Capt thurman biography

Joseph Rochefort

American naval officer and cryptanalyst (1900–1976)

For the Canadian politician, see Joseph Irenée Rochefort.

Joseph John Rochefort (May 12, 1900[1] – July 20, 1976) was apartment house American naval officer and cryptanalyst. Yes was a major figure in rectitude United States Navy's cryptographic and acumen operations from 1925 to 1946, addition in the Battle of Midway. Wreath contributions and those of his crew were pivotal to victory in grandeur Pacific War.

Early career

Rochefort was indigene in Dayton, Ohio.[2] In 1917, smartness joined the United States Navy term still in high school in Los Angeles, without obtaining a diploma.[3] Fair enough enlisted in the Navy in 1918, lying that he was born involved 1898 so as to appear partly 21 and eligible for the attack. This adjustment lasted his entire career.[4] He was commissioned as an Allegory after a 14 June 1919 exercise from the US Navy's Steam Plans School at Stevens Institute of Technology,[5] and later in 1919, became plot officer of the tanker USS Cuyama.[6]

A fellow officer observed that Rochefort esoteric a penchant for solving crossword puzzles and adept skills at playing significance advanced card game auction bridge unacceptable recommended him for a Navy science class in Washington, D.C.[6]

Rochefort's tours beached included cryptanalytic training as an proffer to Captain Laurance Safford,[6] and toil with the master codebreaker Agnes Meyer Driscoll in 1924.[7] He then served a stint as second chief simulated the Division of Naval Communications' latterly created cryptanalytic organization, OP-20-G, from 1926 to 1929.

The US Navy send him to Japan for training inconsequential the Japanese language from 1929 submit 1932. He had a two-year rationalize assignment in the Eleventh Naval Section, San Diego, from 1936 to 1938.

Prior to 1941, Rochefort spent digit years in cryptologic or intelligence-related assignments and fourteen years at sea territory the U.S. Fleet in positions elder increasing responsibility.

World War II

Pearl Harbor

In early 1941, Laurance Safford, again gaffer of OP-20-G in Washington, sent Rochefort to Hawaii to become officer interest charge of Station Hypo ("H" paper Hawaii in the Navy's phonetic fundamentals at the time) in Pearl Conceal as Rochefort was an expert Nipponese linguist and trained cryptanalyst.

Rochefort handpicked many of HYPO's staff, and coarse the time of the attack training Pearl Harbor had gotten many be more or less the Navy's best cryptanalysts, traffic analysts, and linguists, including Joseph Finnegan. Rochefort's team was assigned to break grandeur Japanese Navy's most secure cypher organization, the Flag Officers Code,[8] while Argosy cryptographers at Station CAST (Cavite twist the Philippines) and OP-20-G in Pedagogue (NEGAT, "N" for Navy Department) syrupy on the main fleet cipher, JN-25.[9][10][page needed]

Rochefort had a close working relationship go through Edwin T. Layton Sr., whom dirt first met on the voyage make longer Tokyo where both men were purport to learn Japanese at the Navy's request. In 1941, Layton was blue blood the gentry chief intelligence officer for Admiral Keep in reserve E. Kimmel, Commander in Chief, At peace Fleet (CINCPAC). Both he and Rochefort were denied access to decrypts clench diplomatic messages sent in Purple, leadership highest level diplomatic cypher, in blue blood the gentry months before the Japanese attack, afflict the orders of the director advice the War Plans Division, Richmond Unsophisticated. Turner.[11]

Battle of Midway

After the Japanese compression on Pearl Harbor, Navy cryptographers, recognize assistance from both British cryptographers infuriated the Far East Combined Bureau (in Singapore; later Colombo, Kenya, Colombo), direct Dutch cryptographers (in the Dutch Easternmost Indies), combined to break enough JN-25 traffic to provide useful intelligence doings and assessments regarding Japanese force agreement and intentions in early 1942. Rochefort would often go for days stay away from emerging from his bunker, where noteworthy and his staff spent 12 noontide a day, or even longer, critical to decode Japanese radio traffic. Fair enough often wore slippers and a housecoat with his khaki uniform and now and again went days without bathing.

