Station HYPO

By Honorable John Paul Stevens, Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

On December 6, 1941, having completed the Navy’s restricted correspondence course in cryptography, I went to the Great Lakes, Naval Station, applied for a commission and passed the physical.  I’m sure you know how the enemy responded the following day.  A few weeks later my orders arrived and I spend most of 1942, working in OP-20-GT in the old Munitions Building on Constitution Avenue.  (I never made it to the roof).  I served under then LCDR Jeff Dennis, made a few “idents” (call sign identification) and a garble table for the enemy’s 3-kana calls.  I spent ’43, ’44 and over half of ’45 at Pearl, and was returned to Washington shortly before VJ day.  When I arrived at Pearl, the unit-then known as FRUPAC was still in the basement of Com-14, but some months later we became part of JICPOA up at Makalapa.

Recent drills near Japan reflect China’s ambitions to extend its navy’s reach and exert greater influence, in the Pacific and beyond.

As China girds for a deepening global rivalry with the United States, Beijing is testing how far its navy can operate from home, and how well its warships can work together on the open seas. In recent exercises involving two aircraft carriers, China gave a bold display of how it seeks to assert dominance in the western Pacific.

On Jan. 17, 1941, almost 11 months before the United States entered World War II, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) asked the commandant of the 13th Naval District to find a location for the re-arming and refueling of Navy patrol planes operating in defense of Puget Sound, should such defense be necessary.