INTRODUCTION: Captain Howard C. Ehret (Howie) served in the United States Navy as a cryptologic professional from 1962 to 1992. He developed, honed, and assiduously applied his transformational leadership and unsurpassed technical cryptologic skills against the backdrop of the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and regional crises in the Middle East and the Atlantic too numerous to relate. His frame of reference was forward-deployed U.S. Naval forces operating “eyeball to eyeball” with the Soviets and other threats, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Continue reading “HALL of HONOR NOMINATION PACKAGE ICO CAPTAIN HOWARD C. EHRET (USN)”
Radioman Second Class (RM2c) Walter Carl Rathsack was selected for the tenth class of the On-The-Roof Gang training that began in March 1933. Along with the other seven Radiomen in the class, he graduated in June 1933 and was ordered to Station BAKER in Guam. In the years leading up to World War II, Petty Officer Rathsack performed Radio Intelligence operations in Guam, Philippines and Hawaii.
Continue reading “The Most Dangerous Assignment”
Quoting Captain Holmes again how the course of the War was changed the nature of our work:
“The virtual destruction of the Japanese Navy and the drastic reduction in the numbers of marus brought about changes in radio intelligence. It also forced the Japanese to suicide weapons of many varieties. Most effective were kamikazes which, in April and May 1945, took off from Kyushu in mass flights to attack U.S. ships in the vicinity of Okinawa. Kamikazes were the most serious threat the Navy faced during the war.”
Clay Blair, Jr., who served as a Quartermasters, 2nd Class on submarines in WWII, wrote a 1,000 page book subtitled, The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan. He titled his book, SILENT VICTORY, because the skippers and crews like their comrades in radio intelligence were not permitted to discuss their exploits until after the War was over. In summary:
Continue reading “Silent Victory Beneath the Waves: Submarines, Radio Intelligence, and the Hidden War Against Japan During WWII”
Did the Imperial Japanese Navy use a mock raid on Pearl Harbor that was conducted on February 7, 1932 as a blue print for their December 7, 1941 attack?
Continue reading “The First Attack: Pearl Harbor, February 7, 1932”
William Frederick Halsey, Jr.
30 October 1882 – 16 August 1959
Station HYPO 