On-The-Roof Gang
Class #1
Class #1 convened on 1 October 1928 and graduated on 21 January 1929. Chief Radioman Harry Kidder, who designed the curriculum and helped to design and build the rooftop classroom, was the instructor.
Radioman First Class Guy Oliver Billehus
Radioman First Class Billehus graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #1 in January 1929 and was assigned to Station BAKER. After being promoted to Chief Petty Officer in Guam, he transferred to Station HYPO in Hawaii, to relieve Chief Martin “Van” Vandenberg as the Chief Radioman in Charge of the intercept station. In 1934, Billehus transferred to Washington, DC in order to relieve Chief Kidder as the On-the-Roof Gang instructor for Class #13. For one reason or another, Kidder remained in DC during Classes #13 and the beginning of Class #14. Billehus finished instructing Class #14 and then rotated to OP-20-G to work in the code-breaking section. He transferred to Hawaii for a tour at Station L (Lualualei) assisting Bell Labs engineers field test the first CXK-1 HFDF set installation there. In 1939, he returned to OP-20-G in Washington, DC. During the war, he was selected for warrant officer and then commissioned, eventually retiring as a Lieutenant.
Chief Radioman Guy Billehus as the instructor of Class #14, circa 1934
You can read about Guy Billehus in On-the-Roof Gang, Volume I – Prelude to War.
Billehus was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
23 Feb 1932: Guam, M.I.
03 Jan 1933: Little Wailupe, T.H.
06 Jan 1934: Heeia, T.H.
17 Jan 1935: Washington, D.C.
13 Jan 1936: Washington, D.C.
06 Jan 1937: Washington, D.C.
12 Jan 1938: Lualualei, T.H.
09 Jan 1939: 14th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept.
24 Feb 1941: Navy Dept.
Pertinent data:
Born: 27 August 1900
Location: Minnesota
Died: 14 November 1954
Location: Florida
Interment Location: Arlington National Cemetery
Radioman First Class Burton Eugene Cloyd
Burton Cloyd graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #1 in January 1929 and was assigned to Station BAKER. After three years, he was removed from OP-20-G rolls, although listed as “qualified, but not performing RI duties” through 1939.
Cloyd was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
23 Feb 1932 USS SARATOGA (not performing radio intelligence duty)
03 Jan 1933 RecSta, Boston, MA (not performing radio intelligence duty)
06 Jan 1934 RecSta, Boston, MA (not performing radio intelligence duty)
17 Jan 1935 (not performing radio intelligence duty)
13 Jan 1936 USS Boggs (not performing radio intelligence duty)
06 Jan 1937 USS Sail (not performing radio intelligence duty)
12 Jan 1938 USS Concord (not performing radio intelligence duty)
09 Jan 1939 USS Concord (not performing radio intelligence duty
Pertinent data:
Born: 28 July 1901
Location: Essex, Massachusetts
Died: 1961
Location: Chelsea, Massachusetts
Chief Radioman Joseph “Joe” Goldstein
CRM Joseph “Joe” Goldstein attended OTRG Class #1 - October 1928 – January 1929 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. In 1929, he and Tru Lusk embarked USS Isabel and transited to the Philippines to established Station CAST in Olongapo, P.I. In 1932, he was removed from the OP-20-G rolls and ordered back to General Service Radioman duties.
You can read about Joe Goldstein in On-the-Roof Gang, Volume I – Prelude to War.
Goldstein was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
23 Feb 1932: USS Isabel (not performing radio intelligence duty)
03 Jan 1933: USS Chicago (not performing radio intelligence duty)
06 Jan 1934: Washington, DC (not performing radio intelligence duty)
17 Jan 1935: (not performing radio intelligence duty)
13 Jan 1936: USS New Mexico (not performing radio intelligence duty)
06 Jan 1937: USS Houston (not performing radio intelligence duty)
12 Jan 1938: NYD Washington, DC (Naval Reserve)
09 Jan 1939: NYD Washington, DC (Naval Reserve)
14 Feb 1940: NYD Washington, DC (Naval Reserve)
24 Feb 1941: NYD Washington, DC (Naval Reserve)
Radioman First Class Keith Eugene “KEG” Goodwin
Keith Eugene “KEG” Goodwin attended OTRG Class #1 - October 1928 – January 1929 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. He was the Chief Radioman in Charge of Station CAST, when it moved from Olongapo to Mariveles and then to Cavite Naval Base in the Philippines. In 1937, he transferred to Station HYPO, and in 1940, to Station S, where he was on December 7, 1941. During the war, he was commissioned and transferred to FRUMEL, Australia. Among other things, he led the team on a mission to stand up a new collection site at Adelaide River, Northern Territories, Australia. He continued to serve after the war, and for a short period in 1952, he was the Officer in Charge of the Naval Supplemental Radio Station at Skaggs Island. He eventually retired as a Lieutenant Commander.
KEG Goodwin: 1) at the Mariveles station dock in 1935, and 2) at Adelaide River in 1943.
You can read about KEG Goodwin in both On-the-Roof Gang, Volume I – Prelude to War and Volume 2 – War in the Pacific.
