As the world welcomed a royal baby this week, we are reminded of another international baby delivery that was the impetus for an incredible spy mission.

In 1934, Moe Berg was in Japan as a member of the U.S. all-star baseball team when the daughter of Ambassador Joseph Clark Grew gave birth at Tokyo’s St. Luke’s Hospital. Berg read about the birth of the baby in the newspaper and used it as an excuse to go to the hospital to supposedly visit the Ambassador’s daughter. He even came equipped with a bouquet of flowers that he dumped once inside.

Instead, he climbed to the top of the hospital and secretly filmed the cityscape from the roof. The view afforded Berg full coverage of the city’s industrial plants, railroad lines, buildings, and Tokyo Bay. This footage probably proved valuable to General Jimmy Doolittle and crew for America’s retaliation air raid on Tokyo in World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

We celebrate Mother’s Day in honor of the women who help tell our stories and shape our lives!