“You should be proud to know that in order to be memorialized in this fashion, the circumstances of an individual’s death must be of inspirational or heroic nature.”
CIA letter to Ginley’s brother
January 11, 2025 — Jerome Patrick Ginley was a CIA officer who died on January 11, 1951, when his plane crashed into the East China Sea near the Ryukyu Islands. The circumstances surrounding his death remain classified, and all FOIA requests for information have been denied in full. How can national security concerns justify such secrecy more than 70 years after his death? Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
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Early Life and Education
Jerome Patrick Ginley was born on August 24, 1912, in Walpole, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. He attended Dean Academy in Franklin, Massachusetts, graduating in 1931, and later went on to graduate from Tufts University in 1935.
U.S. Navy Service
Ginley served in the U.S. Navy from 1941 to 1945, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Career with the CIA
Following his military service, Ginley joined the CIA in 1948, shortly after the agency’s establishment.
Death
Jerome Patrick Ginley’s life came to a mysterious end on January 11, 1951, when the plane in which he was a passenger crashed into the East China Sea near the Ryukyu Islands.
According to a letter from the CIA to a relative, Ginley was killed at 11:32 a.m. on that day.
The CIA reported that he died from drowning but offered no further details, citing national security.
Shrouded in Secrecy
The circumstances surrounding Ginley’s death, along with reports that his casket was lead-sealed, have fueled speculation about his involvement in covert operations, possibly linked to CIA activities during the early months of the Korean War. (The Korean War started on June 25, 1950, and ended with an armistice on July 27, 1953.)
Jerome Patrick Ginley’s case is unique within the CIA. Among the first 31 stars on the CIA’s Memorial Wall, his star stands out as the only one for which the CIA has publicly acknowledged the individual but refused to disclose the circumstances of death or the mission’s nature.
Two other initial stars remain anonymous, but both the 1965 and 1970 names are classified, even if the 1970 star is known to honor Hugh Francis Redmond, who died in a Chinese prison on April 13, 1970.
The continued secrecy surrounding Ginley’s death may stem from the nature of the operation itself, possibly involving activities that were illegal under international law, morally controversial, or potentially embarrassing to the CIA or the U.S. government.
To this day, Ginley’s death remains shrouded in secrecy, attracting the attention of historians and researchers who suspect he may have been involved in a highly sensitive mission.
Aftermath
Despite extensive research, Ginley’s great-nephew, Jerry Kroll, has found no additional information regarding the incident.
His family has received three separate certificates listing different causes of death, and Ginley’s crash is notably absent from a CIA list of planes downed between 1950 and 1970.
Suspicion
As my book demonstrates repeatedly, the CIA’s intense secrecy surrounding the deaths of its officers — especially those honored with a star — often leaves families in distress and uncertainty.
Many relatives, in time, come to believe the agency is withholding the truth, and in some cases, they may not be wrong.
Jerome Ginley’s great-nephew, Jerry Kroll, suspects that his great-uncle may have been taken prisoner and later killed. He continues to hope the CIA will one day disclose the full story:
“It would be nice if I could at least put that much to rest. I can deal with the facts, but when I’m left wondering, that’s hard to handle. It would ease my mind if I could know what actually happened to him. I’m sure he died, but I’d just like to know how and when.”
Speculation
Ginley’s mission may have involved a covert CIA project related to biological weapons during the Korean War, possibly linking his story to that of another CIA figure, Colonel Frank Olson.
A biochemist and biological weapons researcher, Olson died under mysterious circumstances on November 28, 1953, after falling from a 13th-floor window at the Statler Hotel in New York City.
Initially ruled a suicide, his death has since been tied to his involvement in classified CIA projects, including MKUltra mind-control experiments and bio-warfare programs.
Olson’s deepening moral concerns reportedly centered on the U.S. government’s actions in the Korean War, particularly in bio-weapons research.
His wife, Alice Olson, later told their children that Frank had been profoundly disturbed by what he knew regarding the agency’s activities in Korea.
Olson’s growing unease and distress fueled speculation that he may have been silenced by the CIA to prevent him from revealing classified information.
His son, Eric Olson, has become a prominent advocate, seeking to uncover the full truth about his father’s death and his knowledge of biological warfare efforts in Korea.
Both Ginley’s and Olson’s cases underscore the secrecy surrounding early Cold War CIA operations, particularly those with potential connections to bio-weapons research.
Each story has drawn lasting interest from researchers and family members who remain determined to uncover the hidden facts.
Memorial Wall and Book of Honor
Jerome Patrick Ginley’s star is the second of the original 31 stars on the CIA’s Memorial Wall.
His name was the first to be inscribed in the CIA’s Book of Honor, marking his legacy within the agency’s history.
References
Steele, Kim. “Hammond Man Hopes to Lift CIA’s Veil of Secrecy.” The Times of Northwest Indiana, June 1, 1995.
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CIA memorial Wall — STAR 2 : Jerome P. Ginley (East China Sea – January 11, 1951)
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