On-The-Roof Gang
Class #14
Class #14 convened in September 1934 and completed in March 1935. Chief Radioman Guy Billehus was in Washington, DC to be the instructor, but Chief Harry Kidder remained to co-teach the class. Kidder left Washington, DC in early 1935 for Station HYPO in Hawaii, while Billehus remained to complete the training for Class #14. In the photo below, you can see both Kidder and Billehus – the photo was likely taken during the Autumn of 1934.
Front row (L-to-R): Ivan Benjamin, Edward Schroeder, Guy Billehus (instructor), Carl Jensen, Howard Troop. Back row (L-to-R): Meddie Royer, James Willmarth, Harry Kidder (instructor), Leo Potvin, Norman Lewis.
Radioman Third Class Ivan Sidney “Benny” Benjamin
Benny Benjamin graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #14 in March 1935 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam.
Benny Benjamin during OTRG training
Benjamin was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
17 Jan 1935: Washington, DC (under instruction)
13 Jan 1936: Guam, M.I.
06 Jan 1937: Guam, M.I.
12 Jan 1938: Guam, M.I.
09 Jan 1939: 13th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: 13th Naval District
24 Feb 1941: 14th Naval District
Benny Benjamin’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 17:
IVAN S. BENJAMIN
Lieutenant Commander Ivan S. Benjamin, U.S. Navy, Retired, NCVA, OTRG, died in Eugene, Oregon on 29 March 1996. He was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1911, and entered the Navy in 1931. After recruit training and Radio Operators School, he served in USS TEXAS until 1934. In 1934, he entered “On-the-Roof” Class #14. After graduation in 1935, he served in Guam; USS GOLDSTAR; Cavite; Shanghai; USS CHAUMONT; Astoria, Washington; Bainbridge Island, Washington; USS HONOLULU; Honolulu, Hawaii (Pearl Harbor Survivor); Wailupe, Hawaii; Wahiawa, Hawaii; FRUPAC, Makalapa, Hawaii; Imperial Beach, California; Guam; Wahiawa, Hawaii; Skaggs Island, California; Winter Harbor, Maine; Adak, Alaska; National Security Agency (NSA); American Embassy, Tokyo (NSA). He retired in 1956.
After his retirement from the Navy, Benny worked for ten years for the Federal Reserve Bank in Portland, Oregon and for ten years with Security Force, Commissioned Public Docks, from which he retired. After his second retirement, Benny studied welding at Hood College for four years and became an accomplished, noted, award-winning welding artist, specializing in tree sculpture wall hangings and standing Bonsai trees.
Lieutenant Commander Benjamin is survived by his wife, Ellen (Jarvie) and two children.
Pertinent data:
Born: 29 December 1911
Location: Tacoma, Washington
Died: 29 March 1996
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Internment Location: Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Oregon
Radioman Third Class Carl Aggerholm “Swede” Jensen
Swede Jensen graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #14 in March 1935 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. After that initial assignment, he transferred to Station HYPO in Hawaii and then to Winter Harbor, Maine, where he was at the beginning of World War II. During the war, he was commissioned and transferred back to Hawaii and deployed to Guam in 1944 to help establish the new Station A after American forces retook the island. After the war, he eventually retired as a Lieutenant Commander.
Swede Larson as a young Sailor (undated), during OTRG training, and in Hawaii in 1935
Jenson was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
17 Jan 1935: Washington, DC (under instruction)
13 Jan 1936: Guam, M.I.
06 Jan 1937: Guam, M.I.
12 Jan 1938: Guam, M.I.
09 Jan 1939: 14th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: 14th Naval District
24 Feb 1941: 1st Naval District
Swede Jensen’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 25, Summer2004:
CARL A. JENSEN
NCVA member Lieutenant Commander Carl Aggerholm “Swede” Jensen, member of “On-the-Roof” Gang (Class 14) passed away in Tucson Arizona on 7 March 2004 at the age of 91. He was born in Perth Amboy New Jersey on 8 November 1912 and enlisted in the Navy on 15 April 1931. After basic training and radio school and a three-year stint on the USS MARBLEHEAD (CL-12) he was select- ed for training with the “On-the-Roof” Gang Class 14. This was followed by successive tours as radio intercept operator and traffic analyst at Guam, Heeia Hawaii and Winter Harbor where he was promoted to Chief Radioman in August 1941.
