Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Primary Sources: Brixner, R.C., Lieut. Comdr., USN., Commander, Patrol Squadron 44. "Commander, Patrol Squadron 44. Operation Plan." Operation Plan for Midway Area (1942): 1-2. National Archives
Burke, Art. "Art Burke's Letter to His Family." Letter. 8 June 1942. MS. National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD. CDR Art Burke (U.S.N. Ret.), served in Enterprise from February 1942 to November 1943. At the time of the Battle of Midway (June 4-6, 1942), then-Ensign Burke's General Quarters station was Officer in Charge (OIC) of a battery of 20mm anti-aircraft guns at flight deck level, on the starboard side of the ship's island. Two days after the battle he composed the following letter, "to reassure my family that contrary to Jap reports the Enterprise was not sunk! This was put on my website as it showed the atmosphere and relief of the sailors in the Battle of Midway. CNSG 5750/198, OP-20-GY. Crane Library, Record Group 38, National Archives at College Park This document is a document from OP-20-GY, the government cryptologic agency which Rochefort had defied in order to tell Nimitz about the possible impending attack on Midway. This
was made before JN-25 was broken, and the government was still working on cracking the Red and Blue Japanese codes in order to break Purple. Through this source I was able to see what the progress of codebreaking was just five months after Pearl Harbor - and I found that it was not very far ahead, the codebreakers would make much more progress in the next year. Cressman, Robert J., Steve Ewing, Barrett Tillman, Mark Horan, Clark Reynolds, and Stan Cohen. A Glorious Page in Our History: The Battle of Midway 4-6 June 1942. Missoula: Pictorial Histories Pub., 1992. Print. A Glorious Page is considered by most members of the BOMRT to be the best single-volume reference on the Battle of Midway. It was produced by a group of military historians who felt that nothing then available provided full and accurate coverage of all of the important elements of the battle. This was the most useful for my background information and the basic information to write on my website on the battle as well as the fine details that helped with my analysis of history. "Day of Infamy" Speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 8, 1941; SEN 77A-H1, Records of the United States Senate; Record Group 46; National Archives. Franklin D. Roosevelts speech on Pearl Harbor, famously known as the day of infamy, was very useful when I was learning the publics opinion on Pearl Harbor. Most importantly, this speech showed me the presidents position on this issue and his plans for the future--when we would be brought into war. Fleet Marine Force. "CO 6th Defense Battalion, F.M.F. Instruction Memorandum."Headquarters,
were placed in my Important Documents page, to show Nimitzs plans and help the reader understand the basics of this battle. Nimitz, Admiral Chester, Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet. United States Pacific
Fleet Notice. Rep. no. Cincpac File No. A2-11/FF12(2) P15/(05) Serial 3557. N.p.: n.p.,
September 18, 1942. Print. Delivered on 15 September 1942 by Admiral Chester Nimitz - Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet - aboard Enterprise, the address both honored the first heroes of the Pacific war, and spelled out Nimitz's expectations for the fleet in the months ahead. At the time Nimitz addressed the fleet, the situation around Guadalcanal was deteriorating rapidly. This address explained Nimitzs plans for the Pacific Fleet when they were facing the Japanese in Guadalcanal. This helped me to understand that the fleet would be fighting for much longer, and Nimitz needed to ready his fleet for this hardship. Nimitz, Admiral Chester. "Letter of Instructions." CincPac File No. A16-3/A4-3/ FF12(12)/(16).
United States Pacific Fleet U. S. S. Pennsylvania, Flagship of the Commander In-Chief (1942): n.
