Frances Suddeth Josephson
Frances Suddeth Josephson never told anyone she was a World World II code breaker from 1942-1945. Not even Jed Suddeth, her son. She had been told that if she revealed her secret to anyone, she would be shot. She took that command seriously. Eventually, the world found out, but not through Josephson breaking the silence.
Captain James Kenney of the Military Order of the World Wars helped to break that silence when he unsuccessfully tried to gain recognition for the code breakers. Kenney said of her “She was my hero.” He said that she had told him that her team had broken the Japanese code so that our forces knew where to find the plane carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, and then shoot him down. He had planned the Pearl Harbor attack – and his death had huge symbolic significance to our troops.
Ultimately, Josephson went on to live a more conventional life as a wife, mother, and artist. However, her early years as a code breaker did, as Kenny said, change her life forever.
We honor her now by dedicating our own Liberty Gardens to Frances Suddeth Josephson.
"What's the code?" powerpoint
(50 megs in size, please be patient with download
suggest saving to your computer and play from there)
Small School
Small Classes
Big Results
