INTERVIEW: WWII Espionage Before Pearl Harbor with NCIS Agent Leon Carroll

In this episode of Why Wars Happened, we talk with Leon Carroll Jr. — former Marine, longtime NCIS Special Agent, and technical advisor on CBS’s hit show NCIS — about the incredible true story behind Ghost of Honolulu, the book he co-wrote with Mark Harmon.

At its heart is Douglas Wada, a Japanese American intelligence officer whose secret work with the Office of Naval Intelligence helped shape the early days of WWII. From baseball fields in Hawaii to interrogations after Pearl Harbor, Wada lived a life of courage and quiet heroism that history nearly forgot.

👉 What you’ll discover:

🇺🇸 The Japanese American spy who worked for the U.S. before and after Pearl Harbor

🕵️ How the Office of Naval Intelligence uncovered espionage in Hawaii

⚾ Wada’s love of baseball & Japanese American culture in pre-war Hawaii

⚔️ The chilling story of the first U.S. POW in WWII

📚 Behind the scenes of Ghost of Honolulu with Mark Harmon & Leon Carroll Jr.

🔎 Why Wada’s story matters today — and how it was rediscovered

This is a story of espionage, identity, and unsung heroism in the shadow of Pearl Harbor.

⏱ Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome to Why Wars Happened

00:50 – Meet Leon Carroll Jr.

01:41 – Douglas Wada: The All-American Kid

03:05 – Rise of the Office of Naval Intelligence

04:37 – Writing Ghost of Honolulu with Mark Harmon

07:24 – Wada’s identity as a Japanese American

10:46 – Meeting Wada’s family

15:32 – Hawaii before Pearl Harbor

17:27 – Japanese espionage in Hawaii

19:28 – The first U.S. POW in WWII

22:03 – Wada’s secret work & interrogations

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.

#WWII #PearlHarbor #Espionage #NCIS #MarkHarmon #WhyWarsHappened #HistoryPodcast