On-The-Roof Gang
Class #10
Class #10 convened on 20 March 1933 and graduated on 1 June 1933. Chief Radioman Harry Kidder was the instructor.
OTRG Class #10. L-to-R front: Jones, Kisner, Marks, Hoover. L-to-R rear: Rathsack, Barnum, Groundwater, Gelineau.
Radioman Third Class Donald Warren Barnum
Don Barnum graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #10 in June 1933 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. He performed intercept duties in the Philippines; Astoria, Oregon; Washington, DC; and Hawaii before going back to Station BAKER. He was one of seven On-the-Roof Gang members who were on Guam when the Japanese attack on 8 December 1941. He was taken as a POW and spent nearly four years as a prisoner of war. He was first held at Zentsuji and later at Osaka #1 Chikko Camp. When the Chikko Camp was destroyed by U.S. bombing raids, he was transferred to Nagoya #10, arriving there on June 20, 1945, according to the camp report; he was there only two and a half months until his release at the end of the war. Following his release, he was commissioned as an officer and made the Navy his career, eventually retiring as a Lieutenant Commander.
Chief Radioman Don Barnum in Hawaii, circa 1940
You can read about Don Barnum in On-the-Roof Gang, Volume 2 – War in the Pacific.
Burnett was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: Guam, M.I.
17 Jan 1935: Olongapo, P.I.
13 Jan 1936: En route Astoria, Ore.
06 Jan 1937: Astoria, Ore.
12 Jan 1938: Washington, DC
09 Jan 1939: 14th Naval District (Hawaii)
14 Feb 1940: 14th Naval District (Hawaii)
24 Feb 1941: CinC US Fleet
Pertinent data:
Born: 13 March 1911
Location: Saint Marie, Idaho
Died: 28 May 1997
Location: Salem, Oregon
Interment Location: Twin Oaks Memorial Garden, Albany, Oregon
Radioman Third Class John Henry Gelineau
John Gelineau graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #10 in June 1933 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. He completed a follow-on assignment at Station S in Astoria, Oregon and Station HYPO in Hawaii before transferring to Station CAST on Corregidor Island, Philippines, where he was when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was listed in the third and final group of evacuees from Corregidor Island on board USS Seadragon in April 1942. He spent his war years in Australia and retired as a CWO2.
Gelineau was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: Guam, M.I.
17 Jan 1935: Guam, M.I.
13 Jan 1936: Guam, M.I.
06 Jan 1937: Astoria, Ore.
12 Jan 1938: Astoria, Ore.
09 Jan 1939: 13th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: 14th Naval District
24 Feb 1941: 14th Naval District
Pertinent data:
Born: 22 August 1912
Location: Duluth, Minnesota
Died: 1 April 2002
Location: Washington
Interment Location: Kane Cemetery, Bainbridge, Washington
Radioman Second Class Benjamin “Bennie” Groundwater
Bennie Groundwater graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #10 in June 1933 and was assigned to Station HYPO in Hawaii. In 1940, he was assigned to Station ABLE in Shanghai, when it was closed due to the worsening security situation in China. He transferred to Station CAST when the site closed. He then transferred to Station HYPO less than two months before the Japanese attacked across the Pacific. He was selected for a commission and retired after the war as a Lieutenant Commander.
Groundwater was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: Heeia, T.H.
17 Jan 1935: Heeia, T.H.
13 Jan 1936: Heeia, T.H.
06 Jan 1937: {expunged text}
12 Jan 1938: {expunged text}
09 Jan 1939: 14th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: Fourth Marines Shanghai
24 Feb 1941: Asiatic Station
Pertinent data:
Born: 14 October 1906
Location: Scammon, Kansas
Died: 19 December 1978
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Interment Location: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
Radioman Third Class Thomas Glendon “Ted” Hoover
Ted Hoover graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #10 in June 1933 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. He completed assignments in Washington, DC and Hawaii before transferring to Station CAST on Corregidor Island, Philippines. He was listed in the first group of evacuees from Corregidor Island in February 1942 on board USS Seadragon. Died on active duty as a Lieutenant.
