Ulius Louis Amoss Options

[John Simkin]

This biography of Ulius Louis Amoss appears on the University of Oregon "Subject guide to Conservative and Libertarian materials, in Manuscript collections."

http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/guides/conservative.html

Amoss, Ulius L., 1895-1961.
Papers, 1941-1964.
10 boxes; 5 lin. Ft.

Amoss was dedicated to a career in espionage. He started with the war work of the International Committee of the YMCA in Greece, then set up an export business, Gramtrade International Corporation, of which he was president from 1936 to 1942. In 1942, the government took over the business when Amoss was ordered to report to the army. While in the Armed Forces, Amoss served as Director of the Balkan Desk for Information, and Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Ninth Air Force, among other positions. After his discharge in 1946, he formed the International Services of Information Foundation, Incorporated (ISI), a non-profit, privately owned and operated intelligence service whose purpose was to collect and disseminate information from overseas countries. He also formed the U.L. Amoss Syndicate in 1948, which in turn invested in other corporations. In 1954, Amoss discovered the hair restoring product Grecian Formula 16; Amoss sold his stock in the formula in 1957 after discovering it had undesirable side effects. Amoss also wrote articles for magazines and gave numerous speeches promoting ISI.

The papers include correspondence, manuscripts, speeches, espionage material, military material, and some printed matter. The manuscripts include material for an unwritten autobiography of Amoss, with the proposed title “Easier Said Than Done.”

Coll. 5, PH 126

I have just been sent a document that is dated 10/9/99 and is stamped EYES ONLY and DO NOT COPY. It includes some very interesting information about Ulius Louis Amoss and Robert Emmett Johnson.

This document points out that Amoss was a member of the OSS. While he was chief of station in Cairo, Egypt, he "recruited, trained and launched numerous teams of assassins that carried out hits on various targets all over North Africa, Southern Europe, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal." General Donovan officially fired Amoss but in reality he was kept on the OSS payroll in an undercover capacity.

After the war he worked for Frank Wisner at the CIA (OPA). That International Services of Information (INFORM) was a CIA "commercial cover" operation. In 1961 Amoss recruited Robert Emmett Johnson. According to this document: "At this time he (Johnson) was already in close touch with the various independent Cuban Exile anti-Communist groups in Miami and elsewhere."

The document goes on to say that in 1962 Johnson, now working for INFORM, was also a member of InterPen. Later that year Johnson invited Robert K. Brown (USAR/CounterIntelligence Corps) to a InterPen meeting in Miami. Brown was the publisher of Alberto Bayo's "100 Questions for a Guerrilla". This book included an article written by Ulius Amoss called "Leaderless Resistance" which "referred to the proper strategy for conducting resistance operations against Castro and inside/outside of Cuba". The document also goes onto say: "Also included were numerous fotos of the G/W instructor cadre of InterPen which were taken by Brown at the Everglades training camp."

At the bottom of the document are the words: "Note: Robert Emmett Johnson and Colonel Amoss had some very interesting contacts."