Missionary Spies of World War II

POMEROY–Friends of Denny Ashby Library and Denny Ashby Library in partnership with Humanities Washington and the Sharp grant, invite the community to a free presentation of Double Crossed: The American Missionary Spies of World War II, by Matthew Avery Sutton at the Denny Ashby Library, 856 Arlington Street, on May 26 at 7 p.m.

What made a good missionary also made a good spy, or so thought American intelligence agencies in World War II. These religious men and women carried out covert operations, bombings, and assassinations—confident that their nefarious deeds would eventually help them achieve their mission by expanding the kingdom of God.

Pullman Wash., resident and historian Matthew Avery Sutton tells the extraordinary story of these missionaries, priests, and rabbis who played an outsized role in leading the United States to victory in World War II. This talk is an untold story of wartime spy craft and a profound account of the compromises and doubts that war forces on those who wage it.

Sutton is the Berry Family Distinguished Professor in Liberal Arts and the chair of the Department of History at Washington State University. He has authored several books, the most recent of which is Double Crossed: The Missionaries Who Spied for the United States During the Second World War (2019), of which his talk is based. He has written for the New York Times and Washington Post. In 2016, he was appointed a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow.

This talk is presented in partnership with Humanities Washington and the Sharp grant.

For more information, email or call Barbara DeHerrera at [email protected], 509.751.7810, or Lillian Heytvelt at [email protected], 509.843.3710.