Station HYPO

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.

The last Navy deployment was on George H.W. Bush in November 2014, with VAQ-134. The last Navy operational flight took place on 27 May 2015.  Electronic Attack Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CVWP), hosted a retirement commemoration for the EA-6B from 25 to 27 June 2015 at NAS Whidbey Island.