On-The-Roof Gang
Class #23
Class #23 convened in October 1939 and completed in May 1940. Chief Radioman Daryl Wigle was the instructor.
Radioman Second Class Kenneth Hollis “Ken” Barker
Ken Barker graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #23 in May 1940 and was assigned to Station CAST. He was on the list of the second group of evacuees from Corregidor Island on the USS Permit in March 1942. He continued to work at Moorabbin, Australia. He was promoted to Chief and then to Warrant Officer before the end of the war, retiring at the rank of CWO3.
Ken Barker on Corregidor Island, circa 1941
Barker was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept. (under instruction)
24 Feb 1941: Asiatic Station
Ken Barker’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 20, Summer 1999, page 7:
KENNETH H. BARKER
Kenneth H. Barker, CWO-3, USN (Retired) died on 8 January 1999 in Lompoc, California after a brief illness. Ken was born on 25 October 1919 in Oskaloosa, Missouri and spent his early years in the states of Missouri and Kansas. In 1931 The family moved to San Jose, California where he graduated from San Jose High School in 1937. Soon thereafter he joined the Navy. After boot camp at San Diego he was assigned to the destroyer USS REUBEN JAMES (DD-245).
In September 1939, after brief duty on the USS MAURY he received orders to the Navy Department, Washington, D.C. where he was assigned to Class #23 for training as a Japanese intercept operator. Upon completion of this course in May 1940, he sailed on the transport USS CHAUMONT to Guam.
Early in 1941 he volunteered for duty on Corregidor and was among the group evacuated on 17 March 1942 on the submarine USS PERMIT arriving in Freemantle, Australia He was assigned to the Fleet Radio Unit Melbourne a s a Traffic Analyst. In 1942 he met another intercept operator, Telegraphist Joyce Compton, WR22 1, WRANS whom he married 20 June 1941.
In October of that year he was assigned to the Escort Carrier USS SANGAMON, part of the Philippine invasion force participating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. After its return to Australia in November 1914 he and Joyce boarded the transport USS HENDERSON. Arriving in the states on 7 December1944 he was assigned duty at Naval Security Group Headquarters on Nebraska Avenue in Washington, D.C.
Subsequent duty stations were Guam, Marianas Islands (1948-49). Yokosuka, Japan (1949-1950). Arlington Hall (1951-53), GCHQ in London and later in Cheltenham, England as part of the first combined naval party (March 1953-March 1955). He served at NSA Fort Meade from May 1955 until retirement on 1 September1957 and which he returned to San Jose, California where he graduated from San Jose State University in 1960.
He was a member of Key Club and Phi Beta Kappa. He received a master’s degree in 1964. Ken taught mathematics at R. J. Fisher Junior High School in Los Gatos, California from 1960 until 1985, the last five years as District Math Coordinator. After retirement the Barkers moved to Indian Wells, California to play golf, Ken making his first hole in one. In 1990 they moved to Lompoc, where he served on the Board of Directors of the Village Country Club.
He is survived by his widow Joyce, one son Kenneth H. Barker, Jr who served in the Marine Corps in Viet Nam, one daughter Elizabeth Barker-Gates, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at the Vandenberg Air Force Base Chapel on 11 January 1999 conducted by a golfing buddy Captain Herb Shears, Chaplain Corps USN (retired) and on 12 January 1999 in Los Gatos, conducted by Captain David Winslow, Chaplain Corps USN (retired) with interment in Los Gatos Memorial Park. His seven grandchildren were pall bearers.
Organizations to which Ken belonged were Phi Kappa Phi and Tau Delta Phi.
He also belonged to Yokosuka Navy Masonic Lodge #20, The Valley of San Jose Scottish Rites Bodies, The Retired Officers Association, U.S. Naval Institute and the Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association. At the time of his death Ken was the youngest living member of the On-the-Roof Gang.
Pertinent data:
Born: 25 October 1919
Location: Oskaloosa, Missouri
Died: 8 January 1999
Location: Lompoc, California
Interment location: Los Gatos Memorial Park, San Jose, California
Radioman Second Class Arthur Donald Groff
Arthur Groff graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #23 in May 1940 and was assigned to Station ABLE in Shanghai, China. When Station ABLE closed, he transferred to Station CAST in the Philippines. He was listed in the first group of evacuees from Corregidor Island on board USS Seadragon in February 1942. He was removed from radio intelligence duty for unspecified reasons in 1943.