pag. Print. This was added on to Operation Plan No. 29-42 in Nimitzs files. It states that In carrying out the task assigned in Operation Plan 29-42 you will be governed by the principle of calculated risk. In essence, Nimitz is stating that the plans may not go as written and that the navy has to be careful to take risk factors into account. This illustrated the risks taken in order to win the battle of Midway Island and helped me to understand why it was so important for the navy to counter Japan in a very careful and meticulous manner. Nimitz, Admiral Chester, Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet. "CinC, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Action Report." CinC File No. A16 (28 June 1942): n. pag.National Archives and
2400 men). This was very beneficial for the Allies and the lists of the damaged Japanese carriers and planes illustrate this fact. With this primary resource, I was able to correctly state that Midway effectively changed the Japanese strategy, putting them on the defensive and allowing the Allies to win World War II. "Pacific Battle Concluded." The State [Columbia, S.C.] 8 June 1942: n. pag. Print. This is a newspaper article published just after the conclusion of the Battle of Midway. With illustrations included, it states that Midway essentially ended the Pacific War (although there was much fighting to come). This helped me understand the publics view and information about the Battle of Midway and the information that was withheld from them. Although this is not completely accurate, as the Pacific War was not over yet, it was useful to see how Midway boosted morale and was depicted through the newspaper articles of the time. Showers, Donald "Mac", Rear Admiral (RET). "The Last Code Breaker." Interview.Washingtontimes.com. Washington Times, 30 May 2012. Web. Oct.-Nov. 2012. Donald Mac Showers was about the only man still living of the cryptologists in WWII when this interview was recorded. Showers talked about his experience in the war and why Rocheforts cryptologic findings were influential to the victory at Midway. A clip in which Showers explains this is used on my page entitled The Code: Decrypted. In entirety, this interview greatly improved my information about the experiences of Hypo veterans. Spruance, R.A. "Commander Task Force SIXTEEN. Action Report." File No. A16-3 Serial 0144-
A Action Report: United States Pacific Fleet, Flagship of Commander Carriers (16 June 1942): n.
pag. Print. The action report of Commander Task Force 16 in the Battle of Midway, made approximately 10 days after the battle, explains how the U.S. ships Hornet and Enterprise fared during the battle. Both received their first contact reports at 7:40 AM and were able to estimate enemy movements because of radio signals tapped by Station Hypo. Both were able to survive and ultimately conquer the Japanese fleet with little damage. This action report helped me to understand how two American carriers did throughout the Battle of Midway and why it was important that these two carriers survived.
Victory at Sea. Dir. Henry Salomon. Perf. Leonard Graves (Narrator). NBC, 1952. DVD.
This documentary, broadcast in 1952 by the National Broadcasting Company, was made by Henry Salomon, who, while a U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander during World War II, was a research assistant to historian Samuel Eliot Morison, who wrote the 15-volume History of United States
Naval Operations in World War II. His information on the war was vital to my understanding of
WWII as a whole, and gave me insight into the importance of Midway in the entirety of the Second World War. A short clip with information about the Battle of Midway was used on my page about the Invasion of Guadalcanal, to explain to the readers of the importance of Guadalcanal Island and why it was vital that the Americans took this island. Although this movie was put together and narrated by men involved in the 50s, I consider it a primary source because it is composed almost entirely with clips taken at the battle itself, and many of the producers and men involved in creating this film were involved in Midway.
Secondary Sources: Axelrod, Alan, and Jack A. Kingston. Encyclopedia of World War II. New York: Facts on File, 2007. Print. From the rise of fascist Europe to the atomic bombings of Japan, Encyclopedia of World War II presents the complete story of this great conflict in more than 700 entries. International in scope, this two-volume A-to-Z reference covers the military, historical, political, diplomatic, and biographical aspects of the war. -Google book reviews. One of my most useful sources concerning the complete history of the Second World War, this book helped me learn about the war in an unbiased account. The extended entry about the Battle of Midway explains the decisiveness of the battle and goes through the events play-by-play, something that was very useful for me when creating my page including general knowledge about Midway. Budiansky, Stephen. Battle of Wits: The Complete Story of Codebreaking in World War II. New York: Free, 2000. Print.
Battle of Wits presents the history of the second world war that these documents reveal. From the
battle of Midway until the last German code was broken in January 1945, this is an astonishing epic of a war that was won not simply by brute strength but also by reading the enemy's intentions. This book, although more focused on the Enigma machine (German code-breaking), was very useful when I was researching the background information about cryptology in WWII.
Carlson, Elliot. "Elliot Carlsons Lecture: Joe Rochefort's War: The Odyssey of the Codebreaker Who Outwitted Yamamoto at Midway." The General Raymond E. Mason, Jr. Distinguished Lecture Series on World War II. Louisiana, New Orleans. Lecture. Elliot Carlsons lecture on his book, Joe Rocheforts War: The Odyssey of the Codebreaker Who
Outwitted Yamamoto at Midway, was a great predecessor for me to reading his book. Carlson
briefly described Rocheforts life, and most importantly, outlined his legacy today-axable intelligence. Prior to watching this lecture, the concept of axable intelligence had not been explained anywhere else. Carlson defined axable intelligence and briefly explained how it affected our lives today. This greatly helped me when outlining my Modern Legacy page, as prior to viewing this lecture and reading Carlsons book, Rocheforts legacy, besides his winning of WWII, was not clear to me. Carlson, Elliot. Joe Rochefort's War: The Odyssey of the Codebreaker Who Outwitted
This book, illuminating the Allied codebreakers amazing role in WWII - both American and European. This was very useful as it showed the legacy of Joe Rocheforts success. Hammel, Eric M. Carrier Clash: The Invasion of Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Eastern
their fascinating experiences, historic photos, charts & maps. This book has received Navy security clearance & is packed with vital information. (From book description) This book highlights Joe Rocheforts experience and the reasons why he was not awarded with any medals for his contribution until he had already passed away. This provided in depth background information for me and was very useful.
