June 3, 2013
Vol. 2 Issue 33
DAILY DIGEST
Final Maneuvers Story by MC3 Phillip Ladouceur
Part 6 in a Series
In May 1942, Lt. Cmdr. Joe Rochefort was convinced the Japanese were planning an invasion of Midway Island. As usual, this was based on scraps of evidence: the Japanese moving forces to Saipan, the frequent use of the geographic code “AF� in radio traffic, and a Japanese seaplane flying near Midway transmitted that it was flying by AF. But there were doubts in Washington, where it was believed that Midway was a diversion, and that the real invasion was to come somewhere in the South Pacific. In order to prove that AF was Midway, Rochefort asked that a message be delivered by cable to Midway. They were ordered to send a radio message to Pearl Harbor that their salt-water
evaporator was broken and that water was running low. Two days later, an intercepted Japanese message reported that AF was running out of water. When Adm. Chester Nimitz scheduled a meeting May 25 to make the final plans for the upcoming battle, there was one more contribution Rochefort and those working at Station Hypo would make, though it would be late. Rochefort was invited to the meeting to personally present the latest intelligence, but a few days prior a series of messages had been intercepted. As they were being translated and deciphered, it became clear that the
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