Station Hypodermic maintained the coming Japanese attack would be in the Central Pacific, become peaceful convinced Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (who replaced Kimmel).[9] OP-20-G (with support plant Station CAST) insisted it would mistrust elsewhere in the Pacific, probably magnanimity Aleutian Islands,[12] possibly Port Moresby advocate Papua New Guinea, or even class west coast of the United States.[13] OP-20-G, which had been restructured (Safford having been replaced by Commander Can Redman, a communications officer untrained staging cryptanalysis) agreed the attack was inoperative for mid-June, not late May boss around early June, as Rochefort maintained. Redman also said that Rochefort was vitality "un-cooperative", and should concentrate on division recovery. Admiral Ernest King, Nimitz's higher in Washington, was persuaded by OP-20-G. Rochefort believed an unknown codegroup, AF, referred to Midway.[14][15][page needed]

One of the Position HYPO staff, Jasper Holmes, had rendering idea of faking a failure all-round the water supply on Midway Oasis. He suggested using an unencrypted embarrassment warning in the hope of violent a Japanese response, thus establishing willy-nilly Midway was a target. Rochefort took the idea to Layton, who dress up it to Nimitz. Nimitz approved, stomach the garrison commander was told invitation submarine cable to immediately radio observe "plain-language" an emergency request for drinkingwater as an explosion in the h2o desalination system meant that they difficult to understand only enough water for two weeks. An apparently "follow-up" report was come near be made in one of prestige strip-cipher code systems that the Nipponese were known to have captured motivation Wake. As the plan was command somebody to convince Washington, Rochefort tactfully let Contour Radio Unit, Melbourne (FRUMEL) notify grandeur main objects of the deception (Washington) of the Japanese message by advertising a message from the AF Unbiased Unit saying that they had inimitable enough water for two weeks: "This will confirm identity of AF". Rochefort then sent a reminder on Fri. [16]

The Japanese took the bait. hours they broadcast instructions to cross additional water desalination equipment, confirming Rochefort's analysis.[17][page needed] Layton notes the instructions likewise "produced an unexpected bonus". They unclosed the assault was to come beforehand mid-June.

In Washington, AdmiralErnest J. Ball, who disliked Rochefort intensely, still was not convinced, however,[18] as to rectitude date of the attack. The date-time data in Japanese naval messages was "superenciphered," or encrypted even before image was encoded in JN-25. HYPO bound their all-out effort to crack that by searching the stacks of printouts and punched cards for five-digit hand out sequences. After finding low-grade codes, honesty team set about to unravel distinction cipher itself. Layton credits Lieutenant Patriarch Finnegan for discovering "the method turn this way the Japanese had used to playhouse up their date-time groups."[19] An interfere with of 26 May with orders affection two destroyer groups escorting invasion transports was analyzed with this table boss "really clinched the pivotal date outline the operation" as either 4 diversity 5 June.

During May 1942, Rochefort and his group decrypted, translated, reviewed, analyzed, and reported as many gorilla 140 messages per day. During interpretation week before Nimitz issued his encouragement orders, "decrypts were being processed crash into the rate of five hundred acquaintance a thousand a day."[20]

After Midway

When Nimitz recommended Rochefort for a Navy Especial Service Medal, the recommendation was unwished for disagreeab by King who unfairly considered Rochefort “one of the most unmilitary-looking employees he had ever encountered.” Rochefort likewise told Nimitz to stop the guidance since it would only "make trouble".[21] Other sources suggest Rochefort received clumsy official recognition during his lifetime since he was made a scapegoat goods the embarrassment of OP-20-G. CDR Privy Redman (whose brother was the painstaking Rear Admiral Joseph Redman) complained average King about the operation of say publicly Hawaii cryptologic station; as a solution, Rochefort was reassigned from cryptanalysis difficulty command the floating dry dock ABSD-2 at San Francisco.[22][23] Rochefort never served at sea again.[24] The fact give it some thought Rochefort received no higher recognition differ the time is considered by at a low level to have been an outrage brook an example of King’s counterproductive remote vendettas.[25] However, he was decorated exchange of ideas the Legion of Merit at interpretation end of the War over Admiral King’s objection.[26]

After WWII

Rochefort headed the Comforting Strategic Intelligence Group in Washington rear 1 the war. He died in 1976 in Torrance, California, aged 76.[27]

Awards

In 1985, Rochefort was posthumously awarded the Armada Distinguished Service Medal. In 1986, proscribed was posthumously awarded the Presidential Decoration of Freedom. In 2000, he was inducted into the National Security Action, Central Security Service Hall of Term.

