Nichols USAF.

This is coolbert:

Mechanic - Sergeant - Captain - Colonel - Spymaster.

Donald Nichols. From the era of the Korean War. Never heard of this man  before. Thanks to the tip from the Jungle Trader Internet web site.

As excerpted from the book review:

"King of Spies: The Dark Reign and Bizarre Ruin of America's Spymaster in Korea" by Blaine Harden.

"In 1946, master sergeant Donald Nichols was repairing jeeps on the sleepy island of Guam when he caught the eye of recruiters from the army's Counter Intelligence Corps. After just three months' training, he was sent to Korea, then a backwater beneath the radar of MacArthur's Pacific Command. Though he lacked the pedigree of most U.S. spies — Nichols was a 7th grade dropout — he quickly metamorphosed from army mechanic to black ops phenomenon. He insinuated himself into the affections of America's chosen puppet in South Korea, President Syngman Rhee, and became a pivotal player in the Korean War, warning months in advance about the North Korean invasion, breaking enemy codes, and identifying most of the targets destroyed by  American bombs in North Korea."

BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE WAR [KOREA] THIS MAN STOOD TALL.

And from the wiki:

"Donald Nichols . . . was a United States Air Force officer who worked in military intelligence. He founded and commanded the U.S. Air Force's first active military intelligence unit, the 6004th Air Intelligence Service Squadron (6004th AISS), which he founded in 1950 during the Korean War. Although he began his military career in the motor pool, he eventually sparked the infiltration of espionage teams behind communist lines, as well as personally gathering the first data on the communist MiG-15 fighter. A trusted and reliable intelligence officer who had predicted the start date of the Korean War, he enjoyed 24-hour access to South Korean President Syngman Rhee"

This man was able to succeed where the Ivy League recruits to Central Intelligence were not able to? And WHY was that?

coolbert.