Morris “Moe” Berg (March 2, 1902 – May 29, 1972) was an American professional baseball player, scholar, and spy. Although he played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for teams including the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, and Boston Red Sox, Berg was better known for his intellect and later, his work with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. Fluent in multiple languages and educated at Princeton and Columbia, Berg became a unique figure in American history: a man who excelled in sports, academics, and espionage.
The steel decks of the battleship USS NEW MEXICO trembled beneath the thunder of war. Across the blood-soaked waters off Okinawa in the spring of 1945, death came screaming from the sky in the form of Japanese kamikaze aircraft—pilots on one-way missions of destruction. Amid the chaos, deep within the nerve center of Admiral Spruance’s flagship, one young American Sailor listened intently to the enemy.
Continue reading “Remembering RM1c Walter L. Rougeux, Katakana Intercept Operator, KIA”
PIRAZ (Positive Identification Radar Advisory Zone), more commonly known by the callsign “RED CROWN,” was the most important station given to ships of the Cruiser/Destroyer force and was responsible for control of Navy airstrikes against North Vietnam. RED CROWN frequently controlled Air Force strike packages as well, and many USAF pilots preferred working with RED CROWN, a testament to the professionalism of whatever ship was assigned such duties.
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Herbert Osborn Yardley was born on April 13, 1889 in Worthington, Indiana. He learned telegraphy from his father, Robert Kirkbride Yardley, a railroad station master and telegrapher. His mother, Mary Emma Osborn Yardley, passed away when he was 13.
Continue reading “Remembering Herbert Osborn Yardley, an American cryptologist”
This is a recorded of an interview with Captain Wilford J. Holmes, USN Retired, otherwise known as Jasper Holmes. The interviewers are Hank Shorik, NSA Historian and Ray Schmidt, NSG Historian. The date is 13 September 1977.
Station HYPO 