John Grombach

John Grombach
Birth name	Jean Valentin de la Salle Grombach
Nickname(s)	"Frenchy" "Rudolph Vaselino"
Born	January 2, 1901 New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Died	July 20, 1982 (aged 81) Newton, New Jersey, US
Buried	West Point Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army New York National Guard The Pond Office of the Coordinator of Information Central Intelligence Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation State Department
Rank	Brigadier General
Commands held	Military Intelligence Service Foreign Broadcast Quarterly (Director) The Pond (Director)
Known for	Obsessively paranoid anti-communist
Battles/wars	Interwar Period World War II
Awards	Legion of Merit, 1946 Intercollegiate heavyweight boxing champion, 1922 Army boxing champion, 1924
Alma mater	Virginia Military Institute West Point Military Academy
Spouse(s)	Margaret Louise Grombach Olga Lohinecz
Other work	Private detective 1924 Summer Olympics Boxing Middleweight U.S. Olympic Committee, 1956, 1960, 1964,1968 Member of the American Security Council Foundation Author The Great Liquidator Military Journals Kill or Get Killed The Invisible War Other Journals SPUR Sportsman Adventure How to Box Radio Production History of Boxing Saga of Sock Saga of the Fist Olympic Cavalcade of Sports The Olympic Guide Touch Football

John "Frenchy" Grombach, born Jean Valentin de la Salle Grombach, was an American Olympic athlete, soldier, pioneer in radio cryptanalysis personnel management, public broadcaster and radio host, and divergent quick-tempered paranoid spymaster.^[1] He was involved in Allied efforts during World War II, and the efforts against the USSR during the Cold War.^[2] Director of one of the most secretive intelligence agencies in the world, the name of his intelligence organization, "The Pond," (even this is only a codename), was not known to the general public until an accidental disclosure of information in 2001. Initially recruited into the Office of the Coordinator of Information by Millard Preston Goodfellow, Chief of communications for William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan, the quick-tempered Grombach would eventually become one of Donovan's harshest critics.^[3] In later years, Grombach became a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, writing and publishing the Olympic Guides for multiple years.

The Four Pillars of Grombach's approach to intelligence collection were:

1. Experience
2. Secrecy and security
3. Competition
4. Using all available information ^[4]

It was his Fourth Pillar, to analyze all information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, that led to his organization being labeled as ineffective and a waste of money by almost every agency in Washington.^[4] He thought much the same of the other agencies in return.^[3]

He died in 1982, in New Jersey.

***Note: "Secret Agent" is in intelligence defined as someone who is employed with an agency on a contract basis, or is cultivated on an operation or mission. "Officer" is defined as someone who carries the title of an "office," or a salaried permanent position at an agency. Grombach performed both roles at different times in his life.***