Midway. Dir. Jack Smight. Perf. Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda. NBC Universal, 1976. DVD.
A dramatization of the battle that turned out to be the turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II. This dramatic film, from which I got the theme song which is used on the home page of my website, shows a later opinion on this battle and shows how Rochefort was depicted up until Elliot Carlsons book, Joe Rocheforts War, came out. (That is, Rochefort was not depicted nicely - he seems to be very sloppy and unworthy of any medals, just as the government thought he was at the time). This film helped me to understand why Rochefort was not commended for his successes until much later, when he was posthumously given an award for his work at Station Hypo. Sterling, Christopher H. Military Communications: From Ancient times to the 21st Century. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2008. Print. "Military Communications: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century" is the first comprehensive reference work on the applications of communications technology to military tactics and strategy-a field that is just now coming into its own as a focus of historical study. This was the best source in which I found how cryptology in government changed after WWII and more specifically after Joe Rocheforts stand at Midway. Taylor, Theodore, and Andrew Glass. The Battle off Midway Island. New York, NY: Avon, 1981. Print. The Great Sea Battles of WWII; 1. Author Theodore Taylor joined the merchant marines and earned a commission as an ensign in the U.S. Navy, writing this book about the Battle of the Pacific and Midway. Taylor how codebreaking affected the Battle off of Midway Island and elaborates on how it affected WWII as a whole, making this a very useful book for context and evidence for my analysis on how Joe Rochefort effectively won WWII.
Toll, Ian W. Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print. Ian W. Toll's dramatic narrative encompasses both the high command and the "sailor's-eye" view from the lower deck. Relying predominantly on eyewitness accounts and primary sources, Pacific Crucible also spotlights ... the Japanese decision to provoke a war that few in the country's highest circles thought they could win. - Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific description. This source was most useful for its description of the Japanese decision to attack Pearl Harbor and to see how the sailors felt about the battle that changed the war. Lunde, Paul. The Book of Codes: Understanding the World of Hidden Messages : An Illustrated
Guide to Signs, Symbols, Ciphers, and Secret Languages. Berkeley, CA: University of California,
2009. Print. This lavishly illustrated encyclopedia surveys the history and development of code making and code breaking in all areas of culture and society-from hieroglyphs and runes to DNA, the Zodiac Killer, The Da Vinci Code, graffiti, and beyond. Packed with fascinating details, The Book of
Codes tells the complete story of codes at a time when they have become fundamentally important
to our lives. -Goodreads review. This book illustrated the importance of ciphers in WWII and their importance today - both of which were critical evidence for my argument about the effect of the PURPLE cipher and code JN-25 in our lives today. U.S. Navy Museum. National Museum of the U.S. Navy. N.d. In Harms Way: The U.S. Navy and World War II Exhibit. D.O.C., Washington D.C. This museum exhibit in Washington, D.C. examines the Navys role in World War II from the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 to Japans surrender in 1945. The exhibit examines the Pacific and Atlantic campaigns and the home front effort. Through artifacts, photos, and explanations, this exhibit greatly improved my understanding of Americas effort to halt the Axis powers. Although this exhibit did not wholly focus on the JN-25 code or its code breakers, it showed how instrumental these code breakers were in allowing for an Allied win. Photographs:
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Imperial Japanese Navy Portrait Photograph, When He Was Commander in Chief, Combined Fleet. Taken during the early 1940s. Photograph. Naval History
& Heritage Command, n.p. This photograph, used on my page entitled Yamamotos strategy and was a button so that readers can be directed to this page from a main page, was used to show Yamamotos concentration and vigilance in his job as Commander in Chief. Yamamoto formulated the attack plans on Pearl Harbor and Midway, two battles that were essential to Rocheforts turning point and the Second World War in general, and so I thought it fit that there be multiple photographs of him throughout my website. Anderson, Charles R. "The Pacific and Adjacent Theaters 1942." Map. Leyte: The U.S. Army
Campaigns in World War II. N.p.: Defense Dept., Army, Center of Military History, 1994. N.
pag. Print. This map, used on my paged entitled The Battle that Doomed Japan, illustrates how the victory at Midway blocked the passage of the Japanese fleet onto American land, namely the naval base on Pearl Harbor, which they planned on taking after Midway. Although the book that I used this from was not useful, this was the best map of the Pacific campaign that I could find, as it helped readers to understand the importance of Midway.
