Corry Station holds a unique place in Naval Cryptology so much so that I believe it is the Cradle of Naval Cryptology.
This by no means diminishes the significant contributions of the On-The-Roof Gang training at the Navy Main Building in Washington D.C. leading up to WWII; the training at Navy Radio Station at Bainbridge Island during and after WWII; Naval School at Imperial Beach after WWII and the start of the Cold War; as well as other training sites such as 3801 Nebraska Ave, Goodfellow, Winter Harbor and Ft. Meade.
On January 3, 1961, Corry Station opened its doors to the first class of Communications Technicians (CT). With the exception of language training in Monterey, CA, this was the start of consolidating all CT “A” schools training in the Navy.
Then on March 26, 1976, the Bureau of Personnel announced the change in title for the Communications Technician (CT) rating to the Cryptologic Technician rating. The purpose of this action was to align the designation of the Communications Technician with the Warrant Officer (744X), Restricted Line (161X) and the Limited Duty Officer (644X) Cryptologic communities. This was the first time Naval Cryptologic Technician training was conducted!
That same year, Rear Admiral George Patrick March, Commander Naval Security Group dedicated several schoolhouse buildings at Corry Station to some of our earliest and most accomplished cryptologists, including RMC Kidder, RMC Gunn, LCDR Daniels and RMC McGregor, all On-The-Roof Gang instructors. This action linked Corry Station to our past and built the bridge to our future.
Shortly after naming the schoolhouses, three barrack buildings were named, but these names represented those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. If you visit Corry Station today you will see Smith Hall, Graves Hall and Traughber Hall. CTC Melvin D. Smith and CT1 Curtis A. Graves were both killed in action while serving onboard the USS Liberty and CPL Stephen L Traughber was killed in action while serving in the first Radio Battalion, Vietnam.
After the disestablishment of the Naval Security Group Command on September 30, 2005, all the cryptologic historical artifacts, equipment and documents were shipped to Corry Station. Again, if you visit Corry Station, you will find this history in building 503.
In March 2021, Corry Station will celebrate 60 years training Naval Cryptologists. Although there is no way to know the exact number of cryptologic enlisted and officers who passed through the front gates of Corry Station, based on a conservative average of 5,000 graduates each year, Corry Station has graduated at least 300,000 Cryptologists.
So, did Corry Station train the first radio intercept operator or cryptanalyst? Of course not! That distinction belongs to LT Laurence Safford as the training officer at the Code and Signal Section in OP-20-G, but considering what Corry Station has accomplished and what the command represents, the title of Cradle of Naval Cryptology rests squarely on Corry Station!
Sincerely,
Mario Vulcano
1 December 2019 at 16:10
Great facility even as early as 1970. At that time a small training command with runways and hangers for classrooms and exercise. My “T” branch class had 16… big room probably had 30 plus. It was hot in the summer months especially when still in big room cause your barracks were in 502 with no A/C. The Navarine Club was always filled on the weekends. The beach called also and we rented a room at one of the two motels there filled the tub with beer and slept on the beach. Great memories, great guys….
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1 December 2019 at 22:33
Thanks for the history. I was at Corry Station in Feb and wanted to visit the base again first time back since 1967. They refused to let me in even though I had my VA card and told them I had been stationed there in late 66 to early 67. Is there any way to visit the base that any of you know of? Thanks. I also have the graduating class photos of the Navy CT’s and 3 of us Marines. If anyone would like a copy, please let me know.
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1 December 2019 at 23:35
Please give me your email so we can coordinate a visit for you. Sincerely, Mario Vulcano
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1 December 2019 at 23:12
Remember it well! CTM/A School and a C school there! Thankfully, all my other C Schools were on Zoomie bases in Texas, one of which our collateral duties was to instruct the zoomies to “party like a sailor”! It was fun! I never saw any zoomies at Corry Station …. Spent about two years there …
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2 December 2019 at 00:12
Mario … my I copy and use this in the autobiography I’m writing for my grandchildren? I’ll make sure you are mentioned as the author. Was there from Dec 66 for 6 months and back for 3 Months in June of 67
CTR 2 J.P.Reilly
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2 December 2019 at 00:20
You may. If you give me your email I will send you a more in depth history of Corry Station.
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2 December 2019 at 14:27
Well said, Mario!
Recall these same words and sentiments expressed by you and several other longstanding members of the cryptologic community, including former Corry Station Commanding Officer, Captain Ivan M. Dunn, USN, Ret., at the recent joint gathering of the Gulf Coast and Smoky Mountain Chapters of the Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association in Pensacola, FL.
