[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 140 (Wednesday, October 17, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING JOE DESCH AND THE NCR CODE-BREAKING EFFORT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. TONY P. HALL

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 17, 2001

  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, at a ceremony on October 19, 2001, the 
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) will designate 
as a ``Milestone in Engineering'' the U.S. Naval Computing Machine 
Laboratory, in Dayton, Ohio, which I represent.
  During World War II, the ability to analyze quickly coded enemy 
messages was one of our most critical military capabilities. To build a 
machine that could break codes from Nazi submarines, the Navy turned to 
Dayton's National Cash Register Company (NCR) and Joseph R. Desch, 
director of its Electrical Research Laboratory.
  For three years, Desch and his team of dedicated workers developed a 
machine which allowed our Nation to crack the secret code used by the 
Nazi military command to communicate its secret plans to its forces in 
the field. The device, called a Bombe, was the military's highest 
priority, second only to the development of the Atom Bomb. Its success 
gave the Allies a significant advantage, hastening the end of the war 
and saving the lives of American soldiers.
  Desch and his team faced enormous pressure as they labored daily to 
construct and produce the code-breaking device. They sacrificed their 
personal health, both emotional and physical. Many of these heroes are 
no longer living. Desch died on August 3, 1987, at age 80.
  The effort has been all but forgotten because of the enormous secrecy 
surrounding the project. In February and March 2001, the Dayton Daily 
News ran an extraordinary 8-part series by Jim DeBrosse about Desch. 
The series brought to light for the first time much information about 
NCR's code-breaking efforts. The IEEE ceremony later this month will 
bring additional honor to his memory.
  Perhaps the greatest tribute to the memory of Joe Desch and his 
contribution to the war effort would be the permanent display of an 
original NCR Bombe in Dayton. Of the more than 120 Bombes that were 
believed to have been constructed in Dayton, the sole known surviving 
Bombe is displayed at the National Security Agency's National 
Cryptologic Museum in Ft. Meade, Maryland. I have been in touch with 
the National Security Agency requesting assistance in tracking down 
another example of this extraordinary invention.
  As part the IEEE ceremony, the surviving members of this top-secret 
project will return to the site of the U.S. Naval Computing Machine 
Laboratory, at NCR. They will be joined by Desch's daughter, Debbie 
Anderson, whose persistence has helped the story be told.
  I offer my congratulations on this award to all the survivors of the 
project and to Debbie Anderson in honor of her father.

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