Battle of Midway Aircraft. 1942. Photograph. LIFE Magazine, New York, New York.
This artificially colored photograph of three PBY aircraft flying over the Pacific was lightened and used on my homepage header underneath a quote by Admiral Nimitz: Our citizens can now rejoice for a momentous victory is in the making. I wanted to use a photograph of soldiers or planes in battle for the background for this quote, as it helps the reader to visualize the battle itself and feel more personally connected to it. This photograph was used simply because it had the best color and resolution for my purpose.
Bel Geddes' Diorama of the USS Nautilus Attacking an Unidentified Japanese Aircraft Carrier.
1942. Photograph. Naval History & Heritage Command, Washington, DC. A diorama made by Bel Geddes soon after the Battle of Midway illustrates the importance of
Midway in that it shows a carrier, invaluable to the Japanese fleet, sunken so that it is no longer useful. This accompanied information about the lost Japanese carriers Kaga, Akagi, Hiryand S ryand how this affected the Japanese plans in a large way, preventing Japan from continuing their defense actions across the Pacific.
Dec. 7, 1941: Struck by Two Torpedoes and Two Bombs, the California, Right, Settles to the Bottom during the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. 1941. Photograph. LA Times, Originally
National Archives and Records Administration. N.p. This photograph was used on the button to direct readers to the page entitled The End of Neutrality, in which I discuss the United States entry into WWII. This photograph, as powerful as any taken during the Pearl Harbor attack, shows the California in ruins and sinking to the bottom of the Pacific. I used this to show the severity of the attack on Pearl Harbor when directing readers to a page in which they learn about Pearl Harbor.
Fragment of a Type 97 "Purple" Cipher Machine Obtained by the United States Army from the Japanese Embassy in Berlin at the End of World War II. N.d. Photograph. National Security
Agency, Annapolis Junction, MD. This photograph, used on my page about the beginning of the Second World War, is used to illustrate the complexity of the Purple cipher machine and how hard it was for William Friedman to break. Although HYPO mostly deciphered JN-25 messages, there are no photographs of a machine that was used to cipher and decipher JN-25 messages and so the Purple machine was depicted instead.
Hitler Showing the Nazi Salute. 1939. Photograph. Jewish Virtual Library, Originally National
Archives and Records Administration, n.p. This photograph, used on a button that readers could click in order to get to a page about the beginning of WWII, was used because it is the picture that many think about when thinking of the Second World War. I wanted to have a picture that people could essentially identify with, as that would help them understand the context of WWII and know why it was very influential that the Americans won.
Joseph Rochefort at His Desk; Note His Handwriting 'Sincerely Joe Rochefort Capt. USN' 1944.
Photograph. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, United States Government. This photograph, arguably the most important photograph on my website as it it placed on the homepage and shows Joseph Rochefort, the man who is referenced in my title and won the second world war. Rochefort is depicted at his desk with an indifferent expression on his face-just as I imagine he was when defying OP-20-G (The Office of Naval Operations) in his discovery of an attack on Midway Island.
Joseph Rochefort Plays Dominoes with Colleagues. 1944. Photograph. United States Naval
Institute, n.p. This photograph, although cropped in a way to make it seem as if Rochefort is discussing important naval decisions, shows Rochefort playing dominoes with his colleagues in his free time. I used this as a background for a quote by Elliot Carlson, author of Joe Rocheforts War, because his face was still very visible in this photograph and it looks as though he is vehemently discussing naval decisions with officers and I thought that the photograph added depth to my home page. Leu, Bill. "The Japanese Attack Plan at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (December 7, 1941)." Map.The
U.S.S. Neosho at Pearl Harbor: Veterans Project. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
This map was used to illustrate the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. This shows the two waves and the times at which they happened, illustrating that the American fleet could not recover in time to face the Japanese in a real battle for the second wave. "Map of the Japanese Empire at Its Peak in 1942." Map. The History Place. N.p.: n.p., 1997. N. pag. Print. This map, used on my page entitled The Code: Decrypted, was used to show the Japanese empire prior to the striking of Midway so that readers could understand the immense extent of the Japanese empire and that Midway turned the tide, allowing for an almost complete reversal of the amount of territory acquired by the Japanese Empire.
National Security Agency Logo. N.d. Photograph. National Security Agency. Nsa.gov. Web.
