Nicholas Lived
But, if so, where did he go?
A special report in collaboration with Thomas I Posted February 20, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. Updated July 6, 2018 at 6:50 a.m.
One hundred years ago this July, Tsar Nicholas II, and his entire family were reportedly murdered on July 17, 1918, in the quaint Siberian village of Yekaterinburg, Russia. Victims, history would say, of Bolshevik Revolutionaries loyal to the communist leader, Vladimir Lenin.
The remains of the assassinated Romanov family would go missing for some 70 years, despite intense searches that yielded precious few clues until their mysterious discovery in a conveniently remote forest known as the Koptyaki Woods.
Award-winning films and books would chronicle the Romanov murder-mystery until DNA evidence from the “newly-discovered” bodies would later claim that with a 98.5% certainty the remains were, in fact, those of the Romanov family. But there were, not surprisingly, lingering questions, chief among them: were these really the remains of the Imperial Russian family? Even the Russian Orthodox Church so far has not officially fully recognized the remains as being authentic, although credible efforts are underway to do so.
A new book recently released by Editor-in-Chief, Ben Everidge, in collaboration with Thomas, titled, Rescuing Nicholas: The Secret Mission to Save the Tsar, provides a previously undisclosed eyewitness account from a credible U.S. Army soldier, Martin V. Hutson, that testifies that the American Expeditionary Forces Siberia, at the approval of President Woodrow Wilson with the urging of England’s King George V, rescued Nicholas and two members of his family sixteen months after they were reported murdered at the notorious Ipatiev House. Martin Hutson was Ben's great-uncle.
“Nicholas,” Martin would tape before he passed nearly ten years before the allegedly late Russian monarch was said unearthed, “was not killed in Siberia. Three other people were killed, and their bodies chopped up with broadaxes . . . They did not want me back alive . . . afraid I might put the puzzle together.”
Ben first heard of this story from Uncle Martin himself at his Grandmother’s house, Martin's sister, in 1970 when Ben was about 13 years old. He always wondered, why Martin?
Over the decades, Uncle Martin’s story persisted, and as Ben aged, he began to look into Martin's account, the “episode in his life” as he called it to see for Ben's self if elements of Martin's story held up under scrutiny. What Ben - and Thomas - discovered was extraordinary! Moreover, what we also soon learned was that a whole new generation of Americans did not now know much about the Romanov mystery.
The Protagonists
The book has several particularly troublesome protagonists who Ben briefly profiles:
Vladimir Lenin, the Bolshevik Revolutionary who inspired the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics;
The Red Army, as the Bolshevik Revolutionaries are known; and,
Wilhelm II, Kaiser of Germany, the catalyst for World War I.
The Frequent Themes
With the protagonists in context, Rescuing Nicholas centers around several key principles that are repeated throughout the story:
· Martin’s “episode” unfolds some 16 (sixteen) months after the Tsar and his family is said to have been murdered in Yekaterinburg.
· The rescue mission was authorized by President Woodrow Wilson and carried out by the American Expeditionary Forces Siberia.
· The mission was the greatest rescue never before reported to the public.
· American and allied intelligence, working collaboratively, scored a huge success that has never before been properly credited to those who pulled it off.
About the Characters
Martin V. Hutson is an 18-year-old U.S. Army Private First Class who is sent to Siberia to help rescue Nicholas Romanov and teach him a Southern dialect. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Martin is recommended for the secret mission by hold older brother, George Hutson.
George Hutson is an Army Private who works intelligence for General Black Jack Pershing, the commanding general of the U.S. Army. Hutson, while serving in Europe, earns a Distinguished Service Cross and a Purple Heart for his duty to country.
Nicholas Romanov, II is the last Tsar of Russia. He abdicates when Bolshevik Revolutionaries topple his 300-year regime during World War I. The Romanovs are reported murdered on July 17, 1918, at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Over the years, however, persistent rumors allege that the Romanovs escaped Siberia.
Woodrow Wilson is the 28th President of the United States. A scholar and former Princeton University president, Wilson is deeply suspicious of many in his government and secretive by nature in conducting his administration. Wilson empowers the AEF Siberia to go to Russia for three stated purposes that are outlined in a document that becomes known as the Aide-Mémoire.
King George V of Great Britain is Nicholas Romanov’s second cousin. After first offering the former Tsar political asylum in the United Kingdom, he is forced to rescind his offer by Prime Minister David Lloyd-George for fear of inciting instability for the monarchy in Britain as well.
David Lloyd-George is British Prime Minister during the Romanov controversy and a vocal opponent of providing the Romanov family with political asylum in Great Britain for fear of undermining King George V’s reign.