During WWII he served three years in the Pacific at Pearl Harbor and Guam. There is an interesting bit of information concerning Swede Jensen in WWII. When U.S. Forces recaptured Guam in July 1944, Ensign Jensen was in the group that was to reestablish Navy Supplementary Radio Station. He also surveyed the site of the old Station B at Libugon. The eight members of the Libugon site were captured and interned in Japan until the end of the war. In a letter dated 10 December 1944 from CDR L. S. Howeth, he reports that “Ensign Jensen, USN recovered four RIP-5 (Kata Kana) typewriters at the original Libugon site together with the name plate from the “28 foot supporting arm” from the DY-1 direction finding equipment. The equipment was destroyed as much as possible by “breaking up” and burning and the building at Libugon was subjected to demolition.” He continues, “It is quite obvious that this equipment did not arouse the suspicion of the Japanese as it appears that they were totally unaware of the significance.”
He was awarded he Naval Commendation Ribbon and the Navy Unit Citation. After WWII he served at Naval Security Group Command in Washington, D.C., followed by technical and research tours at Cheltenham, Skaggs Island and Japan. His last duties were with the Chief of Naval Operations Engineering Section. He retired in November 1956 and worked for Lockheed Corporation for 17 years primarily as an engineering administrator. He was married to Edith from 1939 until she passed away in 1979. He married Boon in September 1981. Two children, four grandchildren and six great grandchildren survive him. Swede was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.
Pertinent data:
Born: 8 November 1912
Location: Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Died: 7 March 2004
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Internment Location: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
Radioman Second Class Norman Valentine “Lou” Lewis
Norman Lewis graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #14 in March 1935 and was assigned to Station CAST in the Philippines. After making Chief in 1938, he was assigned to Station F, the mobile intercept station located on board USS Omaha, flagship of the European Squadron (40T) in order to research the communications of the Italian and German navies. He was then transferred back to Washington, DC, where he worked in the OP-20-G spaces. He earned advancement to Warrant Officer during the war and retired in 1956.
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Norman Lewis in the Philippines, circa 1935
Lewis was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
17 Jan 1935: Washington, DC (under instruction)
13 Jan 1936: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
06 Jan 1937: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
12 Jan 1938: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
09 Jan 1939: ComRon 40T
14 Feb 1940: ComRon 40T
24 Feb 1941: Navy Dept
Norman Lewis’ obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 09, Fall 1987, page 24:
NORMAN V. LEWIS, CWO
Norman V. Lewis, CWO, OTRG, died of leukemia, 25 June 1987 at the Calvert Memorial Hospital in Washington. Lewis, 82, spent 30 years in the Navy and retired in 1956. Following retirement, he worked in communications with the Statler-Hilton Hotel in Washington, until his retirement from that position. Burial was at the Maryland Veterans Cemetery in Cheltenham, Maryland. Contributions to the memory of “Sugar Lou” Lewis may be made to the OTRG Memorial Fund, Naval Security Group Command, 3801 Nebraska Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20906.
Pertinent data:
Born: 30 August 1904
Died: 25 June 1987
Location: Prince Frederick, Maryland
Internment Location: Maryland Veterans Cemetery, Cheltenham, Maryland
Radioman Second Class Leo Joseph Potvin
Leo Potvin graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #14 in March 1935 and was assigned to Station CAST in the Philippines. After that initial assignment, he completed tours in Shanghai, China and USS Augusta before transferring back to Washington, DC for duty. He was commissioned during the war and retired as a Lieutenant.
Leo Potvin in Mariveles, Philippines, circa 1935
Potvin was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
17 Jan 1935: Washington, DC (under instruction)
13 Jan 1936: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
06 Jan 1937: USS Augusta
12 Jan 1938: Shanghai, China
09 Jan 1939: Fourth Marines
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept.
24 Feb 1941: Navy Dept.
Leo Potvin’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 14, Fall-Winter 1993, page 20:
LEO JOSEPH POTVIN
Leo Joseph Potvin, Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, Retired, OTRG, NCVA, died 7 August 1993 at the age of 83.
Born in Eustis, Louisiana, he joined the Navy in 1927 and served for 21 years before transferring to the Fleet Reserve in 1948. He received special Morse code training "On-the-Roof" and graduated with class #14 in 1934. Subsequent cryptologic duty stations included: Shanghai, China; USS AUGUSTA (Flagship of the Commander-in-Chief Asiatic Fleet); Mariveles and Cavite, Philippine Islands; Hawaii; and Japan.