Goodwin was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
23 Feb 1932: Bar Harbor, ME
03 Jan 1933: RMS Bellevue
06 Jan 1934: Heeia, T.H.
17 Jan 1935: Olongapo, P.I.
13 Jan 1936: USS Augusta
06 Jan 1937: En route Heeia
12 Jan 1938: Heeia, T.H.
09 Jan 1939: 14th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: 13th Naval District
24 Feb 1941: 13th Naval District
KEG Goodwin's obituary was published in the NCVA's Cryptolog magazine, Volume 06, Fall 1984, p.24:
GOODWIN, Keith E., LCDR, USN (RET)
Keith E. Goodwin, LCDR, USN (Ret.) died of heart failure in Tucson, Arizona, on 1 June 1984. He was confined to .a nursing home after having suffered a major stroke in October 1932. KEG, as he was so fondly known, was, the senior surviving member of OTRG Class #1.
KEG was born in Walloon Lake, Michigan on 26 January 1902. He served a tour of duty in the Marine Corps then enlisted in the Navy in 1923. He was selected to be a member of OTRG Class No. 1 in 1928 and has served on Guam, the Philippines, Shanghai, USS AUGUSTA, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Maryland. During WW2, he was in charge of locating, installing and operating the station at Adelaide River, Australia.
KEG was appointed a Warrant Officer in 1942, followed by a commission, and retired in 1953 as a Lieutenant Commander.
KEG survived two wives. He married Svea Cedar, a native of Sweden, in 1929. She bore him two sons, Edward and Rodney. Edward died in1969. Svea had died in 1958. His second wife was Creo Mackie whom he survived in 1980.
KEG is survived by his widow, Ada Goodwin, whom he married in Tucson early in 1982, and by his son Rodney, a CPA who resides in Napa, California. KEG's remains were cremated and shipped to Napa for interment.
Pertinent data:
Born: 26 January 1902
Location: Walloon Lake, Michigan
Died: 1 June 1984
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Interment Location: Napa, California
Radioman First Class R. W. Hoffman
R. W. Hoffman graduated from OTRG Class #1 and ordered to Station BAKER in 1929. He was removed from the OP-20-G rolls in 1932. Nothing more in known about this Sailor.
Radioman First Class Truett Carey “Tru” Lusk
Tru Lusk attended OTRG Class #1 - October 1928 – January 1929 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. Later in 1929, he and Joe Goldstein embarked USS Isabel and transited to the Philippines to established Station CAST in Olongapo, P.I. He later completed assignments as the Chief Radioman in Charge of at Station S and relived Harry Kidder as Chief Radioman in Charge of Station HYPO in Heeia, Hawaii, in 1935. He retired from active duty in 1939 but continued to perform radio intelligence duties at Station S when activated. He was recalled to active service during the war and served at Station HYPO in Hawaii. He was commissioned and was transferred to Imperial Beach, California to serve as the Executive Officer.
You can read about Tru Lusk in On-the-Roof Gang, Volume I – Prelude to War.
Lusk was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
23 Feb 1932: Olongapo, P.I.
03 Jan 1933: Astoria, Ore.
06 Jan 1934: Astoria, Ore.
17 Jan 1935: Heeia, T.H.
13 Jan 1936: Heeia, T.H.
06 Jan 1937: Heeia, T.H.
12 Jan 1938: Astoria, Ore.
09 Jan 1939: 13th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: 13th Naval District (activated Naval Reserve)
24 Feb 1941: 13th Naval District (Naval Reserve)
Pertinent data:
Born: 21 May 1899
Location: Bartlett, Texas
Died: 27 July 1963
Location: Wala Wala, Washington
Radioman First Class Martin Aloysius “Van” Vandenberg
Radioman First Class Vandenberg attended OTRG Class #1 - October 1928 – January 1929 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. In 1931, he was transferred to Station HYPO, in Little Wailupe, Hawaii. From May 1933 through June 1934, he rode on board the SS President Taft as it transited to and from the Far East, testing specially-configured intercept radios while the ship was in position to intercept Imperial Japanese Navy communications. He was then completed assignments at Station S in Astoria, Oregon and Station CAST in the Philippines before being selected for a commission and further assignment to work at the Combat Intelligence Unit at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. During the war, he led teams to establish intercept and direction finding sites at Tarawa (Station AN) and Kwajalein (Station AO). He eventually retired as a Lieutenant Commander.
You can read about Martin “Van” Vandenberg in both On-the-Roof Gang, Volume I – Prelude to War and Volume 2 – War in the Pacific.
He was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
23 Feb 1932: Wailupe, T.H.
03 Jan 1933: Little Wailupe, T.H.
06 Jan 1934: 13th Naval District
17 Jan 1935: Astoria, Ore.
13 Jan 1936: Astoria, Ore.
06 Jan 1937: Astoria, Ore.
12 Jan 1938: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
09 Jan 1939: 16th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: 14th Naval District
24 Feb 1941: 14th Naval District
Pertinent data:
Born: 21 January 1904
Died: 27 August 1979
Interment Date: 29 August 1979
Location: Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, OR