Black Jack Pershing is the Commanding General of the American Expeditionary Forces for the United States. He is a trusted commander for Woodrow Wilson and taps William Sidney Graves, a fellow West Point graduate, to conduct the mission in Siberia.
William Sidney Graves is an Army Major General who is selected by Pershing with Wilson’s approval to lead the Siberia troops. Graves, who fought under Pershing in Mexico, is highly regarded by Pershing and Baker.
Newton D. Baker is Woodrow Wilson’s trusted Secretary of War. His policy recommendations are more highly valued than that of Secretary of State Robert Lansing. Baker would become the eventual founder of the Cleveland, Ohio-based law firm, Baker Hostetler.
William Gibbs McAdoo is Woodrow Wilson’s U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and Head of the United States Secret Service when he is tapped to run the American Red Cross section in Siberia. Known for his expertise in railroad operations, McAdoo, who would later become a United States Senator from California and almost-Democratic nominee for President himself in 1928, is also Wilson’s son-in-law.
Benjamin Johnson is the American executive in charge of the Trans-Siberian Railroad and a Colonel in the U.S. Army who manages train operations for the Provisional Russian Government during the closing days of World War I.
Ernest Harris is the American Consul General in Yekaterinburg when the Tsar is reportedly assassinated. He commands special trains for the U.S. Army along the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
Charles Crane is a very wealthy American industrialist who knows the Tsar and Tsarina personally and has the ear and trust of President Wilson. An expert in Russian Imperialism, Crane, helps fund American and British operations in Siberia because Congress is unaware of the mission’s true purpose.
Ralph Van Deman is known as the Father of American Intelligence and is seen operating in and around Yekaterinburg during the time of the Tsar’s alleged assassination.
HRH Prince Connaught is a trusted cousin and emissary of King George V. He is also a treasured intermediary of President Wilson’s during World War I.
Colonel Edward House is Wilson’s de-facto White House Chief of Staff who works closely with key members of British intelligence in the aftermath of the Tsar’s abdication.
Sir William Wiseman is the head of British Intelligence in the United States and a close friend of Colonel House. The two often collaborate on projects.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt is Wilson’s highly-valued Assistant Secretary of the Navy. FDR, a future President of the United States, is charged with the responsibility of running America’s naval forces through Vladivostok, Russia, and San Francisco.
Sir Winston Churchill is the British Secretary of War during the Hutson mission.
Sir Thomas Preston is the British Consul General in Yekaterinburg. Evidence indicates that he may have spirited the Romanovs out of the Ipatiev House and into the British consulate on the morning that they were said to have been shot.
Lieutenant Humphries is Martin Hutson’s commanding officer in Irkutsk.
Dr. William Maples is an American forensic anthropologist who is invited by the Russian government to examine the purported remains of the Romanov family when they are finally “discovered” some 70 years after the alleged murder. Maples would have strong reservations about the forensic evidence.
Dr. Anthony Falsetti who is Dr. Maples’ able assistant investigator who takes over the Romanov family remains examination upon the untimely death of the Gainesville, Florida, forensic scientist.
Dr. Peter Gill is a British forensic scientist who also examined the Romanov remains at the invitation of the Russian government. Unlike Dr. Maples, Dr. Gill has not reservations about the remains’ true identity and publicly announced that there was 98.5% certainty.
Alexandra Romanov is the granddaughter of England’s famed Queen Victoria and first cousin to King George V. Martin Hutson says that he spent a week with the “late” Russian Empress aboard an Imperial Train that was disguised as an American Red Cross evacuation train 16 (sixteen) months after the Romanovs were claimed dead.
So, The Story Revealed
Ben learned through Ben research of his Uncle Martin’s story, the following details:
“Martin spends two hours a day for two weeks with Nicholas reading to him and teaching the former Tsar a Southern dialect. ”
· AEF Siberia was given its mission in writing by Woodrow Wilson on July 17, 1918, the same day that Nicholas Romanov is later reported murdered in Yekaterinburg. The document is known as the Aide-Mémoire.
· World War I ended November 11, 1918.
· President Wilson and King George V of England meet at Buckingham Palace in London, Christmas 1918 to celebrate that World War I had ended nearly two months before.
· Martin Hutson is inducted into the U.S. Army August 20, 1919, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after pressuring his mother to let him serve.
· The U.S. Army recruiting office in Chattanooga tells young Martin that he will be serving with American troops in Mexico and is ordered to report for training at Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia.
· At Fort Oglethorpe, Martin is informed that he will be going to Siberia, not Mexico. He is then shipped to Vladivostok, Russia, by rail to San Francisco’s Fort McDowell and by transport aboard the USAT Great Northern via Honolulu and Vladivostok.
