Alva Bryan "Red" Lasswell (January 3, 1905 – October 28, 1988) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and

cryptanalyst Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic se ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1942, he contributed to the identification of

Midway Atoll Midway Atoll (colloquialism, colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an Insular area#Unorganized unincorporated territories, unorganized and unincorpo ...

as the Japanese military target codenamed AF. In April 1943, Lasswell helped decrypt the coded itinerary of Admiral

Isoroku Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II. He commanded the fleet from 1939 until his death in 1943, overseeing the start of the Pacific War in 1941 and J ...

, leading to his interception by

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

fighter planes near

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

Early life and education

Lasswell was born in

McLeansboro, Illinois McLeansboro () is a city and the county seat of Hamilton County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,675 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. McLeansboro is part of the Mount Vernon, Illinois micropolitan area. Geog ...

, but raised in

Piggott, Arkansas Piggott is a city in Clay County, Arkansas, United States. It is one of the two county seats of Clay County, along with Corning. It is the northern terminus of the Arkansas segment of the Crowley's Ridge Parkway, a National Scenic Byway. As of t ...

. He attended Piggott High School and

Rector High School Rector High School is a public high school in Rector, Arkansas, United States. It is one of three public high schools located in Clay County and serves the communities of Rector, Piggott, Greenway, Lafe, and Corning. It is the sole high sch ...

, but never graduated. He was homeschooled by his father Charles, a teacher, and showed an aptitude for mathematics. In 1921, Lasswell moved to Oklahoma and found work as an accountant.

Military career

Lasswell enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1925. Selected for officer candidate school, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on June 8, 1929. From 1932 to 1933, he served with the Marine detachment on . Promoted to first lieutenant in 1934, Lasswell joined the

5th Marine Regiment The 5th Marine Regiment (also referred to as "5th Marines") is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the most highly decorated regiment in the Marine Corps and falls ...

Quantico, Virginia Quantico (; formerly Potomac) is a town in southeastern Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 578 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., bound ...

, later that year. Assigned to teach FBI agents small arms marksmanship, he received a letter of commendation from Director

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...

. In 1935, Lasswell was sent to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

for three years of full immersion

Japanese language is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

and culture training. While there, he was promoted to captain in 1936. In September 1938, Lasswell was sent to

Station CAST Station CAST was the United States Navy signals monitoring and cryptographic intelligence fleet radio unit at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines, until Cavite was captured by the Japanese forces in 1942, during World War II. It was an important ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

to relieve Lieutenant Joseph Finnegan and receive cryptology training. This was followed by a military intelligence posting to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. Lasswell was reassigned to

Station HYPO Station HYPO, also known as Fleet Radio Unit Pacific (FRUPAC), was the United States Navy signals monitoring and cryptographic intelligence unit in Hawaii during World War II. It was one of two major Allied signals intelligence units, called Fl ...

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

in 1941. He was promoted to major on April 29, 1942. After the

Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battle ...

in May 1942, the team of intelligence officers at Station HYPO were hard at work trying to determine what the

Japanese Navy The , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...

would do next. Led by

Joseph Rochefort Joseph John Rochefort (May 12, 1900 – July 20, 1976) was an American naval officer and cryptanalyst. He was a major figure in the United States Navy's cryptographic and intelligence operations from 1925 to 1946, particularly in the Battle of M ...

, the team, which included Lasswell and Joseph Finnegan, established that a Japanese force of four aircraft carriers planned to strike Midway Island on June 4, 1942. As a result, Admiral

Chester Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; 24 February 1885 – 20 February 1966) was a Fleet admiral (United States), fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Co ...

was able to prepare an ambush using his three remaining aircraft carriers. Lasswell was promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 7, 1942. On April 14, 1943, a coded Japanese message was intercepted by American radio operators. After 18 hours of effort by the team at Station HYPO, it turned out to be the itinerary for a visit by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto to the Japanese front lines near Rabaul and the northern

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

. Lasswell and his supervisor Jasper Holmes delivered the translated message to the Pacific Fleet intelligence officer Edwin Layton, who in turn passed it on to Admiral Nimitz. Yamamoto was killed in an attack by planes from the U.S. Army Air Forces

339th Fighter Squadron 339th may refer to: * 339th Aviation Detachment, United States Army Aviation Branch * 339th Bombardment Group, unit of the New York Air National Guard *339th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *339th Fighter Group, unit of ...

on April 18, 1943. Lasswell was promoted to colonel on November 5, 1943. After the end of the war, Lasswell was awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

for his naval intelligence and

Marine Corps Intelligence Marine Corps Intelligence is the intelligence arm of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and an element of the United States Intelligence Community. The Director of Intelligence supervises the Intelligence Department of HQMC and is responsibl ...

contributions. In 1947, Lasswell briefly served as acting commander of the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...

. He later commanded the

7th Marine Regiment The 7th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. Nicknamed the "Magnificent Seventh", the regiment falls under the command of the 1st M ...

from October 1, 1947, to May 10, 1948. He retired from active duty in May 1956.

Personal

Lasswell was married to Elizabeth Louise "Betty" Pearce (August 10, 1916 – May 18, 2006). They were married on June 3, 1938, in Tokyo, where Betty's father was an expatriate American engineer working on electrification projects. Betty had been the top-seeded female

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player in Japan while studying at the American School. The couple had three wedding ceremonies in one day: a church service, a Japanese civil ceremony at the Akasaka Ward Office and an American civil ceremony officiated by U.S. Ambassador

Joseph Grew Joseph Clark Grew (May 27, 1880 – May 25, 1965) was an American career diplomat and Foreign Service officer. He is best known as the ambassador to Japan from 1932 to 1941 and as a high official in the State Department in Washington from 1944 to ...

. Their honeymoon trip to

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

doubled as an opportunity to map the location of Japanese military installations. The couple later had two sons and, as of 2006, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Legacy

Lasswell Hall at

Fort George G. Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, th ...

in Maryland, the headquarters of

Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command The U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command (abbreviated as MARFORCYBER) is a functional formation of the United States Marine Corps to protect critical infrastructure from cyberattack. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command is the Marine Corp ...

, was named in his honor. On November 4, 2019, Lasswell was inducted into the Cryptologic Hall of Honor at

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...

headquarters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lasswell, Alva Bryan 1905 births 1988 deaths People from McLeansboro, Illinois People from Piggott, Arkansas American cryptographers Intelligence analysts 20th-century cryptographers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps colonels People from Vista, California Deaths from cancer in California American accountants