At midnight on June 28, 1944 four well-armed civilians attempted a daring armed robbery of the $4,329,000 Camp Lejeune payroll being transported under heavy guard from the First National Bank in the small Coastal Plain town of Kinston, North Carolina. The would-be hijackers were cut down in a hail of submachine gun fire. Taking this foiled attempt as a warning, a bold Marine Corps colonel and the avaricious bank manager set in motion an elaborate ruse to steal the $6,327,412 January 1945 payroll from the bank vault prior to its transfer. The audacious scheme was brilliantly planned and...

At midnight on June 28, 1944 four well-armed civilians attempted a daring armed robbery of the $4,329,000 Camp Lejeune payroll being transported under heavy guard from the First National Bank in the small Coastal Plain town of Kinston, North Carolina. The would-be hijackers were cut down in a hail of submachine gun fire. Taking this foiled attempt as a warning, a bold Marine Corps colonel and the avaricious bank manager set in motion an elaborate ruse to steal the $6,327,412 January 1945 payroll from the bank vault prior to its transfer. The audacious scheme was brilliantly planned and...