Hugo W. Koehler

Hugo W. Koehler (July 19, 1886 – June 17, 1941) was a United States Navy commander and socialite who served as the military attache to Russia. He was the step-father of United States Senator Claiborne Pell and was rumored to be the illegitimate son of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria. He received the Navy Cross for his service during World War I.

Early life
Hugo William Koehler was born on July 19, 1886 in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was St. Louis brewer and entrepreneur Oscar C. Koehler (1857-1902). Although it was rumored for much of his life that he was the illegitimate son of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, who committed suicide in 1889, no confirming evidence of this has been found. Factors which led to this speculation include Koehler having a chin which was characteristic of the Hapsburgs, his ease in associating with European royalty and his apparent sources of income aside from his salary as a naval officer.

In his youth, Koehler attended Philips Exeter Academy and Harvard College before entering the United States Naval Academy in 1905.

Navy career
He graduated from Annapolis in 1909 and was assigned to the armored cruiser USS New York (ACR-2) on October 29 of that year. With the New York Koehler went on two cruises to the Mediterranean Sea and sailed to the Philippines in 1911. New York was renamed Saratoga in February of that year.

He was promoted to ensign on June 5, 1911 and assigned to the gunboat USS Villalobos (PG-42) which was assigned to the Yangtze River Patrol in China.

On June 5, 1914, Koehler was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) and commanded the USS Piscataqua (AT-49), a tugboat based in the Philippines, from October 24, 1914 to April 5, 1915. He was then assigned briefly to the battleship USS Michigan (BB-27) until October 5, 1915, he was assigned to the battleship USS South Carolina (BB-26). During this time South Carolina operated on the east coast spending summers in maneuvers off Newport, Rhode Island and winters in the Caribbean.

World War I
Following the United States entry into World War I, Koehler was promoted to lieutenant on June 5, 1917. He was transferred from the South Carolina to serve as an aide to the Commandant of the 3rd Naval District in New London, Connecticut on January 30, 1918. While in New London he shared an apartment with Lieutenant (junior grade) Harold S. Vanderbilt whose family fortune stemmed from the New York Central Railroad. When Vanderbilt left Koehler a note which appointed him furniture mover for the house, Keohler replied with a note which described an incident in which Roman political philosopher Cicero was appointed as garbage remover of Rome by his enemies in order to discredit and discourage him. Cicero's reply was, "If the office will not bring me honor, I will bring honor to the office."

On June 15, 1918 he was reassigned to the staff of the Commander of the Submarine Chaser Division for the Irish Sea headquartered in Queenstown, Ireland. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant commander on July 1, 1918. For his service in this position, Koehler was awarded the Navy Cross.

Post war intelligence gathering
The most interesting period of Koehler's life was during the four years immediately following the First World War. His travels brought him to Germany, France, Russia and Poland. He had a front row seat during the Russian Civil War and was able to report on the fluid developments in those countries.

Shortly after the Armistice was signed in November 1918, Koehler was assigned to go to Germany and assess the condition of the remaining ships in the German fleet. After completing this assignment in July 1919 he was assigned as an aide to Rear Admiral Newton McCully, the senior Navy member of the American Commission to Negotiate Peace in Paris.

With the closure of the Peace Commission in December 1919, Koehler followed McCully as a member of the American Mission to South Russia. ("South Russia" meaning the area roughly encompassed by Ukraine and Crimea.) The purpose of the mission was to gather intelligence on the developments in the Russian Civil War and to protect American citizens living in the area.

It was speculated, but later disproved, that Koehler may have been able to smuggle the Imperial family out of Russia. This was the subject of the book Rescue of the Romanovs by New York journalist Guy Richards published in 1975.

On June 3, 1921 Koehler was promoted to permanent lieutenant commander. He was appointed U.S. Naval Attaché at Warsaw, Poland in August of that year. It is probable that Koehler coordinated with Polish General Jozef Pilsudski, the dominant leader in the newly independent Polish state, to support the White Army in Russia in its unsuccessful struggle against the Red Army of the Bolsheviks. In this assignment he met the Papal Nuncio to Poland, Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, who would soon become Pope Pius XI.

