Jack Edward Dunlap (November 14, 1927 – July 23, 1963) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

sergeant stationed at the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collect ...

who later became a spy for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in the early 1960s. Dunlap enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1952 and served with distinction in the Korean War. He was gradually promoted to sergeant was assigned to the

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

in 1958. He was given top secret messages to carry to NSA officials before they had been put into code. Moreover, Dunlap was given a top-secret clearance to view these "raw" unencoded messages.

NSA spying activities

Learning of Dunlap's sensitive position, a KGB agent approached him in 1958, bluntly offering him to be "paid handsomely" for the contents of the pouches he was carrying. Before delivering the documents, Dunlap slipped them under his shirt, drove to a meeting point in Washington, D.C., had his contact make copies or photograph them, then returned them to the pouch and made his delivery. It was later estimated that Dunlap was receiving from the Soviets between $40,000 and $50,000 a year. When neighbors asked about his new riches, Dunlap said that he had inherited a plantation in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. NSA security paid no attention to Dunlap's new lifestyle. In 1963, he was about to be transferred to another post, which would cut off his access to documents. To continue making money from the Soviets, Dunlap believed that he could stay on at NSA by simply not re-enlisting when his tour of duty expired. As an army sergeant assigned to the NSA, he was not subject to a polygraph examination. When he retired from the Army, his Soviet handlers told him to apply for a civilian position, which he did. He was given a polygraph examination by NSA on a Friday and while he passed the examination, the examiner told the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

there was something that made him uneasy and told Dunlap to come back on Monday. Dunlap committed suicide over the weekend by

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

. The Director of Security for NSA told FBI agents that he and his assistant paid a visit to Dunlap's widow to offer their condolences, and she said, "You probably want his papers", showing them classified material. That was when the NSA realized Dunlap had been a spy. Dunlap was a personable individual and roamed around within NSA. One secretary told the

that he stopped at her desk to chat and would see papers in her out box and tell her he was headed in that direction and take the papers. He would stop at a

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...

machine on the way and make a copy for the Soviets. His activities were reported to have been the cause of the downfall of

Oleg Penkovsky Oleg Vladimirovich Penkovsky (russian: link=no, Олег Владимирович Пеньковский; 23 April 1919 – 16 May 1963), codenamed HERO, was a Soviet military intelligence (GRU) colonel during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Pen ...

. As a United States Army veteran, Dunlap was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

.Burial Detail: Dunlap, Jack E
– ANC Explorer

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlap, Jack 1927 births 1963 suicides Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army soldiers National Security Agency people American military personnel who committed suicide Suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning Suicides in Maryland American spies for the Soviet Union United States Army personnel of the Korean War People from Bogalusa, Louisiana