· After training in Vladivostok, Russia, Martin then travels by train to Irkutsk where he is told to guard an American Red Cross train.
· Martin guards the train for several days and is nearly killed by one of his own.
· Having performed his duties admirably, Martin is taken aboard the train in the Irkutsk rail yard by his Lieutenant. The train has a number of very high ranking Allied officers and governmental officials aboard.
· In a recorded 45-minute audio that has never before been revealed, Martin says that he was introduced to “Nicholas.” The time is mid-November 1919.
· Martin spends two hours a day for two weeks with Nicholas reading to him and teaching the former Tsar a Southern dialect.
· The Imperial train, which is disguised as an American Red Cross evacuation train departs Irkutsk and travels for several weeks between Irkutsk to Harbin through Chita.
· The American Red Cross train is a “Special Train” according to the U.S. Department of War and Department of State. The Romanov train is designated “Special Train #28.” Woodrow Wilson is the 28th President of the United States.
· During the last week of travel, Martin is introduced to the Empress, an attendant, and an unnamed daughter. He spends an hour with them each day following his sessions with Nicholas.
· Outside of Chita, the train is attacked by Chinese bandits and burned. But Japanese troops intervene and save the train because a Japanese General is on board.
· In Harbin, headquarters for the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the three Romanovs are transferred from the Americans to the British hidden in burial boxes. The time is early December 1919.
· Martin is told by his Lieutenant that the Romanovs are headed to Vladivostok where they will be put on a boat to San Francisco. From San Francisco the plan is for the Imperial family members to travel to London via Chicago and New York.
· Martin and his team travel on to Vladivostok by rail.
· In Vladivostok, a firefight breaks out in the train station where Red Army troops are actively searching for a 14-year-old boy is Martin says was on his train.
· AEF Siberia is ordered home January 8, 1920.
· Martin is honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in the early 1920s.
· In the early 1930’s, Martin reads of an account by Yekaterinburg American Consul General Ernest Harris who says that the Tsar was aboard his train and removed from Russia. Harris argues, however, that the Tsar was dead and ashes.
· Martin attempts to track down the Consul General to dispute the story but is told by the U.S. Department of State that Harris is not available on assignment in another country.
· Martin writes his story but the manuscript is confiscated by State Department personnel.
· Martin Hutson passes away in the early 1970s after telling the author in person about the story and recording his experience on audio tape.
· The Romanov remains are said to have been found years after Martin’s passing. Controversy about their custody dog their burial plans.
· DNA evidence is reported to validate with 98.5% certainty that the remains are those of the Romanov family.
· Martin’s audio tapes are sent to Ben in the early 2000s by family.
· And, Ben, starts to dig deep in the research archives to test how much of Martin’s story can be verified.
A Story Worth Discovering?
Rescuing Nicholas: The Secret Mission to Save the Tsar is an interesting story we ecommend that you discover for yourself. It goes like this:
For over 300 years the Tsars ruled Russia. Nicholas II would be the last. History convincingly says that the Romanov family was murdered by rebellious Bolshevik soldiers. Executed to secure power for a new Revolution led by the notorious Vladimir Lenin. Rumors of their survival lived on. Seventy years later, their remains were finally discovered in a hidden grave deep in a conveniently remote forest. Russia closed the investigation into their assassination. History needed the Romanovs dead.
But there was an eyewitness. A U.S. Army soldier from Knoxville, Tennessee, who spent a remarkable two weeks with Nicholas, Alexandra, and a Grand Duchess, aboard an American Red Cross train sixteen months after they were said to have been brutally killed. A credible eyewitness who left a previously undisclosed 45-minute recorded account that tells a very different side to the Romanov lore than what history now reports.
Rescuing Nicholas, as remembered by the soldier’s family, is Martin Hutson’s story of perhaps the greatest unknown rescue mission in history.
Hidden for a century. Led by an American President and the King of England. Kept a secret from Congress and Parliament. Supported by an intriguing cast of talented accomplices: The President’s son-in-law, the former head of the U.S. Secret Service; the American Secretary of War; an iconic American commanding general, Black Jack Pershing; his right hand, West Point’s Major General William Sidney Graves; a United States Consul General in Siberia; a wealthy American industrialist from Chicago; a handful of experienced railroad men from America’s Midwest; daring soldiers from the U.S. Army’s American Expeditionary Force Siberia; a future White House resident; and a number of surprising British dignitaries including a future Prime Minister.
Lies. Loyalty. Family. War. Mystery. Tsar. Power. Bribery. Bloody murder. This book digs into it all and explores in depth why Nicholas Romanov “died . . . so that he could live.” Martin’s story is the best Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum novel come to life. It is a true story found buried deep in the American and British archives.
But, will history care 100 years later?
Happy reading!