Enno Henry Knoche (January 14, 1925 – July 9, 2010) was an American intelligence officer who served as deputy director of the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
and acting
Director of Central Intelligence
The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security C ...
.
Life and career
Knoche attended
Mt. Lebanon School District
The Mt. Lebanon School District is the public school system in Allegheny County for residents of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
History
The Mt. Lebanon School District was established by decree of the Court ...
, where he played basketball and tennis, winning a
Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League
The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) is an interscholastic athletic association in Western Pennsylvania. It is District 7 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
The Western Pennsylvania Inte ...
doubles championship.
In 1942, he enrolled in
Washington & Jefferson College, playing baseball and the freshman basketball team. He then enlisted in the
United States Navy to serve in
World War II in 1943.
Later, he attended
Bethany College, again playing basketball and leading the team in scoring.
He then attended
University of Colorado, where he led his basketball team to the
1946 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and played baseball.
Following his discharge from the military, he returned to W&J to complete his degree, graduating in 1947.
He then played for 2 years in the professional
National Industrial Basketball League, leading his team in scoring both years.
He was drafted by the failing
Pittsburgh Ironmen
The Pittsburgh Ironmen were a charter member of the Basketball Association of America (a forerunner of the National Basketball Association). The team was based in Pittsburgh and played at Duquesne Gardens.
They ended their only season in the BAA i ...
in the
1947 BAA Draft
The 1947 BAA draft was the 1st draft of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later became the National Basketball Association (NBA). The fledgling BAA held a joint draft with the established National Basketball League (NBL). Both le ...
.
When his contract was then sold to the
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
, Knoche demanded $2,500 () to play for the team, a demand that was not met.
He served in the
United States Navy as a Navy intelligence officer, in
World War II, and the
Korean War.
He joined the CIA in 1953 as an analyst; he was fluent in
Russian and the
Fuzhou dialect.
During the
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...
, he briefed President
John F. Kennedy.
Even though he lacked the typical CIA resume, as having never served in operational capacity or in the
clandestine operations, he was steadily promoted through the agency's ranks.
On July 7, 1976 he became deputy director, serving under director
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
.
In that position, he was responsible for day-to-day agency operations.
On January 12, 1977, he was honored as a recipient of the
President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. Presentation of the award was made in the East Room of the White House by Vice President
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
.
Upon Bush's resignation from the CIA with the inauguration of President
Jimmy Carter on January 20, 1977, Knoche became acting director.
That day, he briefed Carter on the agency's ongoing clandestine operations.
On January 21, 1977, he met with the president and delivered photo intelligence from
Aerospace Data Facility-East
Aerospace Data Facility-East (ADF-E), also known as Area 58 and formerly known as Defense Communications Electronics Evaluation and Testing Activity (DCEETA), is one of three satellite ground stations operated by the National Reconnaissance Office ...
.
[Burrows, William (1986). Deep Black: Space Espionage and National Security. New York, New York: Random House. pp. 229. ] His term as acting director ended when
Stansfield Turner
Stansfield Turner (December 1, 1923 January 18, 2018) was an admiral in the United States Navy who served as President of the Naval War College (1972–1974), commander of the United States Second Fleet (1974–1975), Supreme Allied Commander N ...
was confirmed as director of the CIA on March 9, 1977.
Knoche retired on August 1, 1977. He was awarded the
Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation.
Examples include:
*Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action
* Distinguishe ...
.
He married Angie Papoulas in 1947; they had five sons.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knoche, E. Henry
1925 births
2010 deaths
Deputy Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Navy personnel of the Korean War
University of Colorado alumni
Washington & Jefferson College alumni
Military personnel from Charleston, West Virginia
Recipients of the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service