US Special Passport 1941 Lieutenant Asiatic Fleet

In 1941, Lieutenant Eugene Simon Karpe received a special U.S. passport for his service in the Asiatic Fleet during WWII. Karpe, a notable naval attaché, later died under mysterious circumstances in 1950, pushed from a train in Austria. The document, a rare find, highlights his significant military contributions and untimely death linked to espionage activities.

Rarely do passport collectors come across such a stunning document from the Second World War/Asiatic Fleet. I had once a similar document, maybe even more significant than this one. You can find the link at the end of this article.

Eugene Simon Karpe

Eugene died on February 23, 1950, when he was pushed from a train south of Salzburg, Austria. He was en route to the United States for a reassignment after serving as a naval attaché in Romania. Special Passport Asiatic Fleet

Boston Globe on February 6, 1952

BERNE, Switzerland, February (Reuters) – Ryan Parescu, a 25-year-old Romanian, has confessed to aiding in the death of Captain Eugene Karpe, the American naval attaché to Romania, by pushing him from an Austrian train, according to the Swiss Federal Police. Parescu, who was arrested here last month in connection with the two-year-old mystery surrounding Karpe’s death, stated, “The crime was committed on orders from a foreign organization,” the police reported.

Karpe’s mutilated body was discovered on February 23, 1950, in the Lueg Pass tunnel, located 12 miles south of Salzburg, Austria. He had been traveling between Bucharest and Paris on the Arlberg Express when he was found missing. Special Passport Asiatic Fleet

International authorities have been perplexed for years whether the death of the tall, heavily built bachelor was accidental or a result of foul play. The 45-year-old former wartime destroyer commander had spent 18 months representing the United States in Bucharest and was known for his extensive knowledge of Russian affairs, particularly concerning Russia’s Black Sea and Danube River fleets.

According to the police statement, Parescu admitted that he, along with two accomplices, pushed Captain Karpe from the train after stealing important documents in his possession.

Visited Vogeler’s Wife Special Passport Asiatic Fleet

During his journey, Karpe had spent a few days in Vienna, visiting the blonde Belgian wife of his friend, Robert Vogeler, an American businessman who had recently been sentenced in Budapest to 13 years in prison for espionage and sabotage.

After Karpe’s body was discovered, Mrs. Vogeler revealed to a reporter that she had received a mysterious phone call, warning her to let the fate of “your friend be a lesson for you.”

Russel McMichan, an American student who was the last person seen with the diplomat, reportedly locked himself in his cabin aboard the Queen Mary on his return voyage, expressing fear for his life.

Rumors Special Passport Asiatic Fleet

Robert Vogeler was close friends with Eugene; Getty Images has a picture of them together. Robert was once a Naval Academy midshipman (Class of 1933), though he resigned in December 1931. He and Eugene met in March 1947, after Eugene had been stationed in Europe.

The claim that Karpe was drunk and fell out of his compartment while the Arlberg Express passed through the tunnel was false. Due to his gout, he was not drinking and was entirely sober in the dining car before his death. Experiments conducted by the CIC (Counter-Intelligence Corps, Vienna) using sandbags of Karpe’s weight (200 pounds) unequivocally confirmed that he was thrown from his compartment.

His body shuddered off the side of the tunnel and fell beneath the train’s wheels. To replicate this outcome with a sandbag, two CIC agents had to throw it from a similar compartment with all their strength.

Karpe was a fun-loving bachelor known for his success with women. He frequently traveled between Bucharest and Vienna on the Orient section of the Arlberg Express and mentioned to Lucile Vogeler that he had encountered the same Hungarian blonde on several occasions.

He had met her again on his last trip to Vienna, and as usual, she was on her way to Paris. Fish had made a date to meet her there on his way through to Washington. It was impossible, given the AVH’s [Hungarian State Defense Authority] passport regulations, for anyone, even an attractive blonde, to travel repeatedly between Paris and Budapest except on official business. Fish had evidently been hoping to learn what her official business was.

Eugene’s Wartime Service

Eugene had command of USS Whipple (DD 217) at the beginning of the war; Whipple was based in Manila.

Loss of USS Langley (AV 3)

On February 27, the USS Langley (AV 3) was attacked and subsequently sunk. Eugene was specifically mentioned by name in the post-sinking report from the commanding officer of the Langley

The Commander of Destroyer Division FIFTY-SEVEN, Commander E.M. Crouch, USN; the Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. WHIPPLE, Lieutenant Commander E.S. Karpe, USN; and the Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. EDSALL, Lieutenant J.J, Nix, USN, deserve great credit for their skill and daring in maneuvering their vessels before, during, and after the action. Their efforts in screening and rescuing the LANGLEY survivors were commendable.

The remarkably high effectiveness in rescuing the wounded is attributed to the preparedness and skillful ship handling of the destroyer captains. A careful check of survivors at this time revealed a maximum of six (6) killed and five (5) missing.

The Passport Special Passport Asiatic Fleet

This document is one of several fantastic passports from an auction lot of 50+ travel documents. Astonishingly, the lot also included a passport I sold to a fellow collector years ago. He might have passed meanwhile and hence his collection showed up at a classic auction in the UK.

It’s astonishing how documents come around again. Well, now, another collector can add this great document to his collection, as it is currently up for bidding on an online platform.

Navy CDR James Rowney – Pearl Harbor

 

Tom Topol | Passport Historian & Author
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