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The Woman Who Smashed Codes

Page 41

by Jason Fagone


  “Mr. Friedman came to Riverbank” “William Friedman and Miss Elizabeth [sic] Smith.”

  admitted this later ESF diary, 62.

  “Splash!” Arthur Stringer, The Prairie Wife (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1915), 3.

  97 “I am learning” ESF diary, June 20, 1917.

  a wire to Riverbank ESF to WFF, May 8, 1917, box 2, folder 1, ESF Collection.

  “I am cast into a whirl” Ibid.

  “You would have thought” Ronald Clark, The Man Who Broke Purple: Life of Colonel William F. Friedman, Who Deciphered the Japanese Code in World War II (Boston: Little, Brown, 1977), 39.

  She moved from Engledew Cottage into the windmill WFF to ESF, June 1918, “Installment #3,” box 2, folder 13, ESF Collection.

  98 invited the Army to Riverbank Jack Lait, “Recruit Rally Thrills Throng,” Chicago Herald, July 9, 1917.

  A U.S. Army captain Ibid.

  “Better to go and die” Ibid.

  three hundred and fifty dollars Ibid.

  He began to pester Fabyan ESF interview with Pogue, 65

  Fabyan always waved him off Ibid.

  99 intercepting the Friedmans’ mail Ibid; ESF autobiography, 16.

  99 secret listening devices ESF interview with Valaki, transcribed January 12, 2012, 4.

  Mr. Powell ESF diary, August 13, 1917.

  “My dearest” ESF diary. The slip of paper from WFF is inserted between pages 42 and 43.

  “My heart sang” ESF diary, August 13, 1917.

  throwing her arms WFF to ESF, December 21, 1938, ESF Collection.

  “My Lover-Husband” ESF diary, August 13, 1917.

  100 started to dry up ESF autobiography, 16, 26.

  named Herbert O. Yardley David Kahn, The Reader of Gentlemen’s Mail: Herbert O. Yardley and the Birth of American Codebreaking (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004).

  “Why did America” Herbert O. Yardley, The American Black Chamber (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1931), 20.

  a shark at poker Kahn, The Reader, 3.

  Known officially as MI-8 Ibid., “Staffers, Shorthand, and Secret Ink,” 28–35.

  101 “just off the street” ESF interview with Valaki, transcribed January 12, 2012, 4.

  “What was taught was taught” ESF interview with Valaki, transcribed February 16, 2012, 11.

  booked the largest hotel ESF interview with Marshall staff, Tape #2, June 4, 1974, 11.

  William and Elizebeth taught class ESF interview with Pogue, 64–66; ESF interview with Clark, 6.

  stationed in paradise John W. Kopec, The Sabines at Riverbank: Their Role in the Science of Architectural Acoustics (Woodbury, NY: Acoustical Society of America, 1997), 41.

  lavish military ball Ibid.

  four of the officers’ wives George Fabyan to chief of the MID, March 22, 1918.

  102 gathered outside the hotel Clark, The Man Who Broke Purple, 47; Kopec, The Sabines at Riverbank, 47–48.

  Each person stood for a letter Ibid.

  the glass surface of his work desk WFF’s desk is preserved at the Marshall Foundation, glass removed.

  In May 1918 ESF diary, 43.

  boarded a train to Chicago WFF to ESF, June 8, 1918, box 2, folder 13.

  103 “I, a mere woman” ESF, “Pure Accident,” The ARROW, box 12, folder 9, 401, ESF Collection.

  “heartache of separation” ESF diary, July 1918 entry, 44.

  “a calm Whole” Ibid.

  103 “The work is so hard” WFF to ESF, July 24, 1918, box 2, folder 14, ESF Collection.

  “out of the clear blue” WFF to ESF, August 26, 1918, box 2, folder 15, ESF Collection.

  “On Saturday Col. M” WFF to ESF, November 10, 1918, box 2, folder 18, ESF Collection.

  Frank Moorman WFF, “Six Lectures on Cryptology by William F. Friedman,” Lecture V, 117, in The Friedman Legacy, Sources on Cryptologic History, no. 3 (Center for Cryptologic History: 2006).

  “Love-girl” WFF to ESF, July 21, 1918, box 2, folder 14, ESF Collection.

  104 the .45 pistol WFF to ESF, July 23, 1918, box 2, folder 14, ESF Collection.

  French woman he called Madame WFF to ESF, October 6, 1918, box 2, folder 17, ESF Collection.

  cigarettes as torches WFF to ESF, September 9, 1918, box 2, folder 16, ESF Collection.

  based on six letters WFF, Lecture V, 109, in The Friedman Legacy.

  “how much ‘group work’ ” WFF to ESF, August 4, 1918, box 2, folder 15, ESF Collection.

  didn’t care for the taste WFF to ESF, July 6, 1918, box 2, folder 14, ESF Collection.

