From MN with Love: A Tale of Amateur Espionage

Alan van Norman was one hundred miles north of London in 1976 when the possibility of espionage first presented itself. The theology and biology student from Windom, Minnesota had recently taken a break from school to work overseas as a counselor for a Lutheran bible camp, and this is where a message wound up from East German chemist Jürgen Grafe. Grafe asked for assistance in sneaking himself and his family into West Germany, and though deeply unqualified, Alan expressed an interest.

Though he had to return to Minnesota in 1977, the bible retreat later contacted him and offered a plane ticket back to Europe to help. Alan was dead-set on offering his services, to which his father responded, "Well, if international espionage is his bag, let him get it out of his system." (People, 1978).

Things did not go as planned. Alan was able to get into East Germany and find the Grafes, who he hid in the trunk of his car before attempting to leave the country's border checkpoints. He was soon asked to step out of his vehicle and open the truck, as it turned out that scales detected extra weight in the trunk and the Germans actually had tapes of Grafe's escape plans. Alan was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and never again saw the family.

Alan spent his time in prison reading books, playing chess, and writing letters filled with humor to let his family know his mental state was still sound. He looked forward to interrogation sessions (better than a lonely prison cell), and did not bother to hide any details from his captors. He did, however, try to have fun with the ordeal, claiming that he was sent by Mr. Ed and that Japan and Canada planned to send Russia to Mars (L.A. Times, 1978).

The U.S. government soon became aware of Alan's plight and planned for a three-way prisoner exchange. Orchestrating this was Wolfgang Vogel, an East German lawyer whose previous prisoner swap in 1962 is portrayed in the 2015 Steven Spielberg film Bridge of Spies. This new deal also involved Israeli pilot Miron Mareus, who was shot down in Africa and held without charge, and Robert Thompson, a U.S. Air Force clerk convicted in 1965 for passing secrets to the Russians.

Thompson's story is fascinating in its own right - he was working at an air base in Berlin during 1957 when his commanding officer reprimanded him for coming to work unshaven and unkempt. After an alleged "twenty shots of cognac" (Spy Case, undated), he decided 'to hell with it' and walked into East Berlin in civilian clothing. He told Soviet officers that he wanted to defect, but was sent back after they determined that he would not make a very good spy. They did change their minds, however, and Thompson was recruited ten days later.

Thompson moved back to the U.S. in 1958 and continued to report to the Russians while also, in a peculiarly bold move, became so obsessed with the color red that it was all he would wear. He claimed he was actually a German citizen and that Robert Thompson was a cover name after being arrested, but later admitted that he only said this because he didn't think an American citizen would be exchanged in a spy-swap.

Thompson was flown to Berlin in May of 1978 in exchange for Van Norman while Mareus was also freed by the government of Mozambique. Alan arrived back in Minnesota on May 2nd and, when asked why he did what he did, responded, "My main thought was that these people need to get out, they need help. I'm free to do it. Why not?"

References

- Los Angeles Times (05.07.78)

- NY Times (04.23.78)
- People (05.22.78)
- Spy Case: Robert Glenn Thompson
- Washington Post (05.02.78)
- Wikipedia (Robert Thompson)