Arthur Groff on Corregidor Island circa 1941 and in Moorabbin, Australia, circa 1942
Groff was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept. (under instruction)
24 Feb 1941: Asiatic Station
Arthur Groff’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 21, Winter 2000, page 22:
Arthur Donald Groff NCVA, a member of "On-the-Roof" Gang died on 31 October 1999. He joined the Navy on 5 February 1936 at Baltimore, Maryland. He was one of the original members of the "On-the-Roof' Gang. After training his duty assignments included Cavite and Corregidor, Philippine Islands and at Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne, Australia. He obtained the rate of Chief Radioman (Acting Appointment on 1 January 1943). Chief Groff was discharged from the U.S. Navy on 6 October 1945. From 1949 until his retirement in 1969 he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency.
Survivors include his wife Charlotte, three sons and one brother. He was also a close friend of Whitey Smith (Shanghai Whitey) of Manila, now deceased.
The funeral was held in Leesburg, Virginia.
Pertinent data:
Born: 3 June 1918
Location: Cambridge, Maryland
Died: 31 October 1999
Location: Leesburg, Florida
Interment Location: Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery, Cambridge, Maryland
Radioman Second Class Raymond Leon “Ray” Hitson
Ray Hitson graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #23 in May 1940 and was assigned to Station CAST in the Philippines. He was listed in the second group of evacuees from Corregidor Island on board USS Permit in March 1942.
Ray Hitson on Corregidor Island circa 1941 and in Moorabbin, Australia, circa 1942
Hitson was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept. (under instruction)
24 Feb 1941: Asiatic Station
Pertinent data:
Born: 16 July 1917
Location: Creek, Oklahoma
Died: 15 October 1977
Location: San Diego, California
Radioman Second Class Harold Eugene “Hal” Joslin
Hal Joslin graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #23 in May 1940 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. He was in Guam when the Japanese attacked on 8 December 1941 and was taken as a POW. He spent the entirety of the war in POW camp in Japan. He was liberated from Japan in September 1945 and continued his Navy career (see below for details). He retired as a Captain in June 1976 after 39 years on active duty.
Hal Joslin as a Captain in Edzell, Scotland, circa 1966
Joslin was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept. (under instruction)
24 Feb 1941: Asiatic Station
You can read about the Hal Joslin and the rest of the OTRG POWs in On-the-Roof Gang, Volume 2 – War in the Pacific.
Harold E. Joslin passed peacefully from this life on March 11, 2020. Joslin was a 101-year-old retired Navy Captain, World War II veteran, and former World War II prisoner of war (POW). Perhaps more than that, he was the last surviving member of the “On-the-Roof Gang,” an exclusive group of 176 sailors and marines who trained themselves in the intercepting of katakana telegraphic code in the years leading to World War II.
Joslin grew up on a dairy farm in Sequim, Washington and joined the Navy as a radioman when he was 18. Demonstrating extremely high aptitude as a navy communicator, he was selected for Class #23 of the “On-the-Roof Gang” training in Washington, DC in 1939. Upon graduation from rooftop intercept training, he married Marie Elizabeth Ahlvers, and she joined him on his assignment to Station BAKER on Libugon Hill in Guam in 1940. At Station BAKER, Joslin served with six other On-the-Roof Gang graduates and one radioman skilled at direction finding. As storm clouds grew over the Pacific Ocean, Marie was ordered to evacuate on the last ship to carry dependents from Guam in October 1941.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 8 (Guam date), the team at Station BAKER implemented the “war plan” developed by the Naval Governor of Guam, Captain George McMillin. The plan had them conduct emergency destruction procedures, burning and destroying all classified material before demolishing their building. All eight men from Station BAKER then set off to Mount Tenjo in order to set up radio gear to communicate with Asiatic and Pacific Fleet commanders. They were captured in the jungles of Guam by Japanese forces after three days, before completing their journey to Mount Tenjo.
After a tortuous month being held in the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral in Agaña, Guam (now Hagåtña), Joslin and his shipmates were transported to Japan in the hold of the Japanese passenger liner Argentina Maru along with almost 500 other sailors, marines, and contractors. They arrived at Zentsuji Prisoner of War camp in the dead of winter, wearing only their summer-weight clothes and wrapped in burlap blankets. Enduring capture, starvation, isolation, disease, beatings, slave labor, and mental anguish, Joslin remained at Zentsuji for the duration of the war, while others were transferred to other POW camps.
Joslin was forced to work as a stevedore for Nippon Express Company at Sakaide Rail Yards in Takamatsu, an assignment that allowed him to steal food to survive. He was also able to sabotage Japanese military equipment heading to the front. After the war, when the US Eighth Army liberated the camp, Joslin returned home to recover with his wife, Marie, before resuming his Navy career.
Joslin’s first assignment after the war was at Naval Security Group (NAVSECGRU) headquarters at 3801 Nebraska Avenue NW in Washington, DC. He was, by all accounts, a standout sailor and he earned advancement to every enlisted rate and eventual promotion to warrant officer. As a warrant officer, Joslin served as a cryptologic direct support officer with future Chief of Naval Operations, Captain Arleigh Burke, on board the light cruiser, USS Huntington (CL-107).