  Lemonade Ibid.

  nursing highballs WFF to ESF, October 15, 1918, box 2, folder 17, ESF Collection.

  always regretted WFF to ESF, July 6, 1918, box 2, folder 14, ESF Collection. “Before I left home the Colonel’s advice was that I forget poker completely.”

  spent time in France Kahn, The Reader, 45–49.

  “I must confess” WFF to ESF, December 16, 1918, box 2, folder 19, ESF Collection.

  each time he struck a match WFF describes this ritual in WFF to ESF, December 19, 1918, box 2, folder 19, ESF Collection.

  105 “Do you miss your Biwy Boy” WFF to ESF, October 6, 1918, box 2, folder 17, ESF Collection.

  “the many imperfections” Katie Letcher Lyle, “Divine Fire: Elizebeth Smith Friedman, Cryptanalyst,” unpublished manuscript, July 4, 1991, ESF Collection, two PDF files, 86.

  “good lover” Ibid.

  “towered above me” Ibid., 87.

  with the windows open WFF to ESF, October 6, 1918.

  a recurring dream WFF to ESF, July 21, 1918, box 2, folder 14, ESF Collection. “Most of my dreams of you have pictured me as losing you, and I awoke trembling and with a deep fear in my heart.”

  105 “You didn’t yike me” WFF to ESF, undated letter (December 1918), box 2, folder 19, ESF Collection.

  “no money and a lot of debts” WFF to ESF, August 4, 1918, box 2, folder 15, ESF Collection.

  fixing rare grammatical mistakes WFF to ESF, November 3, 1918, box 2, folder 18, ESF Collection. WFF circled the word “vastly” and scrawled next to it, “Why Billy! Don’t you know better than to split an infinitive or something!”

  106 “This cable will read” WFF to ESF, September 20, 1918, box 2, folder 16, ESF Collection.

  a lock of her hair WFF to ESF, December 26, 1918, box 2, folder 19, ESF Collection.

  It’s likely she destroyed them This is Lyle’s conclusion in “Divine Fire,” 84, and I tend to agree; Lyle was able to interview Elizebeth when she was alive, and I think “Divine Fire” is excellent on the personal issues Elizebeth faced in her twenties.

  Riverbank as R. WFF to ESF, January 28, 1919, box 2, folder 20, ESF Collection.

  G.F. Ibid.

  B.C. Ibid.

  Fabyan’s “excesses” Ibid.

  107 “You are perfectly right” WFF to ESF, November 10, 1918.

  she revealed something WFF to ESF, October 7, 1918, box 2, folder 17, ESF Collection.

  “Honey, I could have committed” Ibid.

  later confided to friends Lyle, “Divine Fire,” 96.

  “Honey, don’t be afraid” WFF to ESF, August 30, 1918, box 2, folder 15, ESF Collection.

  German prisoners of war Heber Blankenhorn, Adventures in Propaganda: Letters From an Intelligence Officer in France (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1919), 82. Blankenhorn was a MID captain working at GHQ in Chaumont, same as William, and he wrote beautifully about life there.

  a group of American soldiers Ibid., 135.

  blew up bombs Ibid., 136.

  hung lanterns Ibid.

  he stayed indoors WFF to ESF, November 10, 1918, box 2, folder 18, ESF Collection.

  “Home does not entail” Ibid.

  108 “Elsbeth, my Dearest” Ibid.

  108 “The signing of the Armistice” WFF to ESF, December 16, 1918, box 2, folder 19, ESF Collection.

  “What shall I say” Ibid.

  He had to stay in Chaumont WFF to ESF, November 26, 1918, b
ox 2, folder 18

  109 its Code and Signal Section Office of Naval Intelligence to ESF, n.d. [fall 1918?], Item 734, WFF Collection.

  “of the greatest value” John M. Manly to ESF, September 12, 1918, Item 734, WFF Collection.

  how small an electron is WFF to ESF, January 2, 1919, box 2, folder 20, ESF Collection.

  “Can’t two perfectly” WFF to ESF, December 16, 1918, box 2, folder 19, ESF Collection.

  “a long enough vacation” George Fabyan to WFF, November 13, 1918, Item 734, WFF Collection.

  “I refuse to have anything” WFF to ESF, January 28, 1919.

  “I don’t want to flatter ourselves” Ibid.

  a love note in cipher WFF to ESF, undated letter beginning “Good Morning, Flower Face Mine,” box 2, folder 20, ESF Collection.

  110 “I am wondering how you are” George Fabyan to ESF, November 2, 1918, box 1, folder 42, ESF Collection.

  blue colored pencil George Fabyan to ESF, September 26, 1918, Item 734, WFF Collection.

