Morse code - Survival War Stories!

Some of the most heroic events of World War II and Viet-nam include the use of Morse code

Admiral Jeremiah Denton
Return With Honor
Navy Destroyer Saved by Morse Code

Admiral Jerimiah Denton Denton's name first came to the attention of the American public in 1966, during a television interview arranged by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi. Prior to the interview, torture and threats of more torture were applied to intimidate him to "respond properly and politely. " His captors thought he was softened up sufficiently to give the North Vietnamese their propaganda line at the interview. During the interview, after the journalist's recitation of alleged U.S. "war atrocities," Denton was asked about his support of U.S. policy concerning the war. He replied: "I don't know what is happening now in Vietnam, because the only news sources I have are North Vietnamese, but whatever the position of my government is, I believe in it, I support it, and I will support it as long as I live." Throughout the interview, while responding to questions and feigning sensitivity to harsh lighting, Denton blinked his eyes in Morse Code, repeatedly spelling out a covert message: "T-O-R-T-U-R-E". The interview, which was broadcast on American television on May 17, 1966, was the first confirmation that American POWs in Vietnam were being tortured. Denton was released on February 12, 1973, when he again received international attention as the spokesman for the first group of POWs returning from Hanoi to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Denton was advised that as the senior POW onboard, he might be expected to say something on behalf of the group upon arrival. As he stepped from the plane, Denton turned to the microphones and said: "We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our Commander-in-Chief and to our nation for this day. God bless America."

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Return with Honor The masculine film, Return with Honor, received standing ovations at the Sundance Film Festival in January. It is now being released around the country. The documentary, a nonideological then-and-now account of American pilots shot down over North Vietnam and held as prisoners of war, got the same tearful, fervent response in other previews in Washington and Los Angeles. Tom Hanks saw an early video copy and agreed to "present" the film, whose message has a spiritual kinship to Saving Private Ryan: a reassertion of the virtues of bravery, fortitude and self-sacrifice. More than two dozen American airmen shot down over North Vietnam tell the stories of their captivity; interviewed in front of a black backdrop, they speak without a trace of swagger or even ego (unheard of in a gang of fighter pilots). The men are understated, even serene. Their stories of torture and endurance--one was imprisoned for 8 1/2 years--are intercut with newsreels and astonishing black-and-white propaganda footage that the Academy Award-winning husband-and-wife team of Freida Lee Mock and Terry Sanders found in Vietnamese archives in Hanoi. There in grainy black and white is the young John McCain, lieutenant commander, U.S.N., shot down in October 1967. In pain, he mutters to the camera that he loves his wife. McCain--now, of course, Republican Senator from Arizona and running for President--refused the early release that the North Vietnamese offered him (his father was commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific), an act of solidarity that earned him additional torture. We see Commander James Stockdale (who would retire as an admiral and run for Vice President in 1992 with Ross Perot) driven to such despondency in prison that he attempts suicide. Here is the Navy's Richard Stratton "playing the Manchurian candidate," he says, pretending to be brainwashed when paraded before propaganda cameras. Forced into the same mock show, Commander Jeremiah Denton blinks out T-O-R-T-U-R-E in Morse code with his eyelids. Lieut. Paul Galanti casually displays both middle fingers before the cameras (only to have the obscene gesture airbrushed out by LIFE magazine). Torture was regular and excruciating; the middle-aged former prisoners discuss it with the inspiring matter-of-factness of the unbroken. A favorite technique, "the Vietnamese rope trick," involved binding the arms behind the back and rotating them upward until the shoulders and elbows popped out of their sockets. What sustained the prisoners in the face of isolation and torture? They were all officers and aviators, highly trained and intelligent, the cream of the American military. In extremis, they survived on two codes--the tap code and the honor code. Nothing destroys like isolation. The men communicated--and sustained one another--by tapping through walls. The Hanoi Hilton, says ex-Air Force pilot Ron Bliss, "sounded like a den of runaway woodpeckers." The North Vietnamese never mastered the code, which laid out the alphabet on a simple 5-by-5 grid (omitting K, for which C was used). They tapped first the line, then the letter in that line. Thus the letter B would be tap...tap tap. The code flowed so fluently that the men told one another jokes; kicks on the wall meant a laugh. Every Sunday, at a coded signal, the men stood and recited the Lord's Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Resource

 

Navy Destroyer Saved by Morse Code Glenn Pladsen told his Morse code story on the website “Ham Radio Tips and Tales” in response to the FCC announcing that they would drop the requirement to learn Morse code when getting a HAM operator license. Glen joined the Navy as a Cryptologic Tech, Maintenance (CTM). Learning Morse code was part of his training. In 1973 he was assigned to the Navy destroyer USS William M Wood. His job was to maintain and repair equipment that had been installed on the destroyer so operators engaging in code breaking could analyze various radio transmissions.  During his tour the USS Wood participated in NATO exercises as the “bad guy.”  Their ship was supposed to tail the NATO force as an enemy ship would.  When the fleet sailed off, the USS Wood didn’t because of engine problems.  All communication was lost due to the failure of generators and they were stranded in shipping lanes. They had absolutely no power and no other ships nearby to help them or communicate with using normal communication methods. Some of the crew, using a big telescope that was on the bridge, noticed that there was a large freighter heading directly for them, but they had no way to communicate with it. Since the power was out there were no lights on the destroyer, the freighter would not see them.  As luck would have it, another ship patrolled the area. It was a Russian destroyer also shadowing the fleet.  It had been assigned to follow within radar distance of the other ships but then came back to investigate why the USS Wood had stayed behind.  Using battery powered flashing lanterns, the crew “talked” to the Russians using Morse code. The Russian destroyer diverted to the freighter then stayed until the USS Wood could get its engines going again.  Since Morse code is an international “language” it was possible for the USS Wood commander to “speak” to the Russian destroyer. Since the removal of the requirement to learn Morse code as a requisite to obtaining ham radio licenses, fewer people have taken the time to develop this very useful skill.  In an age of rapid communication and texting, who would consider learning it worth their time?  However, in emergency situations, this old-time technology still continues to play a meaningful part in survival and rescue.  A person living today might hope that he or she would never be confronted with an urgent situation where communication without advanced technology would be crucial. However, being prepared in advance will give the Morse code learner a great sense of security as well as grant him or her entry into a “new World” of truly international communication.

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