Joslin later served on board the new heavy cruiser, USS Albany (CA-123), before attending the Naval Intelligence and Russian Language Schools. This education led to assignments at Yokosuka, Japan and Aklavak, Northwest Territories, Canada. In 1952, he served at the Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA) in Arlington, Virginia and then at NSA, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.
He served as an NSA Liaison Officer at Cheltenham, England from 1955 to 1957 and then at the Atlantic Fleet Headquarters in Norfolk, VA before returning for short assignments at NSA, Fort Meade and NAVSECGRU Headquarters in Washington, DC. His next assignment was as Deputy Director of NAVSECGRU Pacific in Hawaii from 1961 to 1964, and then back to Washington, DC for duty at Cheltenham, Maryland.
By then a full navy captain, Joslin was assigned as the Commanding Officer of NAVSECGRU Activity Edzell, Scotland. His next assignments took him back to the National Capital Region, where he served as Deputy Commander NAVSECGRU and again at NSA. Finally, he received assignment as a special advisor for NSA to the Pacific Command before retiring in June 1976 after 39 years on active duty.
Joslin was one of the 176 sailors and marines who had graduated from katakana intercept training on the roof of the Main Navy Building in Washington, DC. As such, he was a member of the exclusive “On-the-Roof Gang.” As the group’s last surviving member, his passing represents the end of an era and is a reminder that our freedom today was bought and paid for by those like Hal Joslin.
Pertinent data:
Born: 2 September 1918
Location: Sequim, Washington
Died: 11 March 2020
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Interment Location: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
Radioman Second Class Edward “Ed” Otte
Ed Otte graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #23 in May 1940 and was assigned to Station CAST in the Philippines. He was listed in the second group of evacuees from Corregidor Island on board USS Permit in March 1942. He continued to serve through the end of the war at the intercept site at Moorabbin, Australia. He retired in 1953 as a Chief Petty Officer.
Ed Otte on Corregidor Island circa 1941 and in Moorabbin, Australia circa 1942
Otte was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept. (under instruction)
24 Feb 1941: Asiatic Station
Ed Otte’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 19, Winter 1998, page 19:
EDWARD “ED” OTTE
CTC Edward Otte, U.S. Navy, Retired, (OTRG-Class #23) died on 28 November 1997 in Laurel, Maryland. He was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1913, and entered the N a y in 1933. He entered Cryptologic service' in April 1939 as a Radioman Third Class. He was an intercept operator on Corregidor from October 1941 to April 1942 and avoided capture by attacking Japanese forces when his unit was evacuated to Australia by U.S. submarine.
Commencing in late 1951, he became an instructor at Bainbridge Island, Washington Naval School CT Class "A," with additional duties as chief-in-charge of the School.
He was transferred to the Fleet Reserve in December 1953.
Chief Otte's survivors include his wife, Elizabeth, two children and three grandchildren. His wish to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery was fulfilled.
Ed Otte’s obituary was published in The Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan, Wisconsin) on 13 December 1997
Pertinent data:
Born: 18 July 1913
Location: Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Died: 28 November 1997
Location: Laurel, Maryland
Interment Location: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington National Cemetery
Radioman Second Class Rexford Gerald “Rex” Parr
Rex Parr graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #23 in May 1940 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. He was in Guam when the Japanese attacked on 8 December 1941 and was taken as a POW. He spent the entirety of the war in POW camp in Japan. He was liberated from Japan in September 1945 and continued his cryptologic career with the Naval Security Group. Rex Parr retired as a Lieutenant.
Rex Par in undated photos
Parr was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept. (under instruction)
24 Feb 1941: Asiatic Station
You can read about the Rex Parr and the rest of the OTRG POWs in On-the-Roof Gang, Volume 2 – War in the Pacific.
Rex Parr’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 14, Winter 1992-1993, page 24:
REXFORD G. PARR
Rexford G Parr, Chief Warrant Officer (W-4), U.S. Navy, Retired, OTRG, died 26 November 1992 at age 78 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. His active naval service spanned 30 years. CWO Parr commenced cryptologic service in 1939 with Japanese Morse code training "On-the-Roof” with class number 23. After completing training, he served on Guam where he was captured by the Japanese during December 1941. He was a Japanese prisoner-of-war until released at the end of WWII. Subsequent duty stations included, among other locations, Hawaii, Kamiseya, Japan and Bremerhaven, Germany.
Following retirement from active duty he worked in a civilian capacity at the National Security Agency for nine years and was fully retired on 1 June 1976.
