On-The-Roof Gang
Class #11
Class #11 convened on 5 July 1933 and graduated on 1 December 1933. Chief Radioman Harry Kidder was the instructor.
Radioman First Class William Julian “Joe” Edens
Joe Edens graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #11 in December 1933 and was assigned to Station BAKER in Guam. He then worked in the experimental field of high frequency direction finding at Mare Island, California, before he was detailed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to do intercept research and to operate, and train operators for the HFDF being installed there. He was commissioned during the war and was assigned as the officer in charge of Station V in Samoa. After the war, he retired as a Lieutenant Commander.
Edens was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: En route CinC Asiatic
17 Jan 1935: Guam, M.I.
13 Jan 1936: Guam, M.I.
06 Jan 1937: Mare Island, Calif.
12 Jan 1938: Mare Island, Calif.
09 Jan 1939: San Juan, P.R.
14 Feb 1940: 7th Naval District
24 Feb 1941: 7th Naval District
Pertinent data:
Born: 21 September 1905
Location: Alfordsville, North Carolina
Died: 13 January 1988
Location: DeLand, Florida
Interment Location: Biloxi National Cemetery, Biloxi, Mississippi
Private First Class Clarence Francis Gentilcore
Clarence Gentilcore graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #11 in December 1933 and was assigned to the American Legation in Peiping, China. He performed on assignment in radio intelligence before being sent back to general service communications duties in the USMC. During the war, he was brought back into cryptologic service, performing radio intercept on Kwajalein and other locations.
Gentilcore was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: En route Peiping
17 Jan 1935: Peiping
Pertinent data:
Born: 3 April 1910
Location: York, Pennsylvania
Died: 26 December 1998
Location:
Interment Location: Saint John’s Cemetery, Rome, New York
. 
Radioman Second Class Ralph Spiers “Hap” Horne
Ralph "Hap" Horne began his cryptologic service in Bar Harbor, Maine, where he was taught the basics of radio intercept. He furthered his radio intelligence skills by attending On-the-Roof Gang Class #11 in December 1933 and was assigned to Station CAST in the Philippines. After 1936, he was removed from radio intelligence duties for unknown reasons and later retired as a Chief Warrant Officer.
Hap Horne in Mariveles, Philippines, circa 1935
Horne was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
23 Feb 1932: Bar Harbor, Maine (prior to rooftop training)
03 Jan 1933: Bar Harbor, Maine (prior to rooftop training)
06 Jan 1934: En route CINC Asiatic
17 Jan 1935: Olongapo, P.I.
13 Jan 1936: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
Pertinent data:
Born: 27 May 1902
Location: Waterbury, Connecticut
Died: 19 May 1999
Location: Jacumba, California
Interment Location: Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California
Radioman Second Class William Kermit “Willie” Muse
Willie Muse graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #11 in December 1933 and was assigned to Station CAST in the Philippines. After 1936, he was removed from radio intelligence duties for unknown reasons.
Willie Muse in Mariveles, Philippines, circa 1935
Muse was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: En route CINC Asiatic
17 Jan 1935: Olongapo, P.I.
13 Jan 1936: Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.
Pertinent data:
Born: 15 June 1909
Location: Mount Airy, North Carolina
Died: 15 April 1986
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Interment Location: Forest Lawn Cemetery and Mausoleum, Richmond, Virginia
Private First Class Alvin Rainey
Alvin Rainey graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #11 in December 1933 and was assigned to the American Legation in Peiping, China. During his initial assignment, he died of pneumonia while on active duty.
Rainey was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: En route Peiping, China
17 Jan 1935: Peiping, China
Alvin Rainey’s obituary was published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb 22, 1935
Pertinent data:
Born: 1908
Location: Oklahoma
Died: 21 January 1935
Location: Peiping (Beijing), China
Internment Location: Red Oak Cemetery, Red Oak, Texas
Radioman Second Class Donald Douglas “Red” Ritchie
Red Ritchie graduated from On-the-Roof Gang Class #11 in December 1933 and was assigned to Station CAST in the Philippines. He served at stations in Maine; Philippines, Hawaii, Washington, DC, and Maryland; before retiring from the Navy in 1951 as a Lieutenant Commander.
Ritchie was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
23 Feb 1932: Bar Harbor, Maine (prior to rooftop training)
03 Jan 1933: Bar Harbor, Maine (prior to rooftop training)
06 Jan 1934: En route CinC Asiatic
17 Jan 1935: Olongapo, P.I.
13 Jan 1936: Cavite Naval Base, P.I.
06 Jan 1937: En route {expunged text}
12 Jan 1938: {expunged text}
09 Jan 1939: Navy Dept.
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept.
24 Feb 1941: Navy Dept.
You can read about Donald “Red” Ritchie in On-the-Roof Gang, Volume 1 – Prelude to War.
Red Ritchie’s obituary was published in the NCVA’s Cryptolog magazine, Volume 17, Summer 1996, page 22:
DONALD D. RITCHIE
Lieutenant Commander Donald Ritchie, U.S. Navy, Retired, NCVA, OTRG, FRUPAC (W3ESI), died on 30 May 1996. Born in South Dakota in 1907, he joined the Navy in 1927. Always having a keen interest in radio, he is remembered as an early pioneer in U.S. Navy communications. He was a member of “On-the-Roof” Class #11.
Entering the Navy as an Apprentice Seaman, he was promoted to Warrant Officer in 1942, and to Ensign in 1943. He served for 20 years in the Naval Security Group, at numerous stations, including: Bar Harbor (Otter Cliffs), Maine; Olongapo, Philippines; Mariveles, Philippines; Wahiawa, Hawaii; 3801 Nebraska Avenue, Washington, D.C.; Cavite; Cheltenham, Maryland; and the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. He retired from the Navy in 1951.
Lieutenant Commander Ritchie was preceded in death by his wife, Commander Thelma King Ritchie, U.S. Navy, retired. He is survived by three children, eleven grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.
Pertinent data:
Born: 6 March 1907
Location: Clark, South Dakota
Died: 30 May 1996
Location: Clark, South Dakota
Interment Location: Rose Hill Cemetery, Clark, South Dakota
Private First Class Charles S. “Shanghai” Southerland
Shanghai Southerland attended OTRG Class #11, leaving the class early, in September 1933 for assignment to the American Legation in Peiping, China. After a single tour as a USMC intercept operator in China, he shipped over to the US Navy in order to continue a career in radio intelligence. He participated in exploratory surveys of potential intercept sites in Alaska, which resulted in a recommendation to establish a site on the island of Adak. He completed his career in the Navy, retiring as a Chief Radioman.
Southerland was identified at the following locations on the OP-20-G Annual Reports of Radio Intelligence Personnel:
06 Jan 1934: Peiping, China
17 Jan 1935: Peiping, China
13 Jan 1936: Shanghai, China
06 Jan 1937: NTS Norfolk (shipping over to US Navy)
12 Jan 1938: Kanaga, Alaska
09 Jan 1939: 13th Naval District
14 Feb 1940: Navy Dept.
24 Feb 1941: 14th Naval District
Pertinent data:
Born: 22 June 1909
Died: 17 September 1974
Interment Location: Wilmington National Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina
