The Making of a Crypie

My articles based on Captain Rochefort's oral history interview in 1969 by Commander Etta-Belle Kitchen has been relatively serious. Many of Rochefort's tales put a smile on my face, however. I marked several such areas which I thought the readers of CRYPTOLOG would enjoy. This article is about one of those areas in the interview manuscript.

Do you remember how you came to be a "cryppy?" I'll bet there's not a one of us who doesn't. There was an instant in time when we passed through the twilight zone and our lives were changed forever. The remarkable thing is that, for most of us, this great instant in time was banal, yet unforgettable. My passage was routine and nondramatic, but I can remember it as though it was yesterday. I touched upon it in the AFTERTHOUGHTS column titled "Welcome Aboard." Rochefort's experience was no more or less routine and nondramatic. I noted, grinning widely, that Kitchen was struck by this phenomenon. She just couldn't believe how unlikely the circumstances were that brought him into the field of cryptology. Let's pick up the dialogue shortly into the very first interview. Kitchen (K) is asking Rochefort (R) about his entry into the Navy and his earliest assignments. He indicated earlier that he wanted to be a Naval Aviator, but he didn't pursue it and became a "ship-driving" Line Officer by default. [Assume quotes throughout]

[R] . . . While serving on the [USS] CUYAMA, [oil tanker; in 1919] one of my executive officers was named Commander Jersey, and he and I had several things in common. One was bridge, the other being that I liked to work crossword puzzles, which were just coming into style. He remembered this, and when he was ordered to the Navy Department, he asked me if I would care to come to the Navy Department on temporary duty in connection with preparing codes and ciphers. It was then that I was introduced to cryptanalysis.

[K] I wanted to get to that, because to me that's where your career is so exciting, but I was wondering what happened to your aviation duty?

[R] As I grew up, I forgot that. I gave that up.

[K] You never tried for it after you. . .

[R] No, I never tried for it then. Then on my first temporary duty in Washington I was a student at a class in cryptanalysis and when the officer in charge, who by the way was Lieutenant Commander Safford, was due for sea duty, I was ordered to relieve [him as] the officer in charge.

[K] That was what I was so interested in because when you read [your] biography it just says [you] went from sea duty after all these various ships and became officer in charge of the Cryptographic Section in the Office of Naval Communications, Navy Department, Washington, D.C., and my questions were loaded with what had you been doing in the background to make this assignment possible?

[R] Well, as I said, I was probably ordered to the Navy Department for temporary duty because of Commander Jersey's recommendation.

[K] Was that because you were good at crossword puzzles?

[R] Probably, and he liked my way of playing bridge with him. Auction bridge was just disappearing then into contract bridge. Contract bridge came to the fore. It was probably because of that. Then when I completed the six months or so course with Commander Safford in charge of the section, Commander Safford became due for sea duty, and they ordered me as his relief as the officer in charge.

[K] What did they teach you in the course? He was the teacher?

[R] Yes, he was the actual teacher, but there were no formal education processes at all. They would just turn over maybe several messages and see which one of us could solve them quickest.

[K] How did you know how to do that?

[R] There was a book as I recall -- at about this time Bill Friedman, who was in charge of the Army part of this same organization, had written a book called "The Elements of Cryptanalysis" and this was really our bible; this was our reference book. We would study that and then attempt to solve these little cryptograms or ciphers that Commander Safford would prepare for us. . .

[K] . . . What was Safford's background that he became assigned? Was he the first man, would you say, in the Navy?

[R] Yes, Safford really started this whole organization say roughly from '23 to '25 and then I followed him from '25 to '27.

[K] I wonder, do you know what made him start it? What caused him to be interested in it?

[R] Strangely enough, maybe the best answer here would be if you ask a mountain climber why does he climb a certain mountain, he'll tell you because it's there. Well, why does a cryptanalyst attempt to solve some code or cipher systems?

[K] I mean, I wonder how he happened to get into or be interested in cryptanalysis at all.

[R] Because here was a message or a series of messages which didn't make sense to anybody, and this was a challenge.

[K] Was he then in communications?

[R] Yes, this was what he knew. These things just present a challenge, and a true cryptanalyst will never give up until he has solved this particular system. A true cryptanalyst, incidentally, generally is not involved in subsequent use of this at all. He's what you would call a technician who will solve a system just for the sake of solving the system. But he doesn't usually apply the results to any operation or need or purpose or anything else. This would be a true cryptanalyst. This would be Safford.

[K] So he really did it just for the love of doing it.

[R] Yes, it, as I said, it presents a challenge to anybody. Actually, nearly all cryptanalysts are somewhat the same. Well, let me put it this way. If you desire to be a really great cryptanalyst, being a little bit nuts helps. A cryptanalyst from those that I have observed is usually an odd character. [Are you smiling?]

[K] Isn't that true of most any genius?

[R] Yes, it is. Actually people like Safford, maybe Dyer, are people who will not generally conform to the accepted ideas. These are regarding clothes or actions or anything of that nature, and this always helps. But, by the same token, these people who have this ability require generally somebody over them to keep them on the right track.

[K] Yes, I suppose that's true.

[R] I've often said it is not necessary to be crazy to be a cryptanalyst, but it always helps. . .

Well, dear readers, with those words of Rochefort, I close. Keep smiling.

© Copyright 1995 CRYPTOLOG, All Rights Reserved.

This article has been provided with the permission of
CRYPTOLOG ,
the journal of
The US Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association,
1010 SW Eleventh Street,
Corvallis, OR 97333-4240.

The author welcomes comments: petej@gate.net.