler Sr. and his wife Pauline. His parents were both born in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

to German-American immigrants, and his father was a "rig builder" in a buggy shop. He served in the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

, followed by the

United States Border Patrol The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and is responsible for secu ...

. Eifler enlisted in the Army at the of age 15, and spent a year as a private in Panama before being returned to the US as underage. He served in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

in the 1930s, earning a commission, and he was called to active duty in early 1941. Shortly afterwards, Eifler was ordered to report to "Wild Bill" Donovan, commander of the Coordinator of Information, which would soon become the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

(OSS). Eifler was selected to command Detachment 101, a paramilitary organization intended to operate against the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese army in the

Burma Campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

, in China India Burma Theater. Eifler performed his work with distinction, surviving two plane crashes, but finally being disabled by head injuries that required 18 months of hospitalization. He held the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

when he was relieved of command in 1943 because of his injuries. Eifler turned over command of Detachment 101 to Lt. Col. William R. Peers, and was flown to Hawaii to recover. In 1945, the OSS had Eifler devise a plan to parachute into Nazi Germany disguised as a German general to kidnap

Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg (; ; 5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist, one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics and a principal scientist in the German nuclear program during World War II. He pub ...

, Germany's top nuclear physicist, smuggle Heisenberg to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and bring him to the United States. Eifler did not end up doing the mission, as he was told the Americans had already developed the

Atom Bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear explo ...

. The sole reason for kidnapping Heisenberg was to prevent the Germans from developing the bomb before the Americans. In reality, the mission was still alive, though it was handed to Moe Berg. After the war, Eifler earned a doctorate of psychology from the

Illinois Institute of Technology The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...

and worked as a clinical psychologist in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

. He died in 2002 at the age of 95 in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Salt pan (geology), Salt Flats") is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County, California, Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is ...

. Eifler (a burly 6'2") had outlived both of his wives as well as his son, Carl Henry Eifler. Colonel Eifler is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame and is honored by Eifler Gym at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

References

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External links

Partial Inventory of the Carl Frederick Eifler Papers
an
selected documents online
at the Hoover Institution Archives, Stanford University. 1906 births 2002 deaths Law enforcement officials from California United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army colonels American police officers United States Border Patrol agents {{US-army-World-War-II-bio-stub

Biography

References

Further reading

External links