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The Black Eagle Trust was a fund created out of precious metals and gems, recovered by the United States from the Germans and Japanese ("Yamashita's gold") after World War II. The Nazis had appropriated gold from Jews all over Europe, and the Japanese had plundered Nanjing and other Chinese cities. American Secretary of War Henry Stimson proposed that the recovered assets be used to fund clandestine operations after the war. The existence of an independent funding source would help to keep these operations secret, and shield them from Congressional and public scrutiny. The name of the fund derived from the Nazi eagle that was stamped on gold bars made from melted-down, confiscated gold jewelry and coins. The bulk of the funding for the Black Eagle Trust came, however, from underground stashes in the Philippines, where the Japanese navy had horded stolen booty after the American blockade prevented them from returning the loot to Japanese soil.

Notes and references

• Seagrave, Sterling; Peggy Seagrave (2003). Gold Warriors. New York: Verso. ISBN 1859845428.  
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