Secrecy surrounded Kirkland resident Jim Hudson as a child. During the earliest years of Hudson’s life, he and his family resided in a mansion, formerly owned by world-renowned German aircraft designer Wilhelm Messerschmitt in Munich during the late 1940s and early 1950s. But Hudson had some questions for his father, James.

“I always wanted to know why we had guards at our home,” said Hudson.

The guards were former members of the German SS military who defected to the U.S. during World War II and were there to protect James’ family.

“We lived as part of his cover,” said Hudson, who has lived in Kirkland for 18 years. “I was five when I started to ask questions.”

His father could not discuss the issue in any detail at the time, but Hudson finally got some answers 20 years later.

“He was very loyal and wanted to maintain the security and secrecy of what he was doing,” said Hudson.

But James, who served as a high ranking Office of Strategic Services (OSS) operative during World War II and for some years after, died at 93 years old on May 28 in Fredericksburg. The OSS was the predecessor to the current Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Hudson is continuing a process he began with his father to rewrite one of his father’s five books – “In the name of Luftwaffe” – as a novel. His father’s death will not hinder his work in writing the book and he is determined to finish it. He plans to work with other family members to gather the information.

“It will be fun,” said Hudson, who noted that nearly every male member of his family has served in the military. “I have other family members who have stories that he told them. They will fill in the gaps.”

The book will focus on his father’s involvement with capturing Nazi-party members after WWII, such as Hanna Reitsch in 1945.

“She was the last woman to leave the bunker alive (where Adolf Hitler died),” said Hudson. “He spent weeks interrogating her.”

Reitsch was a test pilot who set more than 40 altitude and endurance records and flew a glider over the Alps. She was also the first woman to be awarded the Iron Cross.

The capture also produced Reitsch’s interpreter Kathe Mikalkk, who revealed many of the secrets Hitler shared with Reitsch just days before his death.

Hudson’s father did many things to help the Allies’ cause, including the training of counter agents that went behind enemy lines into Bulgaria. History Channel producers interviewed James about his work in Albania for a documentary that aired on TV.

James also had missions where he parachuted behind enemy lines, set up intelligence networks and disrupt the supply lines of the German First Mountain Division. During one of his most daring and successful missions, he rescued 13 American nurses whose plane was shot down behind enemy lines.

By the time James was discharged from the military, he was a captain and had been awarded the Bronze Star Medal.

Hudson and his family have had to deal with not only losing their patriarch, but also worldwide media attention about his father’s work.

“It has really reinforced the importance of history and remembering people from World War II,” said Hudson, who served in Vietnam and received the Purple Heart. “Each one had an important job to do.”

Some former members of the OSS have contacted Hudson to exchange information about the agency for a museum that is being created.

“I found out some new stuff about my dad,” said Jim, whose father was cremated and his remains will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery. “He was very helpful to other people trying to find family members after the war.”

James was also involved in one of the most dramatic and important events of the war when he was deployed to Egypt during the war. He was on the SS Pasteur as the ship’s official photographer when it was attacked by U-boats off the coast of New York. The Pasteur was used as a hospital and military transport.

“My father wrote the book ‘The Ship that Won World War II,'” said Hudson, adding the book chronicled the dramatic mission.

The Pasteur’s trip across the Atlantic helped to turn the tide of war as the 5,000 GIs aboard the ship helped to defeat a field marshall for the Nazis – Erwin Rommel in Africa.

While stationed in Cairo, Egypt, James had an unusual opportunity that has become an archive of sorts for his family. As the liaison between the military and media, he got to work with various photographers and even keep some of the photos.

“All of the TimeLife reporters had to report to him,” said Hudson.

The result was a catalog of WWII images that belong to the Hudson family and have only been seen by a few people. The photos depict some of the most famous political and military figures of the era, including Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

James also helped to create V-mail with the Eastman Kodak company while in Cairo. The Victory mail procedure took original letters and documents, transfered them to microfiche for transport and then back to paper for delivery. The purpose was to reduce the cargo space the mail took aboard boats and airplanes.

James’ life after the war and CIA included being editor of Systems Building News magazine and he contributed to National Wildlife Magazine.

“He was also featured in the Smithsonian Magazine for his unique designs for covered building projects on high-rises in New York City,” added Jim.