Hoover was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: Guam, M.I.
17 Jan 1935: Guam, M.I.
13 Jan 1936: Guam, M.I.
06 Jan 1937: Washington, DC
12 Jan 1938: Washington, DC
09 Jan 1939: Navy Dept.
14 Feb 1940: 14th Naval District
24 Feb 1941: 14th Naval District
Pertinent data:
Born: 15 August 1909
Location: Pennsylvania
Died: 15 August 1949
Location: San Francisco, California
Interment Location: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
Radioman Second Class Orville Lester “Pop” Jones
Pop Jones graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #10 in June 1933 and was assigned to Station HYPO in Hawaii. After follow-on tours in Guam, Maine, and Washington, DC, he was sent back to Station HYPO in Hawaii. He was commissioned during the war and retired as a Lieutenant.
Lieutenant Orville "Pop" Jones
Jones was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: Heeia, T.H.
17 Jan 1935: Heeia, T.H.
13 Jan 1936: Guam, M.I.
06 Jan 1937: Guam, M.I.
12 Jan 1938: Guam, M.I.
09 Jan 1939: 1st Naval District
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept.
24 Feb 1941: 14th Naval District
Pertinent data:
Born: 26 May 1909
Location: Iowa
Died: 14 April 1966
Location: Vancouver, Washington
Interment Location: Peterville, Maryland
Radioman Second Class Homer Lloyd “Charlie” Kisner
Charlie Kisner graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #10 in June 1933 and was assigned to Station HYPO in Hawaii. After assignments at Hawaii, Oregon, Cavite, Shanghai, and Corregidor, he was again stationed on Hawaii during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was commissioned shortly after the war began and deployed to Guadalcanal and Kwajalein to establish intercept and direction finding sites. He rose through the ranks and eventually retired as a Captain.
Charlie Kisner after his commissioning. Photo on right taken on Guadalcanal as he established Station AL.
You can read about Charlie Kisner in On-the-Roof Gang, Volume 2 – War in the Pacific.
Kisner was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: Heeia, T.H.
17 Jan 1935: Heeia, T.H.
13 Jan 1936: Heeia, T.H.
06 Jan 1937: Astoria, Ore.
12 Jan 1938: Astoria, Ore.
09 Jan 1939: RMS Bellevue, Washington, DC
14 Feb 1940: 16th Naval District
24 Feb 1941: Asiatic Station
Charlie Kisner’s obituary was published in NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 28, number 1, Winter2007:
Homer L. “Charlie” KISNER, 93, of Parks, Arizona, died in May 2004 according to a recent report. He was a member of Class 10 of the “On-the-Roof” Gang, having enlisted in the Navy in January 1929. He served in Hawaii, Oregon, Cavite, Shanghai, and Corregidor in the days before World War II. A Pearl Harbor survivor, he was commissioned ENS in 1942. During the remainder of his naval career he served at duty stations overseas and in CONUS, retiring with the rank of Captain in 1956. Charlie was married to Bea M. (Gosnell) Kisner, and they had five children.
Pertinent data:
Born: 27 July 1910
Location: Marion, Illinois
Died: 19 May 2004
Location: Parks, Arizona
Radioman Third Class E. H. “Harpo” Marks
E. H. “Harpo” Marks attended OTRG Class #10 March – June 1933 and then transferred to the Station BAKER, Guam. He performed radio intelligence duties there through 1936 before he transferred to Washington, DC. He was not accounted for in all annual lists beginning 1937. Nothing more is known about this Sailor.
Marks was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: Guam, M.I.
17 Jan 1935: Guam, M.I.
13 Jan 1936: Guam, M.I.
06 Jan 1937: Washington, DC
Radioman Second Class Walter Carl Rathsack
Walter Carl Frederick Rathsack completed training in Class #10 but doesn’t appear to have been assigned to radio intelligence duty afterwards. He remained on active duty as a Radioman. As a Chief Radioman in 1942, he was stationed on board USS ATIK, which was sunk by German U-boat U-123 on 26 March 1942.
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Pertinent data:
Born: 19 January 1909
Location: Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Died: 26 March 1942