  111 divide-and-conquer George Fabyan to ESF, January 6, 1919, box 1, folder 42, ESF Collection.

  “Does he suppose” WFF to ESF, January 28, 1919.

  “see them in hell” Fabyan to ESF, January 6, 1919.

  “old man going down hill” Ibid.

  “I am inclined to agree” ESF to George Fabyan, January 9, 1919, box 1, folder 43, ESF Collection.

  “Won’t our reunion” WFF to ESF, February 5, 1919, box 2, folder 20, ESF Collection.

  They stayed in the East ESF autobiography, 33.

  couldn’t go back to Riverbank Ibid.

  112 “The War will not make” WFF to ESF, October 6, 1918, box 2, folder 17, ESF Collection.

  return to his first love, genetics Ibid.

  “extraordinary gift” ESF autobiography, 34.

  “Everybody said” ESF interview with Clark.

  “Come back to Riverbank” ESF interview with Marshall staff, Tape #2, June 4, 1974, 12.

  “He had us followed” ESF interview with Pogue, 70.

  in their own house Ibid., 72.

  raises never materialized Ibid.

  112 shoved the report into a drawer WFF and ESF, The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined (London: Cambridge University Press, 1958), 217–21.

  113 a crowning scientific achievement David Kahn, The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet, rev. ed. (New York: Scribner, 1997), 376–85.

  “The Index of Coincidence” WFF, The Index of Coincidence and Its Applications in Cryptography (Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 1925).

  6.67 percent James R. Chiles, “Breaking Codes Was This Couple’s Lifetime Career,” Smithsonian (June 1987): 128–44.

  statistics with cryptology Kahn, The Codebreakers, 376–85.

  first in France WFF to Nelle Fabyan, October 30, 1937, Item 734, WFF Collection; ESF autobiography, 37–38.

  “Fabyan’s skullduggery” Herbert O. Yardley to WFF, August 14, 1919, Item 734, WFF Collection.

  leapt at the chance Joseph Mauborgne to WFF, November 27, 1920, Item 734, WFF Collection.

  “a great misfortune” Ibid.

  “as powerful as he is ruthless” WFF to Joseph Mauborgne, November 29, 1920, Item 734, WFF Collection.

  “I expect a lively row” Joseph Mauborgne to WFF, December 16, 1920, Item 734, WFF Collection.

  114 overly cruel ESF interview with Clark, 11.

  just as tricky ESF interview with Pogue, 72.

  “our secret plot” Ibid., 73.

  One morning Ibid.

  the three o’clock train Ibid., 72.

  an eerie calmness WFF to Joseph Mauborgne, December 16, 1920, Item 734, WFF Collection.

  William assumed Ibid.

  “after a very limited” WFF to ESF, January 28, 1919.

  “Oh, you are some partner” WFF to ESF, January 28, 1919, “P.S.” on a separate page, ESF Collection.

  “By the end of the war” ESF, “Pure Accident.”

  PART II: TARGET PRACTICE

  119 “To work in this field” Niels Ferguson, Bruce Schneier, and Tadayoshi Kohno, Cryptography Engineering: Design Principles & Practical Applications (Indianapolis: Wiley, 2010), 8.

  “completely inadequate” WFF, “Second Period, Communications Security” (lecture), 45, NSA.

  119 “Military, naval, air” Ibid., 45–46.

  two sides of the same coin WFF, “Communications Intelligence and Security Presentation Given to Staff and Students” (lecture, Breckinridge Hall, Marine Corps School, April 26, 1960), 5, NSA.

  120 “All the countries of the world” ESF interview with Clark, 16.

  1,400 newly hired Prohibition agents Thomas V. DiBacco, “Prohibition’s First ‘Dry’ New Year’s Eve,” Washington Times, December 30, 2015, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/30/thomas-dibacco-prohibitions-first-dry-new-years-ev/.

  “to make the celebration” Ibid.

  the Munitions Building “Main Navy and Munitions Buildings,” Histories of the National Mall, http://mallhistory.org/items/show/57.

  fourteen thousand army and navy workers Ibid.

  His starting salary “1921: William Friedman Joined War Department,” National Cryptologic Museum Foundation, https://cryptologicfoundation.org/m/cch_calendar_mobile.html/event/2016/07/01/1467349200/1921-william-friedman-joined-war-department/74534.

  Elizebeth’s was $2,200 ESF Personnel Folder, “Personal History Statement,” July 1, 1930.

  121 a piano studio above a bakery ESF interview with Pogue, 77.

  Mauborgne visited with his cello ESF interview with Clark.

  pedestrians stopping Ibid.

  with two dozen people “Morning in New York,” in David Kahn, The Reader of Gentlemen’s Mail: Herbert O. Yardley and the Birth of American Codebreaking (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004), 50–62.

  the messages of Japanese diplomats Ibid., 63–71.

  wasn’t skilled enough to go further John Bryden, Best-Kept Secret: Canadian Secret Intelligence in the Second World War (Toronto: Lester, 1993), 88–89.

  apartment for his mistress Kahn, The Reader, 48.