Alter transfer to the Fleet Reserve, Lieutenant Potvin was employed by the State Department in Nicosia, Cyprus, and, later, by ITT Communications at Barkdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. He retired from that position in 1971.
His wife, Flora, whom he married in 1941, preceded him in death.
He is survived by a foster daughter, Melina Brackens of Shreveport, Louisiana and two foster grandchildren.
Leo Potvin’s obituary was published in The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana) on 10 Oct 1993
Pertinent data:
Born: 30 January 1910
Location: Eustis, Michigan
Died: 7 August 1993
Location: Escanaba, Michigan
Radioman Second Class Meddie Joseph Royer
Meddie Royer graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #14 in March 1935 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. He then transferred to Station CAST, Philippines, where he established the first operational HFDF set at Sangley Point. He then went to Mare Island, California and the Radio Materiel School to learn even more about HFDF before returning to the fleet. In 1940, he transferred to Station HYPO in Hawaii before following on to Station CAST on Corregidor Island, Philippines. There, he once again set up an operational HFDF set on the tail end of Corregidor Island. He was listed in the second group of evacuees from Corregidor Island on USS Permit in February 1942. During the war, he worked at the collection site at Moorabbin, Australia and earned a commission as an Ensign. After the war, he left active duty but was recalled during the Korean War when he served at Skaggs Island, California between September 1950 and September 1952.
Meddie Royer during OTRG training
You can read about Meddie Royer in On-the-Roof Gang, Volume 1 – Prelude to War.
Royer was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
17 Jan 1935: Washington, DC (under instruction)
13 Jan 1936: Guam, M.I.
06 Jan 1937: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
12 Jan 1938: Mare Island, California
09 Jan 1939: 12th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: 1st Naval District
24 Feb 1941: 14th Naval District
Meddie Royer’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 13, Summer 1992, page 15:
Meddie Joseph Royer, Lieutenant (Junior Grade), U. S. Navy, Retired, OTRG, NCVA, died, at age 85 on 6 April 1992 quietly in his sleep a few days after having had minor surgery. Lieutenant Royer was born 9 September 1906 in Gould City, Michigan and commenced his naval career in September 1927. Among his early ships and duty stations were USS IDAHO, various VO Squadrons where he qualified for duty as a radioman in aircraft in 1931, recruiting stations in Minneapolis and Puget Sound, Washington, and VS Squadron 1-B. His cryptologic service began in 1934when he started special Morse code training “On-the-Roof” of the Old Main Navy building in Washington, DC. He graduated with Class Number 14 of the OTRG.
His cryptologic duty stations included Guam (1935); Sixteenth Naval District, Philippine Islands (1937); Mare Island, California (1938); Winter Harbor, Maine (1939); Radio Materiel School, Bellevue, Washington, DC (1940); Hawaii (1941); Corregidor, Philippines Island, from which he was evacuated by submarine; Melbourne, Australia (1942); Skaggs Island, California (1945); and Adak, Alaska (1947). He left active duty in February 1948 but was recalled during the Korean War when he served at Skaggs Island, California between September 1950 and September 1952.
While serving at Cavite, Philippines Islands, during the period 1936-1937, Lieutenant Royer is credited with significant research into and development of viable direction finder systems. Captain Jack S. Holtwick is noted to have said that Royer's contributions were instrumental in the establishment of “the Navy's first ‘intelligence’ HFDF station.” A report with the specifics of these early experiments in direction finding can be found in “Naval Security Group History to World War II,” SRH-355, Appendix VI.
His medals and awards included American Defense (with one star); Asiatic-Pacific (three stars); Philippine Defense; World War 11 Victory; and the Army Presidential Unit Citation.
Lieutenant Royer is survived by his wife of 54 years, Nellie Katherine Royer, three children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Pertinent data:
Born: 9 September 1906
Location: Gould City, Michigan
Died: 6 August 1992
Location: Fresno, California
Radioman Third Class Edward Melvin “Snuffy” Schroeder
Edward Schroeder graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #14 in March 1935 and was assigned to Station CAST in the Philippines. After tours at Mare Island, California and Station S in Bainbridge Island, Washington, he transferred to Station HYPO in Hawaii, where he was stationed at the outset of World War II. He received a commission during the war and retired from the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander.
