Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

414 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
his knowledge and expertise, Rochefort became a victim of the
post-attack personnel changes in intelligence; he was transferred
out of cryptography in October 1942, 12 ordered to Washington,
and assigned to command a fl oating drydock in San Francisco. 13
In preparation for his new assignment, he was sent to New York
to consult with the marine engineering fi rm of Frederick R.
Harris, Inc.
In New York, Rochefort encountered his old “boss,” Kimmel,
who was then himself working on fl oating drydocks for the Harris
fi rm. Rochefort told him what McCollum had reported about
pre-attack knowledge in Washington. 14 Th us by a series of coincidences,
Kimmel learned in late 1942 that crucial information
about Japanese intentions had been available in Washington prior
to the attack, which had not been relayed to him in Pearl Harbor.
Another responsible Navy offi cer who left intelligence was
Lieutenant Commander Alwin Dalton Kramer, a Japaneselanguage
scholar. In late 1941, he had been in charge of the translation
group of the communications security group in Washington.
As Navy courier he had delivered many confi dential intercepts,
including MAGIC, to top Navy offi cers during the crucial weeks
preceding the attack. In June 1943 Kramer was transferred to
Pearl Harbor. And in January 1944, he was ordered to sea duty in
the South Pacifi c. 15
Midway (New York Times, November 17, 1985; BBG). See Edwin T. Layton,
Roger Pineau, and John Costello, And I Was Th ere: Pearl Harbor and Midway—
Breaking the Secrets (New York: W. Morrow, 1985), p. 464.
12Joint Committee, Pearl Harbor Attack, part 10, pp. 4673, 4679, Rochefort
testimony before the Joint Committee. Rochefort left Pearl Harbor in October
1942.
13Layton, And I Was Th ere, p. 468 (BBG).
14Saff ord, “Victims of the Kita Message,” pp. 50, 54.
15Joint Committee, Pearl Harbor Attack, part 8, pp. 3894–95. According to
Kramer’s testimony, he was on duty with Saff ord’s offi ce from June 1940 to
June 1943.