[QCWA] Error in Journal

[Walter Maxwell]

Hello All,



     Just received my copy of the Fall 2005 Journal. Among other things, I found
the Barrows' article, "World War 2 Remembered" very interesting, as I was
involved in precisely the same activity they described concerning their late
father, W7BCT. However, there are some errors in the article that need to be
corrected to set the record straight.

     First, it is stated that he, W7BCT, transferred from the FCC to the Radio
Intelligence Division (RID) of the National Defense Agency, (NDA). This could
not be true, because the RID was a division of the FCC, not the NDA, whatever
that was, if it even existed. It is likely that W7BCT's sons misinterpreted his
notes, because the original FCC monitoring of radio intelligence was performed
by a new section of the FCC established in early 1940, the National Defense
Operations Section (NDO), and began monitoring operations September 3. The NDO
was later upgraded from a section to a division, becoming the FCC Radio
Intelligence Division. The FCC Field Division operated the original primary
monitoring stations, performing regulatory and enforcement duties, while the
personnel of the FCC RID monitored for intelligence transmissions, along side
the Field Division personnel at the primary monitoring stations. Additional RID
personnel operated at numerous secondary stations, as I'll explain later.

     I was part of the original FCC NDO Section personnel that became effective
on Sept 3, 1940, continuing with the RID until April 1944. During that entire
time there were three pay grades; Radio Operator, $1800 per annum; Assistant
Monitoring Officer, $2400; and Monitoring Officer, $3200. There were no other
pay grades during the duration. However, the article states that there was a pay
incentive for copying higher code speeds, earning $10 per month more for copying
35 wpm. In my nearly four years with the FCC, first as Radio Operator, and then
as Assistant Monitoring Officer, I never heard of such an incentive. I could
copy faster than 35 wpm, but my pay was exactly $1800 and then exactly $2400
until I left the Commission, not a penny more. I already had the ARRL Code
Certificate for 35 wpm.

     Perhaps a little history of the NDO and RID is in order. With the War
already raging in Europe in 1939, people at the State Department knew they were
missing vital war intelligence being exchanged by radio, especially that between
Germany and South America. They queried the FCC in early 1940 about monitoring
to intercept the information. At that time the Field Division personnel had
their hands full just monitoring domestic operations, and had no time for
intelligence monitoring. Congress was alerted to the need for additional
personnel and equipment for the FCC to monitor intelligence, and it approved
funds for establishing the NDO.  The late George E. Sterling (W1AE/W3DF) was
elevated from Ass't Chief Engineer, FCC, to Chief, NDO Section, and later to
Chief, RID. To obtain new personnel he instructed one of his assistants, the
late Harriette Koster, to search through the file cards containing the
information on licensed amateur and commercial operators. She selected more than
500 from the files, and over T.J. Slowie's signature, she sent telegrams to
those selected, offering them the positions described above. The entire new
personnel for the NDO Section, including myself, were obtained from response to
those telegrams. (Harrriette later became my wife, and mother of my four
children, all licensed hams, two, W2WM and WB4GNR, are Life Members of QCWA.)
The Congressional funding also supported building many new secondary monitoring
stations throughout the country, each equipped with Hallicrafters SX-28 and
SX-27 receivers and Adcock (sky-wave) direction finders. In addition, Hudson
automobiles equipped with the receivers and a loop direction finder were a part
of each secondary station, used for mobile close-in surveillance.

     Immediately following Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, the FCC mobilized a
group from both primary and secondary stations to go to the Hawaiian Islands to
set up eight new secondary monitoring stations, one each on Oahu, Molokai,
Kauai, Maui, and Lanai, and three on the big island of Hawaii. NDO Chief
Sterling accompanied the group, of which I was a member from the primary station
at Allegan Michigan. Extensive 24/7 mobile monitoring around the shoreline of
all the islands was pursued, with the intention of finding clandestine radio
operation between local Japanese loyal to Japan and Jap submarines cruising off
shore. No such operations were found to occur, and no Hawaiians of Japanese
descent were found to be disloyal to the U.S. During my stay on the Islands I
worked at stations on Oahu, Kauai, Molokai and Hawaii. With Adcock direction
finders at all eight secondary stations, plus the one at the primary station in
Honolulu, the FCC saved the lives of thousands of military personnel and more
than 600 military aircraft flying the Pacific between the Mainland and the
Islands during WW2, after becoming lost due to errors in navigation with limited
fuel supply. Details on how this task was performed is the subject of an
upcoming story.



Walter Maxwell, W2DU