This is the 1st biography of Capt. Joe Rochefort, the Officer in command of Station Hypo the U.S. Navy’s decrypt unit at Pearl Harbor and his key function in breaking the Imperial jap Navy’s major code earlier than the conflict of halfway. It brings jointly the disparate threads of Rochefort’s lifestyles and occupation, starting along with his enlistment within the Naval Reserve in 1918 at age 17 (dropping out of highschool and including a 12 months to his age). It chronicles his earliest days as a mustang (an officer who has risen from the ranks), his fortuitous posting to Washington, the place he headed the Navy’s codebreaking table at age 25, then, in one other unforeseen twist, came across himself assigned to Tokyo to profit Japanese.

This biography files Rochefort’s superb love-hate dating with cryptanalysis, his cheerful go out from the sphere, his love of sea accountability, his adventure-filled years within the ‘30s because the right-hand guy to the Commander in leader, U.S. Fleet, and his reluctant go back to codebreaking in mid-1941 whilst he was once ordered to go the Navy’s decrypt unit at Pearl (Station Hypo).

The e-book specializes in Rochefort’s inspiring management of Hypo, recording first his difficult months in overdue 1941 trying to find Yamamoto’s fleet, then taking pictures a guilt-ridden Rochefort in early 1942 mounting a redemptive attempt to trace that fleet after the japanese assault at Pearl Harbor . It information his serious position in could 1942 whilst he and his staff, opposed to the sour competition of a few best army brass, concluded halfway used to be Yamamoto’s invasion aim, making attainable a victory seemed by way of many because the turning aspect within the Pacific War.

The account additionally tells the tale of Rochefort’s ouster from Pearl, the results of the machinations of key officials in Washington, first to disclaim him the prestigious provider Medal steered through Admiral Nimitz, then to influence his removing as OIC of Hypo. The ebook stories his efficient ultimate years within the military while he supervises the development of a floating drydock at the West Coast, then, again in Washington, reveals himself directing a making plans physique charged with doing spade paintings resulting in the invasion of Japan.

The Epilogue narrates the postwar attempt waged by means of Rochefort’s Hypo colleagues to procure for him the DSM denied in 1942—a force that can pay off in 1986 whilst President Reagan awards him the medal posthumously at a White residence rite attended by way of his daughter and son. It additionally explores Rochefort’s legacy, essentially his pioneering function at Pearl during which, opposite to Washington’s needs, he pronounced on to Commander in leader, US Fleet, supplying actionable intelligence with none delays and allowing codebreaking to play the most important position it did within the conflict of Midway.

Ultimately, this e-book is geared toward bringing Joe Rochefort to existence because the irreverent, fiercely self sufficient and consequential officer that he was once. It assumes his occupation can’t be understood with out his whole lifestyles. It seeks to seize the interaction of coverage and character, and the position performed through politics and private rifts on the maximum degrees of army energy in the course of a time of nationwide trouble. This bio emerges as a background of the Navy’s intelligence culture.