Twenty years already?

It is hard to believe it is 20 years already.

Twenty years ago today, Robert W. Hunter sprang from the shadows of a hotel hallway and made American history. He arrested a retired Navy warrant officer, John A. Walker Jr., for espionage, breaking what would eventually be called the most damaging Soviet spy ring in U.S. history.

We will never know the full extent of the damage from Walker's treason. He had been supplying the Soviets with highly classified material since the 1960's. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Walker's handler has admitted that they shared the information with the North Vietnamese during the war.

One of the lessons learned in this case is if you're committing a crime don't make your ex-wife angry.

What finally brought down the ring was a call from Walker’'s ex-wife, Barbara. She was living in New England and called the FBI office in Boston to say her ex had been a spy for decades. She was angry at Walker, who had also tried to recruit one of their daughters, Laura, when she was in the Army. She refused. At first, the FBI in Boston wasn’t impressed by Barbara Walker’s story. She had been drinking and continued downing vodka while being interviewed.

I met Special Agent Hunter once and told him how I actually benefited from the case. Shortly after the story broke the Secretary of the Navy ordered a review of everyone's security clearance. He further directed that if a clearance wasn't needed in performance of ones primary assignment it should administratively withdrawn. Well, at that time I was in my job that didn't require access to classified material. However, to stand the watch I normally stood I needed a secret clearance. So, the way I look at it, Walker got me off the watchbill. Good timing too as we visited Hamburg, Germany a month or two later. Hamburg was real good liberty.