(Left Coast Guy and I did some exploring when we were at Pearl Harbor earlier this year. The anonymous door in the middle of the picture leads down to what had been The Dungeon in the war years, and where the analysts of Station Hypo broke the Japanese Codes. Photo Socotra)
If you have followed the course of history, the letters “AF” have a pivotal role in the history of the last century, and the largest armed conflict in mankind’s storied history. So far, anyway.
The short version of the significance of the letters is that they represented the target of the vast Japanese fleet- the Kido Butai- steaming east across the Pacific. Through a ruse, the code-breakers who labored in the Dungeon below the Headquarters of the 14th Naval District confirmed the identity of the target: Midway Island.
Admiral Chester Nimitz believed the intelligence gleaned by the men of Station Hypo, and committed everything to respond to the point of attack. On 4 June, 1942, due to the poor reconnaissance efforts and tactical mistakes of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, US Navy dive bombers were able to surprise the Japanese carrier force and destroy three carriers (Akagi, Kaga and Sōryū). At the time of the attack the Japanese carriers were in the process of preparing to launch an air strike against the US carriers and their hangars were full of loaded aircraft, bombs and aviation fuel which decisively contributed to their destruction. That day the Japanese lost four aircraft carriers and much of their experienced aircrew. While the US lost the carrier Yorktown (CV-5), it is said that before the battle at Midway, the Japanese never lost a battle. After Midway, they never were victorious again.
So, yesterday I told you about the curious envelope in the little white binder that Mac’s family gave me after his passing. The great victory provoked an astonishing event. The man responsible for running the organization that unraveled the puzzle- Joe Rochefort- was dismissed and sent into exile.
His crime was that he had been right, and Washington had been wrong. But of course it was not just Joe’s genius: it was the hard work of men like Joe Finngan, and Jasper Holmes and Mac Showers who all contributed bits to the solution of the decryption. It was with wonder that I read a hand-written note from Jasper to Mac, penned after a stroke, and in the twilight of his life. I thought I would share his words with your this afternoon:
(Mac Shower’s hand-drawn floor plan of Station HYPO- the Fleet Radio Unit-Pacific. At center right is the desk of CDR Joe Rochefort, directly next to that of Jasper Holmes and Mac Showers. Photo Socotra).
It is all quite overwhelming to hold this history in my hands. I will get around to transcribing this, some day, but I thought you would want to see it in the original, written by the man who figured it out.
Copyright 2015 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303