Matt Zullo is a retired United States Navy Master Chief Cryptologic Technician and the author of the acclaimed On-the-Roof Gang book series, the definitive history of the U.S. Navy’s cryptologic pioneers during the Second World War. Drawing upon more than twenty years of naval cryptologic service, extensive archival research, and decades of engagement with the cryptologic community, Matt has become widely recognized as the world’s foremost authority on the legendary On-the-Roof Gang.

His two-volume On-the-Roof Gang series chronicles the remarkable story of the men and women who built the foundations of modern U.S. naval signals intelligence and helped shape Allied victory in the Pacific. The books have received International Impact Book Awards and Military Writers Society of America Gold Medals and are available through major online booksellers and directly from his website at www.MattZulloAuthor.com.

As a result of his groundbreaking research, organizations including the NSA Center for Cryptologic History, the National Cryptologic Museum, and the Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association frequently refer inquiries about the On-the-Roof Gang to him. He has lectured extensively on the subject for the Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association, the National Cryptologic Foundation, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Radio Club of America, Naval Intelligence Professionals, and numerous historical symposiums, podcasts, and educational forums in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Zullo’s expertise is rooted in a distinguished naval career that began in June 1983 when he enlisted in the United States Navy. After graduating with honors from the Defense Language Institute’s Basic Russian Course in Monterey, California, he completed cryptologic training at Goodfellow Air Force Base before serving in a variety of operational and leadership assignments throughout the Naval Security Group.

His career included multiple Direct Support deployments aboard Atlantic and Pacific Fleet combatants, cryptologic assignments in Maryland, Colorado, Japan, and England, service as a cryptologic instructor, qualification in submarines, and senior enlisted leadership positions within the Naval Security Group. During his assignment with Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Europe in London, he was selected for advancement to Master Chief Petty Officer and received the prestigious U.S. Navy On-the-Roof Gang Award.

Following his retirement from active duty in October 2003, Zullo continued serving the Department of Defense as a civilian employee until 2024. Throughout his military and civilian careers, he remained dedicated to preserving the history of naval cryptology and ensuring that the contributions of its pioneers would not be forgotten.

His numerous honors include the U.S. Navy On-the-Roof Gang Award, the Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association Meritorious Service Award, and the Radio Club of America’s George P. McGinnis Memorial Award. In recognition of his historical research, he successfully nominated On-the-Roof Gang founder Chief Radioman Harry Kidder to the NSA’s Cryptologic Hall of Honor, where Kidder was inducted in 2019.

Today, Zullo resides in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, where he is pursuing a Master of Arts in Screenwriting at the University of York while adapting the On-the-Roof Gang books for television. He continues to write and lecture on cryptologic history and is a regular contributor to the Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association’s Cryptolog publication and the U.S. Naval Institute’s Naval History magazine.



Above all, he is most proud of his family. He and his wife, the former Kecia Hval of Williston, North Dakota, have three children—Sarah, Andrew, and Kirsten—whose love, support, and sacrifice made his naval service and literary achievements possible.