Station HYPO

An Admiral at the Pentagon did not like the relaxed grooming standards enjoyed by SEALs. He told Marcinko he was coming down for a personal inspection.  Marcinko directed his men to wear their dress uniforms with medals.  Mike Thornton was the first man in line. He was wearing the Medal of Honor.  At that time, Thornton was a Petty Officer. Years later, he retired as a Lieutenant.  As soon as he entered, the O-8 saw Thornton. The Admiral saluted the Petty Officer.  Flag Officers are smart. He knew immediately he had been set up. He called Marcinko aside and said: You are one clever SOB!  The Admiral returned to the Pentagon. Grooming standards at SEAL Team 6 remained unchanged.

Citation

SP4 James T. Davis, USA, KIA
June 1, 1936 – December 22, 1961

On 13 May 1961, the first contingent of Army Security Agency personnel arrived in South Vietnam (setting up an organization at Tan Son Nhut Air Base) to provide support to the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group and help train the South Vietnamese Army. During the early years of conflict, ASA troops in Vietnam were assigned to the 3rd Radio Research Unit. Their primary mission was to locate Viet Cong transmitters operating in the south. This mission was in its early stages when one of their direction finding (DF) operators, SP4 James T. Davis, was killed in a Viet Cong ambush on a road outside Saigon. The date of the ambush, 22 December 1961, made Davis the first American soldier to lose his life during the Vietnam War.

Clint Eastwood, May 31, 1930

Clint Eastwood was drafted into the Army in 1951 during the war in Korea and was sent to Ft. Ord in California for basic training. He lucked into a job as a swimming instructor and remained at Ft. Ord. He worked nights and weekends as a bouncer at the NCO club.

ADR2 Louis F Balderman was born on May 29, 1943 to Mr. and Mrs. James Duffy Balderman of Philadelphia, PA.  Louis had two brothers and two sisters.  Before enlisting in the Navy, Louis worked at a machine shop. 

Over the past few months, many of you have reached out, wondering what became of the content once available on Station HYPO. Since launching in 2015, Station HYPO has shared nearly 2,500 posts—most focused on cryptologic history—and has become a valued resource for researchers, historians, and institutions such as the U.S. Naval Academy and several museums.