War Time Memories And Military Life

World War II Era

Being Questioned by the FBI

By Fannie Prothro nee Terry

My family was living in Louisiana during WW II. Our sons, R.D. (Randolph Davis Prothro) and Jimmy (James Warren Prothro) went in the Army. R.D.'s daughter, Sarah Jane stayed with us for many months until the invasion of Germany during World War II while R.D. was in England and Sarah, his wife, was working in the civil service.

My son Terry (Edward Terry Prothro) enlisted in the Navy and was commissioned as an Ensign in New Orleans. He came home for a short visit, en route to Columbus, Ohio where he was sent for training.

He left home Saturday and had to be in Ohio on Monday. The next day my husband Edward Prothro and I got home from church at noon and there was a knock on the door. A young man was there and said, "Is Terry home?" I told him no, that he had left on Saturday. Then the man identified himself as and FBI Investigator and said, "May I come in?" We invited him into the living room and he began to ask questions about Terry: about his activities, etc.

We were frightened and puzzled. He asked the number of Terry's car license. He read a long list of numbers; but we did not recognize any of them. Then my husband thought he knew why the FBI man was so interested in the car: Eddie was afraid it was a stolen car that Terry had bought, and told the investigator that Terry had bought the the car from a man in North Carolina, second hand, and paid cash.

We asked him why he was there, and if something had happened to Terry. He didn't answer but kept asking questions. This went on for an hour or longer and it had us so worried we were almost crazy. We were afraid that since Terry had planned to drive through the night. he might have hit someone and had not realized it.

After the FBI man left, he called us on the phone from across the bayou and said he believed that someone had used Terry's name on his license. This didn't ease our worry one bit.

We had the address of the hotel where Terry was staying Sunday night so we phoned him about eleven o'clock that night. He was asleep. When Terry answered the phone we asked if he had any trouble en route. He answered "No, and I need sleep." We told him about the FBI man coming that day and asking questions. It didn't upset him, but we were still uneasy.

After Terry finished training, he was stationed at De Paul University in Indiana and one day an FBI man called on him and asked about a man Terry had picked up in Mississippi, when Terry stopped for gas. The man wanted to go to Columbus, Ohio and Terry let him ride along with him.

That man was a German Spy! The FBI was watching him and when he left with Terry, they called the man from Baton Rouge that came to our house, to have him check on Terry. This was our first experience with the law and it was terrifying!

This article was originally published in the October 1996 issue of The Legacy Magazine,

a division of US Legacies .

U S Legacies Magazine

Wartime Memories