Grandpas WWII Beach Battalion Coded Radio Message - Op Dragoon

[stealthytyler]

If I am not mistaken, I have seen them referred to as NGLOs (Naval Gunfire Liaison Officers). I will try to chase down a reference for my memory. Great items though!

 

Kyle

 

I don't think anyone in the beach battalion had that title, thought, they did provide gunfire support when needed.

[stealthytyler]

The 5 letter groups sure look like the way the messages were used with an M209 Converter. But you'd have to know what settings on the machine to decode it.

 

Sources say that two identical letters were used at the beginning of the message in the first letter group to identify the machine as the M209. My message does not have this.... BUT, the last letter group starts with "WW". Could it be possible that this identifies the machine as a M209?

[GIKyle]

 

I don't think anyone in the beach battalion had that title, thought, they did provide gunfire support when needed.

 

Thanks - I *think* my acronym was a reference to the Navy guys with the Paratroops.

 

Kyle

[Bob Hudson]

history.net outlines missions of a beach bn. including fire control.

 

D-day would prove a stern test not only for the GIs but also for the men of the U.S. Navy’s 4th Beach Battalion who landed with them. The sailors had received an assignment critical to the success of Avalanche. Their battalion was to serve as the link between the troops ashore and the ships offshore. Operation Avalanche required them to mark and clear sites to land craft and control beach traffic; unload equipment, supplies and reinforcements; evacuate casualties; salvage and repair boats and equipment; and set up fire control and ship-to-shore communications.

 

There were NGLO's too, operating pretty on their own - Naval gunfire liaison officers, Ensigns and Lts. embedded with the Army and trained on Navy guns and Army artillery.

[stealthytyler]

Is there anyone out there that can crack this message? There must be experts out there that do this stuff...

[Survival]

Well here is my opinion for what its worth. I think you need to step back and do some back ground research first. Find out the chain of command he worked under. Where would the radio messages he sent out go to and or come from. I am not a crypto guy but I know that the five letter code system could also be a one time pad where you are issued a translation sheet either for that day or that single message. I have seen a translation sheet that was used in Iwo Jima for beach to ship contact. Maybe somewhere in the national archives there would be a translation or key list that could be used to crack the code. Could just be an order for more K rations. PBS used to have a series where people would send in historical questions like you have and they would research it and put you on TV. Maybe called History Detectives. Check into that. They would probably eat that up.

[RustyCanteen]

PBS used to have a series where people would send in historical questions like you have and they would research it and put you on TV. Maybe called History Detectives. Check into that. They would probably eat that up.

 

 

I believe that show ended its run on PBS at the end of the 2014 season. So I don't know that they take any requests anymore.

 

RC

[stealthytyler]

Well here is my opinion for what its worth. I think you need to step back and do some back ground research first. Find out the chain of command he worked under. Where would the radio messages he sent out go to and or come from. I am not a crypto guy but I know that the five letter code system could also be a one time pad where you are issued a translation sheet either for that day or that single message. I have seen a translation sheet that was used in Iwo Jima for beach to ship contact. Maybe somewhere in the national archives there would be a translation or key list that could be used to crack the code. Could just be an order for more K rations. PBS used to have a series where people would send in historical questions like you have and they would research it and put you on TV. Maybe called History Detectives. Check into that. They would probably eat that up.

 

He was in Platoon C-9 of the 4th Naval Beach Battalion. They landed just north of Sainte-Maxime on Aug 15, 1944. They setup a TBX radio position just north of the beach (I have photos). They used Morse Code. Once they left the beach, they headed to the town of Sainte-Maxime to set up a BC620 radio station in a building on the beach (I have photos). I would guess that this code was written sometime during the first day or second day when they could transmit via morse code. Once all was calm, they switched to the BC620 radio using voice via handsets. They would stay in contact with ships off their coast. That is pretty much all I know.

[doyler]

Send it to Pawn Star Ricky...He has all these "friends" that just stroll into the shop and can help.Could be fun

[Survival]

Rusty Canteen you are correct. That series was cancelled. To bad, this might have been a good shot for an episode.

[SFCUSARET]

If it is a one time pad, it is unbreakable. If it is a M209 it can be broke by an expert. The M209 has so many settings that just by runing it through a M209 will not produce results without the correct setting.

 

5 Letter code groups are the norm because they are easy to read and remember when writing. The De-Coded message is not in 5 Letter code groups. Normally a Z will be a space between the words.

 

I can not image they had time on Omaha beach to code a message to send to the ships during the initial invasion. Everything I have seen of the film footage shows everyone shooting everything they have at each other.

 

I suspect the message was a little later when things calmed down a bit. (Just my opinion)

[stealthytyler]

If it is a one time pad, it is unbreakable. If it is a M209 it can be broke by an expert. The M209 has so many settings that just by runing it through a M209 will not produce results without the correct setting.

 

5 Letter code groups are the norm because they are easy to read and remember when writing. The De-Coded message is not in 5 Letter code groups. Normally a Z will be a space between the words.

 

I can not image they had time on Omaha beach to code a message to send to the ships during the initial invasion. Everything I have seen of the film footage shows everyone shooting everything they have at each other.

 

I suspect the message was a little later when things calmed down a bit. (Just my opinion)

 

He didn't land in Northern France during "D-Day". He landed during the Southern France invasion 2 months later. He landed a few hours after the first wave and there was very little enemy fire. They used keyed TBX radios for the first day or two then switched to a BC620 voice radio. I would guess this code was produced during the first few days.... no proof though. Where can I find an M209 expert?