Hey guys, welcome back to the Why Wars Happened History Podcast, where you learn about the causes of wars and things like, why did it happen? Was it inevitable? Who was involved?

Sometimes I go back hundreds of years just so we can understand what happened in our narrative episodes covering the long course of a war and the background of the war. And if you want to talk more about war, we also have authors, historians, war generals, royalty, actors, filmmakers, a whole bunch of people come on as guests and we talk about everything about before, during, and after war. So let's go!

The Why Wars Happened History Podcast covers The American Revolution, World War I, World War II, Medieval Wars in England, The Habsburg Empire, The War in Iraq, Scottish wars, The War of the Roses, The Cuban Missile Crisis, The Cold War, The Thirty Years War, The Hundred Years War, The American Civil War, and many others.

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INTERVIEW: The Japanese American Spy Hunter Who Helped Shape WWII – with NCIS’s Leon Carroll Jr.

In this episode of Why Wars Happened, we chat with former Marine and longtime NCIS Special Agent Leon Carroll Jr. – who also happens to be a technical advisor on the hit show NCIS. Carroll shares the incredible true story behind Ghost of Honolulu, the book he co-wrote with actor Mark Harmon.

At the heart of the book is Douglas Wada, a Japanese American intelligence officer whose quiet heroism helped shape the early days of World War II. From his love of baseball to his undercover work before and after Pearl Harbor, Wada’s life was anything but ordinary.

Leon takes us behind the scenes of the Office of Naval Intelligence, the challenges of digging into hidden corners of history, and the personal journey of connecting with Wada’s family. This conversation is full of surprising facts, moving moments, and a spotlight on a little-known American hero.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome to Why Wars Happened

00:50 Who is Agent Leon Carroll Jr.?

01:41 Douglas Wada: The All-American Kid

03:05 ONI’s Rise and Wada’s Role

04:37 Writing Ghost of Honolulu

07:24 Wada’s Identity as a Japanese American

10:46 Meeting Wada’s Family

15:32 Hawaii Before the Bombs Fell

17:27 Japanese Espionage in Hawaii

18:39 Japanese Presence in Pre-War Hawaii

19:28 First U.S. POW in WWII

19:57 Wada’s Secret Work

22:03 Inside the First Pearl Harbor Interrogation

24:52 Baseball and Japanese American Culture

29:52 Researching Hidden History

33:26 Remembering Doug Wada’s Legacy

35:54 What’s Next for Leon Carroll Jr.

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