Felton Mark Wyatt (May 23, 1920 – June 29, 2006) was a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

agent. He was raised in

Woodland, California Woodland is a city in and the county seat of Yolo County, California, United States. Located approximately northwest of Sacramento, it is a part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population continues to grow every year, with a growth ra ...

and graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1942. 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 served as a communications officer on board of the destroyer "Conner" in the Pacific theater. After his war service in the US Navy he earned a degree in foreign affairs from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. He joined the CIA in 1948. He married fellow CIA operative Ann Appleton Wyatt in 1951. First posted to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, Wyatt delivered large sums of cash to

Christian Democrat Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian ethics#Politics, Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo ...

politicians as part a large-scale operation to sway the results of the 1948 election. This operation continued until at least 1972 (24 years). In 1964 Wyatt was appointed deputy chief of the

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

station. He also helped to set up the Italian branch of the anti-communist NATO stay behind network during the

Mario Scelba Mario Scelba (; 5 September 1901 – 29 October 1991) was an Italian politician and statesman who was the 33rd prime minister of Italy from February 1954 to July 1955. A founder of Christian Democracy (DC), Scelba was one of the longest-serving ...

prime ministry, after the Italians were initially left out. In 1968–69 he worked with South Vietnamese intelligence services in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

. In 1970 Wyatt was posted to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to spy on the UN. He was posted chief of station in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

(1972–1975). After his career in the CIA, Wyatt assisted Soviet defectors to acclimate to life in the United States. Wyatt was one of the few persons in the CIA who knew

Arkady Shevchenko Arkady Nikolayevich Shevchenko (October 11, 1930 – February 28, 1998) was a Soviet Union, Soviet diplomat who was the highest-ranking Soviet official Eastern Bloc emigration and defection, to defect to the Western world, West. Shevchen ...

as a friend before his defection and also knew of Shevchenko's information given to the CIA for years before the defection. After Shevchenko's defection,

Aldrich Ames Aldrich Hazen Ames (; born May 26, 1941) is an American former Central Intelligence Agency, CIA counterintelligence officer who was convicted of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia in 1994. He is serving a life sentence, without th ...

debriefed Shevchenko. Wyatt attended Shevchenko's United States citizenship ceremony. In the later years of his life he split his time between

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, during the year and

Carnelian Bay Carnelian Bay (formerly, Cornelian Bay) is an unincorporated community on the shore of Lake Tahoe in Placer County, California, United States. The Cornelian Bay post office operated from 1883 to 1887 and from 1891 to 1893. The Carnelian Bay post ...

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

, in the summer.

References

External links

* Transcript of

CNN.com Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable new ...

''Cold War'' 1996 intervie

* Obituary at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Thursday, July 6, 200

* Obituary at ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Joe Holley, Monday, July 10, 200

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyatt, F. Mark 1920 births 2006 deaths People of the Central Intelligence Agency People from Woodland, California University of California, Berkeley alumni Elliott School of International Affairs alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II American expatriates in Italy American expatriates in Vietnam