Later career
On December 30, 1922, Koehler assigned to the battleship USS Utah where he served as the ship's first lieutenant (i.e. second in command). In June 1923 he became the aide to Vice Admiral Henry A. Wiley, commander of the battleship division of the United States Battle Fleet and served on the fleet's flagship the battleship USS West Virginia which Koehler was aboard for a cruise across the South Pacific. He served in that position until September 1925.

On April 17, 1926 he was assigned as an instructor at the United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and remained there until October 1927. In this capacity he was able to share the lessons he learned from his experiences in Russia and Poland with future admirals in the U.S. Navy.

On June 2, 1927 Koehler married Matilda Bigelow Pell (1895-1972), the former wife of former Congressman Herbert C. Pell, whom he had met while stationed in Newport. On September 3, 1929 their only child, Hugh Gladstone Koehler, was born. Hugh lived in Connecticut and died on August 14, 1990, shortly before his 60th birthday. Matilda had one child from her previous marriage, Claiborne Pell, who would later serve as a United States Senator from Rhode Island for 36 years (1961-1997).

Koehler was promoted to commander the same day as he was married and was assigned to the staff of the commander-in-chief of the United States Fleet, Admiral Henry A. Wiley, whom he had served under previously, on November 3, 1927. He served in this position until he resigned from the Navy on February 14, 1929.

Koehler's resignation from the Navy is something of a mystery. Koehler would have been eligible for retirement after 30 years of service which, in his case, would have been in 1935. By resigning he did not have retirement pay and would have to rely on other means of support. It was speculated that either he had independent means or that his wife had a significant fortune. Neither seems to be the case as he lived a modest lifestyle compared to others of his social standing and had a significant amount of unpaid debts.

Another possibility is that he was involved in some type of scandal and resigned from the Navy rather than being court martialed and dismissed from the service but there is no evidence that this was the case.

A plausible theory, advanced by his biographer, is that he resigned so his wife would not have to be subjected to the long absences endemic to Navy life as well as being separated from her friends in Newport society.

Post Navy life
After his resignation from the Navy, Koehler, apparently, pursued a life of leisure. His primary residence was in New York City and he spent his summers, along with much of New York society in Newport, Rhode Island. By the late 1930s the Koehler's owned a summer home on Wapping Road in Portsmouth which is near Newport. He and his wife were frequently mentioned in the society pages of the New York Times.

Koehler had a meeting with Joseph Stalin in 1933. The substance of this meeting is not known but it might have been an effort by the newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt to communicate with Stalin outside of normal diplomatic channels. Given Koehler's penchant for intrigue, and also bearing in mind that the United States, at that time, had no formal foreign intelligence gathering service, he may have been asked to perform other covert assignments for the president.

Death and burial
Commander Hugo W. Koehler, USN died of Bright's Disease on June 17, 1941 in New York City and is buried with his wife and son in the Berkeley Memorial Cemetery at St. Columba's Chapel in Middletown, Rhode Island.

Personality
Commander Koehler, by all accounts, had a highly engaging and charismatic personality. He was described by his stepson as, "a very gifted, very unusual person." He was noted for his talents as a raconteur and was often referred to as a "ladies man". Although his royal parentage is, at best, questionable, it is entirely possible he encouraged the speculation to enhance his own reputation.

For further research
In 1992 the book "Our Man in the Crimea: Commander Hugo Koehler and the Russian Civil War" was published by author P.J. Capelotti. The book represents the culmination of years of research by Capelotti into the life of Koehler at the behest of Koehler's stepson, Senator Claiborne Pell. It focuses on Koehler's work in Russia after World War I.

Decorations
Commander Hugo Koehler was awarded these decorations and service awards:

Navy Cross citation
The Navy Cross is presented to Hugo W. Koehler, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy, for distinguished services in the line of his profession for duty in connection with preparation of submarine chasers for duty in the war zone and subsequently their operation in the Irish Sea and off the coast of Ireland.

Dates of rank
United States Naval Academy Midshipman – July 31, 1905 (Class of 1909)