He is survived by his wife Betty Wayne Parr, three sons, one stepson, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. One son had died earlier.
Burial was at Arlington National Cemetery on 3 December 1992.
Pertinent data:
Born: 23 November 1914
Location: Harmon, Oklahoma
Died: 26 November 1992
Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Interment Location: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
Radioman Second Class Russell Warren “Jose” Rogers
Russell Rogers graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #23 in May 1940 and was assigned to BAKER on Guam. After a few short months, he was transferred to Station CAST in the Philippines. He was listed in the second group of evacuees from Corregidor Island on board USS Permit in March 1942. During the war, he served at the intercept site at Moorabbin, Australia. After the end of the war, he served at Bainbridge Island, Washington and Skaggs Island, California. He retired as a CWO4.
Russell Rogers on Corregidor Island circa 1941 and in Moorabbin, Australia, circa 1942
Rogers was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept. (under instruction)
24 Feb 1941: Asiatic Station
Russell Rogers obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 27, Spring 2006, page 20:
Russell Warren “Jose” ROGERS Class 23
“On-the-Roof” Gang, (OTRG) passed away 19 October 2005 Born 9 May 1917 in Colesburg, Iowa, Mr. Rogers entered service in June 1936. He married Alice (Hertz) Rogers on 12 April 1946 in Napa, California. He transferred to the Fleet Reserve in August 1959 as a CWO4. He was one of the original 176 Sailors and U.S. Marines that became the CT “R” branchers of the Naval Security Group. Class 23 produced 8 qualified Japanese Kata Kana operators. Of these eight, five were transferred to Radio Libugon in the Mariana Islands, and arriving on Guam on 14 July 1940. The five operator's names are like reading a Who's Who of the early Naval Security Group.
RM3 Martin Homer Smith, USN (Retired CWO)
RM2 Rexford G. Parr, USNS (Retired CWO)
RM2 Kenneth Hollis Barker (Retired CWO)
RM2 Harold Eugene (Hal) Joslin, USN (Retired Captain)
RM2 Russell Warren Rogers, USN (Retired CWO).
RM2 Rogers did not complete a full tour of duty on Guam and was transferred to Philippine Station “C” on Corregidor Island, arriving there on 10 March 1941. His duties were in Tunnel “A” located near Kindley Field on tadpole-shaped Island. RM2 Rogers was on Corregidor when World War II started there on 8 December 1941. The operators were required to perform their professional duties but were also assigned to military “base defense” positions. RM2 Rogers was assigned to Rifle Squad Number Two. His two officer squad leaders at the time were named “Mackie” and “Richardson.” His weapon of NO-Choice was a World War I Enfield rifle, still in its original box, soaked in Cosmoline, that had been sitting in the saltwater of Manila Bay for several days. On 16 March 1942, RM1 Rogers and 36 other cryptologists were evacuated from Corregidor in USS PERMIT (SS-178) and taken to Australia. After Australia, very little is known except he served in Bainbridge Island and Skaggs Island. After his transfer to the Fleet Reserve, he was employed by a government agency.
Pertinent data:
Born: 9 May 1917
Location: Earlville, Iowa
Died: 19 October 2005
Location: Carroll, Iowa
Interment Location: Carroll City Cemetery, Carroll, Iowa
Radioman Second Class Martin Homer Smith
Martin Smith graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #23 in May 1940 and was assigned to Station BAKER on Guam. After a few short months, he was transferred to Station CAST in the Philippines. He was listed in the second group of evacuees from Corregidor Island on board USS Permit in March 1942. During the war, he served at the intercept site at Moorabbin, Australia. He continued to serve after the war at locations around the globe, eventually retiring as a CWO4.
Martin Smith on Corregidor Island, circa 1941
Smith was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept. (under instruction)
24 Feb 1941: Asiatic Station
Martin Smith’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 33, Fall 2012, page
Martin Homer SMITH, CWO, (OTRG), 93, died 5 December 2011 in Glen Burnie, MD. His military service included Norfolk, VA., USS OKLAHOMA, China, Philippines, Corregidor (Station CAST), Australia, Imperial Beach, CA., Washington, D.C., Yokosuka, Japan, Fort George G. Meade, MD., Midway, and Charleston, SC. CWO Smith was evacuated in the first group from Corregidor in WWII in the Pacific. Survived by his wife Margaret “Peggy” (Flight Sergeant in Australian Air Force), two children, two grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Interment Glen Haven Memorial Gardens, Glen Burnie, MD.
Pertinent data:
Born: 26 August 1918
Location: Meade County, Kentucky
Died: 5 December 2011
Location: Gel Burnie, Maryland
Interment Location: Glen Haven Memorial Gardens, Glen Burnie, Maryland