by Matt Zullo, CTICM(ret.)
2001 OTRG award winner
OTRG Historian and Author

As many of you likely know, I published a pair of books in 2020 about our very own “On-the-Roof Gang,” the US Navy’s cryptologic pioneers. Thanks to you, these books have sold well and have garnered some amazing reviews on many online retailer websites. Since then, I have continued my research into the group, finding new information and new photographs that are pertinent to the story. I am very excited to announce that I have published a Second Edition of both volumes of the books.

The first thing that eagle-eyed readers will notice is a new dust cover for each volume. The dust cover for Volume 1, Prelude to War features photographs across the top of three of the main characters in the book – Captain Laurance Safford, Chief Radioman Harry Kidder, and Agnes Meyer-Driscoll. The last photograph is Lieutenant Colonel (then Staff Sergeant) Stephen Lesko as the father of US Marine Corps tactical SIGINT. Volume 2 is adorned with the four protagonists of that story – Markle Smith, Duane Whitlock, Ted Widlman, and Ray Rundle. Both volumes have updated styling, but maintain the same color palette as the First Editions.

In addition to the new dustcovers, I updated the books with new information and photographs discovered while continuing my research into the group. Most notably, I included updated information about Harry Kidder in Volume 1. I also added over a half dozen new photographs to each volume. Lastly, I cleaned up some language and fixed a few typos that lingered from the First Edition.

Stand by for upcoming announcements as to the availability of Matt’s Second Editions. You can follow his Matt Zullo Author FB page or check out news on http://www.MattZulloAuthor.com.