Within the Navy, and certainly within Navy Cryptology, we quickly learn that change is upon us; often … almost too often. Yet Corry Station has stood these six decades as the foundation and touchstone of the Navy Cryptologic Profession for hundreds of thousands of sailors and marines as they began then, and still begin today, their professional military careers.
And let us not forget the tens of thousands of soldiers and airmen who similarly see Corry Station as their Cryptologic IP (Initial Point) in the launch of their professional careers, as well.
So, calling Corry Station, Pensacola, FL the “Cradle of Navy Cryptology” is more than richly deserved.
In fact, let’s hang a banner appropriately on the Station.
Rusty Smith
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2 December 2019 at 15:05
Well stated Mario. I was there for a year, Dec, 1964 – Nov, 1965. First 6 months was ship’s company (waiting for my security clearance). Did galley duty for 10 weeks (14 hour work days with only every other weekend off). Memories of my tour there are still vivid in my mind. Corry was quite a special duty station, with hustle and bustle activities every day. It is a unique place that is difficult to describe; you simply had to be there experiencing it. I was a CTO brancher, and later in life, had a special shirt made stating “Navy NSA CTO2 1964-1968. I wear it proudly at any Veteran’s Day celebration.
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2 December 2019 at 15:37
Mario,
Separately, the photographic lead to this “Cradle of Naval Cryptology” article, with the Blue Angels overflying Corry Station during a Station event, is impactful. A classic Corry Station photograph!
My recollection is that former Corry Station Commanding Officer, Captain Kevin R. Hooley, USN, Ret., began in 2004 a three day annual memorial in June of each year recognizing the seminal WW II event of the “Battle of Midway,” its war-turning impact on the Pacific War and the contributions made by naval cryptologists to that ‘Battle’s’ success. If memory serves, the memorial began on 4 June (the day the battle began) and concluded on the 6th of June (last day of the battle) with a Station formation ceremony which also featured several VIP veterans of the ‘Battle’ who remain with us.
Capt. Hooley also arranged with the Commanding Officer of the ‘Blues’ to overfly the Station at the beginning of each year’s concluding memorial ceremony the photographs from which (2005, perhaps?) look very similar to the photograph used in your “Cradle of Naval Cryptology” article.
Could you tell us if this “Battle of Midway” annual ceremonial event is still taking place each June aboard Corry Station? And, do you know the date of your article’s lead photograph?
Rusty Smith
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2 December 2019 at 19:13
There Aug 1963 – June 1964. Then Kami !!
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2 December 2019 at 19:13
There Aug 1973 – June 1964 . Then, Kami
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3 December 2019 at 03:00
I arrived at Corry Station in April of 1969 and graduated in November 1969 as CTOSN. I remember the air-conditioned hangars that were used as classrooms and the hot, humid days. That was quite a contrast for a farm boy hailing from bucolic Maine! I remember getting my first taste of grits in the galley. I’d never heard, let alone tasted grits before then! I remember hitting the beach on weekends where a bunch of other students and I would rent a bungalow and frolic on the beach. I returned to Pensacola just once in 2017 where I had the pleasure of volunteering to archive material that was donated to the Crypto Museum. Being a CT and attending Corry Station is one if the greatest achievements in my life!
CTO1 Roger “Smokey” Castonguay, Ret.
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3 December 2019 at 04:40
Hey – you had air conditioning! I always tell everyone of me sleeping in the top bunk in the corner of the room on the top floor (the room was in the corner of the building with no windows) without air conditioning. I would go to sleep in dirty skivies, sleep and wake up with my skivies literally soaked with sweat from the heat. No lie! I would shower and then put on clean skivies. The hangars back then had a $10,000 (1965 dollars) Swedish basketball floor that we loved playing on (although 5’11” I could slam dunk! – honest – my black buddies could not believe it). It’s amazing what the body can adjust to when necessary. Civilians could never handle that.
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3 December 2019 at 04:32
I was stationed there from May – Nov 71. It was a huge improvement from Great Lakes boot camp! The R Branch “A” school was tough but I loved my T Branch “C” school. I have fond memories of my time in Pensacola. Went from there to Adak and later to San Vito.
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3 December 2019 at 04:48
John – I deliberately flunked 2 weeks in a row so that I would get set back in school for 2 weeks. That enabled me to be home on leave for my 21st birthday. But the Navy got me back. Upon graduation, my next duty stationI was Cape Chiniak, Alaska for isolated duty (it was on Kodiak Island – 43 miles away from the Kodiak Naval base. Fun duty!
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