  “an edge on her” ESF to WFF, “Friday, 2:30 P.M.,” summer 1921, box 2, folder 2, ESF Collection.

  122 first scientifically constructed ESF autobiography, 39–40.

  “all the difference” ESF interview with Clark, 16.

  designed to survive capture David Kahn, Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the German U-boat Codes, 1939–1943 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991), 33.

  123 the application of electrical current WFF, Lecture V, 156–57, in The Friedman Legacy, Sources on Cryptologic History, no. 3 (Center for Cryptologic History: 2006).

  123 William asked Hebern WFF, “Second Period, Communications Security” (lecture), 18, NSA.

  “discouraged to the point of blackout” ESF interview with Pogue, 43.

  “As I was tying my black tie” WFF, “Communications Intelligence and Security,” 34.

  “P.S.” WFF to George Fabyan, March 10, 1924, Item 734, WFF Collection.

  “It’s a striking paradox” WFF to George Fabyan, June 23, 1926, Item 734, WFF Collection.

  124 two discs of alphabets WFF, “Six Lectures on Cryptology by William F. Friedman,” Lecture VI, 149, in The Friedman Legacy, Sources on Cryptologic History, no. 3 (Center for Cryptologic History: 2006)

  2.29 x 1082 Lambros D. Callimahos, “The Legendary William F. Friedman,” Cryptologic Spectrum 4, no. 1 (Winter 1974): 9–17.

  the number of atoms Thought to be 1080. Wikipedia, s.v. “Observable universe,” last modified April 22, 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe.

  “The number of permutations” WFF, “Communications Intelligence and Security,” 30.

  demonstrated his mastery Callimahos, “The Legendary William F. Friedman.”

  125 “but it helps” Rose Mary Sheldon, “William F. Friedman: A Very Private Cryptographer and His Collection,” Cryptolog
ic Quarterly 34, no. 1 (2015): 20.

  Rochefort recalled later Captain Joseph J. Rochefort, interview by U.S. Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, 1983, 45–47.

  “Here is a bunch of messages” Ibid., 47.

  had to stop breaking codes Ibid., 45.

  “no one that could compare” Ibid., 40.

  a young German engineer “The Man, the Machine, the Choice,” in Kahn, Seizing the Enigma, 31–48.

  “clever inventor” WFF, “Six Lectures on Cryptology by William F. Friedman,” Lecture VI, 153, in The Friedman Legacy.

  126 “stay home and write some books” ESF interview with Marshall staff, Tape #5, June 6, 1974, 8.

  excited about her books WFF to George Fabyan, August 10, 1926, Item 734, WFF Collection.

  “I am all alone” WFF to John M. Manly, February 4, 1922, box 13, folder 22, ESF Collection.

  “I drove 36 miles” ESF to WFF, letter marked “Monday, 9:30 P.M.” by ESF and “Washington era between 1921 and 1923” by archivists, box 2, folder 2, ESF Collection.

  126 midwestern stranger Ibid.

  “My dear” ESF to WFF, “Monday, 9:30 P.M.”

  127 move out of the city Katie Letcher Lyle, “Divine Fire: Elizebeth Smith Friedman, Cryptanalyst,” unpublished manuscript, July 4, 1991, ESF Collection, two PDF files, 126.

  kryptos Dictionary.com, s.v. “crypt,” accessed May 10, 2017, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/crypt.

  128 Pinklepurr Lyle, “Divine Fire,” 218.

  A. A. Milne poem A. A. Milne, “Pinkle Purr,” in Now We Are Six (New York: Puffin Books, 1992), 89.

  in the morning Lyle, “Divine Fire,” 128.

  a former boxer WFF, “Second Period, Communications Security” (lecture), 20, NSA.

  a pug nose Ibid.

  “Now,” Elizebeth wrote ESF codebreaking book.

  “little book” Ibid.

  a children’s history of the alphabet ESF children’s history of the alphabet (unpublished manuscript), box 9, file 14, ESF Collection.

  129 knock on her door ESF interview with Marshall staff, Tape #5, June 6, 1974, 8.

  A retired astronomy professor Craig P. Bauer, Unsolved! The History and Mystery of the World’s Greatest Ciphers from Ancient Egypt to Online Secret Societies (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017), 500–3.

  A man sent a bomb to Huey Long WFF backfile part IV, “(FBI J Edgar Hoover) Bank Robbery. Cases with Dept. of Justice, Ohio State Penitentiary, and Post Office Inspection Service,” Item 849, WFF Collection.

 

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