Snuffy Schroeder during OTRG training and at Mariveles, Philippines, circa 1935
Benjamin was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
17 Jan 1935: Washington, DC (under instruction)
13 Jan 1936: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
06 Jan 1937: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
12 Jan 1938: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
09 Jan 1939: 12th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: 13th Naval District
24 Feb 1941: 14th Naval District
Snuffy Schroeder’s obituary was published in The Napa Valley Register (Napa, California) on 16 April 1984
Pertinent data:
Born: 23 July 1910
Location: Wisconsin
Died: 13 April 1984
Location: Sacramento, California
Radioman Third Class Howard Harrison Troup
Howard Troup graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #14 in March 1935 and was assigned to Station CAST in the Philippines. After a follow-on assignment at Station HYPO in Hawaii, he transferred back to Washington, DC for duty.
Howard Troup during OTRG training
Troup was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
17 Jan 1935: Washington, DC (under instruction)
13 Jan 1936: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
06 Jan 1937: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
12 Jan 1938: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
09 Jan 1939: 14th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: 14th Naval District
24 Feb 1941: Navy Dept.
Howard Troup’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 05, Spring 1984, page 14:
TROUP, Howard Harrison was born on 10 October 1912 in Maxwell, Iowa and died at Napa, California 11 March 1984. Troup enlisted in the Navy in January 1930 and served aboard USS PENNSYLVANIA and USS TEXAS. He was a member of class 14 “On-the-Roof,” and following his training was ordered to Station “C” in the Philippine Islands. Troup also served at Heeia, the Navy Department, Cheltenham, Guantanamo, Bainbridge Island, Adak, at the Armed Forces Security Agency, Guam, and at the NSG detachment at the National Security Agency. He was promoted to radio Electrician in July 1943, to Ensign in January 1944, to Lieutenant (jg) in February 1949, and to Lieutenant Commander in May 1955. Troup retired in February 1960 after 30 years service. He attended the 1983 NCVA Reunion in San Diego.
Howard Troup’s obituary was published in The Napa Valley Register (Napa, California) on 13 Mar 1984
Pertinent data:
Born: 10 October 1912
Location: Maxwell, Iowa
Died: 11 March 1984
Location: Napa, California
Radioman Third Class James Davis “J.D.” Willmarth
James Willmarth graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #14 in March 1935 and was assigned to Station CAST in the Philippines. He completed assignments at Station ABLE in Shanghai and Bainbridge Island, Washington before he transferred to Station HYPO in Hawaii, where he was at the outset of World War II. He retired after the end of the war.
J.D. Willmarth during OTRG training and in the Philippines, circa 1935
Benjamin was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
17 Jan 1935: Washington, DC (under instruction)
13 Jan 1936: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
06 Jan 1937: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
12 Jan 1938: Shanghai, China
09 Jan 1939: 13th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: 13th Naval District
24 Feb 1941: 14th Naval District
James Willmarth’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 13, Summer 1992, page 15:
James D. Willmarth, Chief Warrant Officer, U. S. Navy, Retired, OTRG, NCVA, died in Portland, Oregon on 23 March 1992 at the age of 81. He was born in Detroit, Michigan on 6 August 1910, joined the Navy on 8 April 1929 and served in USS SARATOGA (CV-3) from 1929 to 1934. He then began cryptologic service with training on the roof of the Main Navy Building in Class Number 14 in September 1934.
Chief Warrant Officer Willmarth served in Mariveles and Cavite, Philippine Islands; aboard the Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet flagship, USS AUGUSTA; in Shanghai, China; at Astoria, Oregon; at Bainbridge Island, Washington; at Heeia, Wailupe and Wahiawa, Hawaii; and on Guam.
After transfer to the Fleet Reserve in 1949, he entered the University of Portland in that same year and graduated cum laude in 1953 with a degree in business administration. He then worked briefly for the State of Oregon and later for the Power Brake' Company until 1967 when he retired.
Burial was in the Willamette National Cemetery. His wife, Margie, had preceded him in death.
Pertinent data:
Born: 6 August 1910
Location: Greenfield, Michigan
Died: 23 March 1992
Location: Portland, Oregon
Internment Location: Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Oregon
