Pacific Duty Part IV Calumny and Redemption

Far removed from the theatre of operations for security reasons, the distant halls of top-secret analytical intelligence and code-breaking are isolated from the fray. Nevertheless, workers in these secret places are as much absorbed, dedicated, and concerned as those in the clash of arms. The din of battle may be absent, but utter dedication to furnishing intelligence displaces everything else in the lives of cryptographic personnel and their associates. To unravel what is most secret challenges them at every level every minute of every day. Commander Joe Rochefort once said of his group, “You don’t have to be crazy to work here, but it helps,” a maxim Commander Tommy Dyer posted over his desk. Rochefort himself might review, translate, analyze, and report on more than 100 messages a day, sending them on to Commander-in-Chief Admiral Chester Nimitz and the highest ranking fleet commanders. I have already written about Captain Joe Finnegan asleep at his desk after long hours of continuous effort and Colonel Red Lasswell working through the night after a long day of intense concentration.