Rod Whitten graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #16 in November 1935 and was assigned to Station HYPO in Hawaii via Station S in Astoria, Oregon. He completed an assignment at Station BAKER after that before transferring to Station ABLE in Shanghai, China. When Station ABLE closed in October 1940, he was assigned to Station CAST on Corregidor Island, Philippines. In 1941, he transferred to Station HYPO in Heeia, Hawaii, where he was when the Japanese attacked. During the war, he was commissioned and retired in 1947 as a Lieutenant (junior grade).

An undated photo of Chief Radioman Rod Whitten and on Corregidor Island in 1941

Whitten was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:

13 Jan 1936:   Astoria, Ore.

06 Jan 1937:   Heeia, T.H.

12 Jan 1938:   Heeia, T.H.

09 Jan 1939:   Guam, M.I.

14 Feb 1940:   Guam, M.I.

24 Feb 1941:   Asiatic Station

Rod Whitten’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 32, Winter 2011:

Rodney L. WHITTEN, LTJG, 98, OTRG, FRUPAC, W4BI, died 11 September 2010 at Freeman Hospital in Joplin, MO. A member of “On-the-Roof” Gang (Class 16). He served in Bainbridge, Astoria, Heeia, Shanghai, Corregidor and Wahiawa. He was serving as a radioman on the flagship USS PENNSYLVANIA (BB-38), stationed in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 where he had been intercepting and decoding Japanese radio transmissions until a few days before the attack. He is survived by his wife Virginia (Parsons) Whitten, a daughter, a son, daughter-in-law, four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and four sisters. Cremation services were held by the Mason Woodbury Mortuary on 8 October 2010. Interment will be at Pineville Cemetery, Pineville, MO. at a later date.

Rod Whitten’s obituary was published in The Joplin Glob on 3 October 2010:

JOPLIN, MO — Rodney L. Whitten, age 98, of Joplin, Mo., formerly of Cape Coral, Fla., passed away early Saturday morning, Sept. 11, 2010, at Freeman Hospital in Joplin.

Rodney was born April 22, 1912, in Lakesbury, Ark., the son of Charles and Nettie (Green) Whitten.

Rodney joined the U.S. Navy in 1931 and was a member of the "On-The-Roof-Gang," O.R.T.G. Class No. 16, 1935, serving as a radioman, intercepting and decoding enemy messages in a number of intercept stations.

These included Bainbridge, Astoria, Heeia, Shanghai, Corregidor, and Wahiawa. This group of dedicated and skilled operators formed the vanguard of the U.S. Naval Communications Intelligence efforts and laid the cornerstone of Naval Cryptology. Rodney was serving as a radioman on the flagship U.S.S. Pennsylvania, stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the infamous morning of Dec. 7, 1941, where he had been intercepting and decoding Japanese radio transmissions until a few days before the attack.

Rodney and the Pennsylvania survived the attacks of that fateful morning. He continued to serve his country until 1947, when he retired from the Navy at the rank of lieutenant junior.

After his Navy career, Rodney worked for a number of companies and organizations. These included Vickers Inc., Rocketdyne, Lowrance Electronics, Miami Dade Junior College and the Florida State Emergency Management Agency. Rodney and his wife owned and operated Whitten's House of Wigs from 1968 to 1972, and then retired in Southwest Florida. Rodney, call sign W4BI, was a licensed amateur radio operator since 1927, held an FCC First Class Radio Telegraph license and was a former member of the ARRL, Cape Coral and Florida Gold Coast radio clubs. He was a life member of the U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association and the Military Officers Association of America. Rodney was a very proficient high speed Morse code operator and message handler who kept in frequent contact with his son, Mel, via ham radio, for over 45 years. Rodney recently moved back to Joplin, where he and his wife lived with his daughter.

He married Virginia Parsons in 1941, in Bentonville, Ark., and recently celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary. She survives.

Additional survivors include one daughter, Karen Buchanan, of Joplin; one son, Melvyn Whitten and his wife, Phyllis, of St. Louis, Mo.; daughter-in-law, Shirley Whitten, of Alabama;  and four grandchildren, Jason Buchanan, Jacqui Whitten, Aaron Whitten, and Rebekah Howe; two great-grandchildren, Joseph Buchanan and Phoebe Howe; four sisters, Charlene Love, Lucy Marsh, Jeanette McDonald and Martha Unverzaght. Rodney was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Tom Whitten; an infant granddaughter, Valarie Whitten; four sisters, Clara Heath, Lois McKee, Claudia Smithpeter and Louise Williams; and one brother, Thomas Whitten.

Arrangements are under the direction of Mason-Woodard Mortuary, where his body has been taken for cremation. Memorial services, which will include Military Rites, have been scheduled for Friday, Oct. 8, at 2 p.m. at Mason-Woodard Mortuary. Roger Hasselquist, minister, will officiate. Mr. Whitten's ashes will be interred at a later date in the Pineville Cemetery in Pineville, Mo.

Pertinent data:

Born: 22 April 1912

Location: Lakesbury, Arkansas

Died: 11 September 2010

Location: Joplin, Missouri

Internment Location: Pineville Cemetery, Pineville, Missouri