Virginia Dare Aderholdt was an
Arlington Hall cryptanalyst and Japanese translator. She decrypted the intercepted Japanese surrender message at the close of
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 ...
on August 14, 1945.
Early years
Virginia Aderholdt was the daughter of Oscar Wrey Aderholdt, a Lutheran clergyman, and Genolia Ethel Powlas.
As a twelve-year-old student, Aderholdt took third place in a state spelling competition.
Aderholdt graduated with honors from
Wyandotte High School in
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
. She later studied at
Mitchell Community College and
Lenoir–Rhyne University in
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, and
Bethany College in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
,
and
Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
. Aderholdt also studied at the Biblical Seminary in New York and the Tokyo School of Japanese Language and Culture in Tokyo.
A grade school teacher, Aderholdt taught at the
Kansas State School for the Blind. She spent four years in Japan.
Cryptanalyst
During World War II, Aderholdt worked at
Arlington Hall
Arlington Hall (also called Arlington Hall Station) is a historic building in Arlington, Virginia. Originally it was a girls' school and later the headquarters of the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) cryptography operations ...
decrypting and translating Japanese messages, particularly those in an older diplomatic code, JAH. Because she was fluent in Japanese, she could decrypt and translate simultaneously.
At noon, August 14, 1945, Arlington Hall received an intercept in JAH from Tokyo to the Japanese Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, announcing the Japanese surrender. Aderholdt decrypted and translated the message, which was sent in Japanese and English. The decrypt was telephoned to military intelligence, and at 7 p.m. that evening, President
Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
announced the surrender. The war was over.
Later years
Aderholdt was the only musical missionary sent to Japan by the
United Lutheran Church in America. She worked for ten years in Japan as a musical training teacher at the
Shokei College School for Girls at
Kumamoto
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2.
had a populat ...
, Japan.
In November 1957 she delivered a talk on her work at United Lutheran Church, Langley Park, Maryland.
[Evening Star Saturday, Nov 16, 1957 Washington (DC), Page: 7] She was married twice: first to Paul Wehrmeister McDole, a music teacher, and later to Aksel Christian Larsen, a Lutheran minister. She died of pancreatic cancer in 1997.
See also
*
Code Girls
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aderholdt, Virginia
1910 births
1997 deaths
American cryptographers
Signals Intelligence Service cryptographers
American Japanologists
Bethany College (West Virginia) alumni
Lenoir–Rhyne University alumni
American women cryptographers
20th-century cryptographers