Charles Tracy Barnes (August 2, 1911 – February 18, 1972) was a senior staff member at the United States'

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

(CIA), serving as principal manager of CIA operations in the

1954 Guatemalan coup d'état The 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état was the result of a CIA covert operation code-named PBSuccess. It deposed the democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz and ended the Guatemalan Revolution of 1944–1954. It installed the m ...

and the 1961

Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly f ...

History

Tracy was born in

Manhasset Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...

, Long Island,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to parents Courtlandt Dixon Barnes (June 13, 1881 in Stonington, Connecticut - ?) and Katherine Lansing Barney (February 6, 1885 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

- ?), siblings were Courtlandt Dixon Barnes, Jr. (December 26, 1907 - 1997) and Katharine Lansing Barnes (February 27, 1909 - ?). He was educated at

Groton School Groton School (founded as Groton School for Boys) is a private college-preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts. Ranked as one of the top five boarding high schools in the United States in Niche (2021–2022), it is affiliat ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, where he became a member of the

Scroll and Key The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest Yale secret societies and reputedly the wealthiest. The society is one of the reputed "Big Three" societies ...

secret society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ...

. He graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1937 and was hired by William Harding Jackson as an associate (1937-1939) at the Wall Street firm of Carter, Ledyard & Milburn. As WW-II began, Barnes was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant, and was one of the first persons to attend the US Army-Air Forces Air Combat Intelligence School at Harrisburg, PA (June 1942) along with his '2nd cousin' John Hay 'Jock' Whitney. Barnes was married to Janet who was born June 10, 1913 in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. At the Intelligence School, they began a lifelong friendship with the Whitneys. When Jock Whitney served as US Ambassador to Great Britain, Barnes served as CIA station chief in London. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he served first with

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

intelligence, then with the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States 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 for all bran ...

. He was awarded France's

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

and the US

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an ...

. After the war, he returned to legal practice. In 1950 he went to Washington to serve as special assistant to Under Secretary of the Army,

Archibald S. Alexander Archibald Stevens Alexander (October 28, 1906 – September 4, 1979) was an American lawyer, civil servant, and Democratic politician. He served as Under Secretary of the United States Army in the Truman Administration and as New Jersey State T ...

. He also served as deputy director of the

Psychological Strategy Board The Psychological Strategy Board (PSB) was a committee of the United States executive formed to coordinate and plan for psychological operations. It was formed on April 4, 1951, during the Truman administration. The board was composed of the Und ...

during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. In 1951 he joined the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

. In 1953, he was appointed Special Assistant for Paramilitary Psychological Operations, under

Frank Wisner Frank Gardiner Wisner (June 23, 1909 – October 29, 1965) was one of the founding officers of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and played a major role in CIA operations throughout the 1950s. Wisner began his intelligence career in the Off ...

, and was the principal case officer in the CIA operation leading up to the

. From 1954 to 1956, he was appointed Chief Of Station (COS) in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. From 1957 to 1959, he was appointed Chief Of Station (COS) in

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In 1960, he was appointed Assistant Deputy Director for Plans, under

Richard M. Bissell Jr. Richard Mervin Bissell Jr. (September 18, 1909 – February 7, 1994) was an American Central Intelligence Agency officer responsible for major projects such as the U-2 spy plane and the Bay of Pigs Invasion. He is seen as one of the most im ...

, with direct responsibility for the CIA operation leading to the

in April 1961.Bissell (1996) In 1962, he was made head of the CIA's

Domestic Operations Division Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes ...

. In July 1966 new CIA Director

Richard Helms Richard McGarrah Helms (March 30, 1913 – October 23, 2002) was an American government official and diplomat who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from 1966 to 1973. Helms began intelligence work with the Office of Strategic Ser ...

had Desmond FitzGerald fire Barnes from the CIA. In June 1970, Tracy Barnes suffered a serious stroke. His recovery was slow and on 18 February 1972, he had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

and died at his home at Saunderstown,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

, at age 60.

References

Additional References

* Bissell, Richard M. (Jr.), with Jonathan E. Lewis and Frances T. Pudlo (1996). ''Reflections of a Cold Warrior: From Yalta to the Bay of Pigs''.

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Univer ...

. . *Higgins, Trumbull (1987). ''The Perfect Failure: Kennedy, Eisenhower, and the CIA at the Bay of Pigs''. Norton. . * Hunt, E. Howard (1973). ''Give Us This Day''. Arlington House. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Tracy 1911 births 1972 deaths American spies Harvard Law School alumni People of the Central Intelligence Agency People of the Office of Strategic Services Yale University alumni Groton School alumni Recipients of the Silver Star People from Manhasset, New York