This photograph, used on my page entitled Modern Legacy, simply showed the logo of the agency of which I was talking about on this page. This was used to remind readers of the National Security Agencys goal (to protect our country), as a noble eagle is shown in the middle of this logo. Additionally, this was used because it added visuals to an otherwise flat page.
Portrait of US Navy Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. 1945. Photograph. United States National
Archives, College Park, MD. Admiral Chester Nimitz, the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet during the Pacific War, is depicted here in formal dress for an official Navy portrait. I used this on my homepage so that readers could visualize the Admiral whose role in the war was briefly explained in my thesis statement. "Soviet Influence in Europe, Post WWII." Map. WWII: Behind Closed Doors. Public Broadcasting Company, n.d. Web. Feb.-Mar. 2013. This map, used on my page explaining the hypotheticals of alternate history-that is, if Japan had won Midway. One plausible suggested event by the Midway roundtable was complete Soviet control in Europe. This map illustrated the Soviet control in Europe post-WWII - the Iron Curtain. The Midway roundtable made the argument that there could have been full control by the Soviets after WWII had there been a lack of American-British pressure in the West.
Station HYPO, or Fleet Radio Unit Pacific (FRUPAC). 1948. Photograph. Virtual Environments,
Pearl Harbor, HI. This photograph of Station HYPO in Hawaii, taken years after WWII and not released until very recently (Information about HYPO was just recently declassified), was used on my homepage to show readers what HYPO looked like, even after the war when Rochefort was essentially kicked off of the HYPO team and sent away. "Territories Captured Between September 1939 and May 1940." Map. The Map as History. N.p.: n.p., 2009. N. pag. Print. This map, shown on my page entitled The Beginning, the first page of context information on my website, is used to show German and Soviet gains in the first years of WWII. The map, which
is very good quality and easy to see, helps readers understand how quickly Germany was growing and that although the Soviets were essentially holding their ground, they were fighting against an ever-growing force while their empire grew slowly.
The Battle of Midway, 3-6 June. 1942. Photograph. National Archives and Records
Administration, College Park, MD. This photograph, used in the title header for my website, was placed behind pictures of the Japanese and American flags to show the opposing sides in this battle. The photograph shows an American cruiser during the fight, shooting antiaircraft fire in order to shoot down Japanese planes. I believed that this was one of the more powerful photographs taken from the battle (aside from photographs of soldiers themselves) and therefore wanted to center it so that readers could see the severity of the battle when they first arrived at my website. "Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword in the Invasion of Normandy." Map. MSNBC. New York, New York: n.p., 2006. N. pag. Web. Feb.-Mar. 2013. This map, a simplistic version of the troops in the invasion of Normandy, was used to illustrate the amount of American help during this battle. This was used on my page about the alternate history, that is, if Japan had won the Battle of Midway. As it is solely a hypothetical, I used a simplistic version of this map so that readers could understand the Invasion of Normandy, codenamed Operation Overlord, without much information describing the battle. "War! Oahu Bombed by Japanese Planes." Honolulu Star Bulletin 1st Extra [Honolulu, HI] 7 Dec. 1941: n. pag. Print. This newspaper front page was used to illustrate the United States initial shock in reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor. It clearly states War! In large letters on the top, signifying the United States declaration of war against Japan and the unspoken Japanese declaration that was shown in the attack.
Student-Conducted Interviews: "Interview with Robert Hanyok, Former National Security Agency Employee and Author of
Multiple Books, including Two Very Relevant to Cryptology in WWII." E-mail interview. 3 Feb. 2013. Although Robert Hanyok disagreed with some of my analysis, this interview greatly helped me to understand the impact of the PURPLE cipher on our lives today. As Hanyok was more apt to answer questions about JN-25, I only asked him about the PURPLE cipher. Hanyok believed that the use of cryptology in the war brought attention to the military strategy of axable intelligence, allowing for other countries to be inspired by this cryptologic advantage. Interview with Linda Holmes, Author Sit-down interview. 10 March 2013. Linda Holmes reinforced my argument greatly with her opinions of the Pacific War. Although her expertise lies more in the field of war crimes and prisoners of war, she used this information to aid my understanding of the Pacific War and the effects of both Midway and Coral Sea on this War. Interview with Elliot Carlson, Author of Joe Rocheforts War E-mail interview. 22 March 2013. Arguably one of my most useful sources, Joe Rocheforts War helped my argument throughout the development of my website. My email interview with Elliot Carlson further enhanced my understanding of Joe Rocheforts contributions to the Pacific War and to military strategy today.