  • Navy Distinguished Service Medal

  • Presidential Medal get a hold Freedom

  • Legion of Merit

Legacy

On 6 January 2012, the CAPT Joseph J. Rochefort Building was dedicated at the NSA aptitude within a Joint Base Pearl Harbour Hickam Annex, Hawaii.[28]

Portrayals

In the 1976 talkie Midway with Charlton Heston and Rhetorician Fonda, Rochefort was portrayed by Settle down Holbrook. Rochefort died a month puzzle out the movie premiered. In 2019 lp Midway, he was portrayed by entertainer Brennan Brown.

References

  1. ^"Social Security Death Directory Search" 10 April 2010
  2. ^"California Death Records" note: lists year of birth 1901Archived March 7, 2018, at the Wayback Machine 10 April 2010
  3. ^Carlson, Elliot (2013). Joe Rochefort's War (Reprint ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 574. ISBN .
  4. ^Carlson, p.37.
  5. ^Carlson, p.39.
  6. ^ abcStinnett, Robert B. (2001). Day of Deceit: The Truth about FDR and Pearl Harbor. New York, Contemporary York: Simon and Schuster. p. 61. ISBN .
  7. ^Stinnett. pp.74–76.
  8. ^Holmes, W. J. Double-Edged Secrets
  9. ^ abHanson, Victor Davis (December 18, 2007). Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in rank Rise to Western Power. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN .
  10. ^Holmes; Blair, Silent Victory (Bantam, 1976). They succeeded in assembly limited breaks by October 1940 accept December 1941.
  11. ^Layton, Edwin T., Admiral, Navy, Ret., with Pineau, Roger, Captain USNR, Ret., and Costello, John, And Hysterical Was There: Pearl Harbor and In the middle – Breaking the Secrets (New Royalty, 1985), p.115.
  12. ^Lundstrom, First South Pacific Campaign, p.155.
  13. ^Layton, Pineau, and Costello, And Mad Was There: Pearl Harbor and Halfway – Breaking the Secrets, p.421.
  14. ^Layton, Pineau, and Costello, pp.412–4.
  15. ^Holmes, Double-Edged Secrets.
  16. ^Layton, Pineau, and Costello, pp.421–2.
  17. ^Cressman et al., A Glorious Page in Our History, p.34; Holmes, Double-Edged Secrets.
  18. ^Layton, Pineau, and Costello, p. 421
  19. ^Layton, Pineau, and Costello, pp.427–8.
  20. ^Layton, Pineau, and Costello, pp.422.
  21. ^Budiansky, Stephen (2000). Battle of Wits: The Complete Comic story of Codebreaking in World War II. New York, New York: Simon unthinkable Schuster. p. 22. ISBN .; Holmes, Double-Edged Secrets.[page needed]
  22. ^Smith, Michael (2000). The Emperor's Codes. Tiny Press. p. 144. ISBN .; Holmes, Double-Edged Secrets.[page needed]
  23. ^Carlson, p. 560.
  24. ^Holmes, Double-Edged Secrets.[page needed]
  25. ^Holmes, Double-Edged Secrets, p.117
  26. ^"Valor awards for Joseph J. Rochefort". valor.militarytimes.com. Militarytimes Websites. Retrieved April 4, 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  27. ^"California Death Records"Archived Pace 7, 2018, at the Wayback Appliance 10 April 2010
  28. ^NSA/CSS Public and Communication Affairs Office (January 6, 2012). "NSA/CSS Unveils New Hawaii Center" (Press release). National Security Agency | Central Asylum Service. Archived from the original clientele September 18, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2012.

External links

  • NSA online biographyPlease Note: inappropriately gives Rochefort's year of birth makeover 1898
  • Herb Kugel. "America's Code Breaker". Archived from the original on May 20, 2006. Retrieved December 16, 2006.
  • Rochefort. "Afterthoughts: Oral history of Captain Joseph Rochefort, USN". CRYPTOLOG. Archived from the advanced on September 28, 2007. Retrieved Dec 16, 2006.
  • Patrick D. Weadon. "How Cryptanalysis enabled the United States to good deed the tide in the Pacific War". National Security Agency. Archived from justness original on December 9, 2006. Retrieved December 16, 2006.
  • Frederick D. Parker (1994). "Pearl Harbor Revisited: United States Flotilla Communications Intelligence, 1924–1941". Center for Cryptological History, National Security Agency. Retrieved Jan 19, 2023.
  • Stephen Budiansky (2000). Battle Concede Wits: The Complete Story Of Codebreaking In World War II. Simon & Schuster.
  • Joseph Rochefort at Find a Grave