Joseph Rochefort

Joseph John Rochefort ( born May 12, 1900 in Dayton, Ohio; † July 20, 1976 in Torrance, California ) was an American Navy cryptographer in World War II.

Rochefort came in 1918 with the U.S. Navy and was after studying at Stevens Institute of Technology in 1919 marine engineer on the tanker USS Cuyama. In the Navy his talent noticed for crosswords and bridge, and he visited cryptographic courses at Laurance Safford and Agnes Meyer Driscoll from the cryptographic service of the U.S. Navy. 1926 to 1929 he was deputy head of the cryptographic Marine Service OP -20 -G in Washington, DC, and 1929 to 1932, he received an education in the Japanese language. 1936 to 1938 he was stationed in San Diego as intelligence officer for the 11th Naval District. In between, he was always on ships of the U.S. Navy in the service.

In early 1941 he was sent from Safford to Hawaii to work in the branch office Station Hypo in decoding the Japanese naval codes, which he the best cryptographers and linguists could choose in the U.S. Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor, as Thomas Dyer and Joseph Finnigan (who later played a significant role in the decryption work during and before the Battle of Midway ). After Pearl Harbor cryptographers were successful under his leadership in the partial decryption of the Japanese naval code JN- 25th In May 1942, decrypted and analyzed them up to 140 Japanese messages per day. In particular, they were able to identify the actual target of a Japanese aircraft carrier in the Pacific Association and thus contribute to American success in the Battle of Midway in 1942. ( Was in Safford now sidelined ) The superior authority OP -20 -G in Washington suspected another target. Clarity on the destination and time brought the Japanese answer to a fake American plaintext message that would prevail on Midway lack of water because the fresh water capacitor is defective.

1942 to 1946 he headed the Pacific Strategic Intelligence Group in Washington. He was last in the rank of Captain.

In 1984, he posthumously received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and 1986, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was inducted into the Hall of Honor in 2000.