Gurin - 2007 Cryptologic Hall of Honor Page Summary
Jack Gurin was inducted in to the NSA Cryptologic Hall of Honor in 2007. The text included here is from his Hall of Honor page on the NSA website. Mr. Gurin passed away in 2004. His obituary is included further below on this page.
Jacob “Jack” Gurin, a graduate of New York University, has been described as “… a moving force… always… where the action was.” Jack (or Jake) was a man of myriad dimensions and talents – a published translator of Tolstoy, a World War II Army captain who served as a Japanese translator and interpreter, and a Russian language analyst and speech researcher who became NSA’s Chief of Language Research. A visionary leader, Jack left NSA/CSS a rich and impressive legacy.
Gurin epitomized the 21st century term “change agent.” It was he who formed the Plain Language Exploitation Group in 1947 after target changes led to a loss of exploitable encrypted intercept. Gurin expanded his group, sometimes in nontraditional ways: breaking precedent in a segregated organization, he systematically hired and trained African-Americans in cryptology.
Jack Gurin also led the way in what are now known as the Less-Commonly-Taught Languages. He predicted, correctly, that the liberation of nations from colonial empires would result in many targets shifting to languages NSA was unprepared to handle. He conceptualized and then implemented a program to produce reference and training materials in these languages. His foresight helped prepare NSA/CSS for the challenges it faces today.
Convinced that American cryptologists would eventually be swamped by voice communications, Gurin drove technology solutions that were unheard of in his time. Years ahead of the curve, he pushed to digitize dictionaries so that language analysts could quickly conduct research, and sought to create voice recognition systems. While his vision outpaced some of the technological solutions available at the time, every one of his ideas is a reality today.
Jack Gurin retired from NSA in 1980 and passed away in 2004.
Obituary
On January 25, 2004, JACOB GURIN, 83 years old, died of congestive heart failure.
Jack was born in Vladivostok, Siberia on January 4, 1921. He served in World War II as an Army Captain, having functioned as an interpreter and translator of the Japanese language and had been awarded the Bronze Medal for his performance. At the war’s end he served as interpreter for General Eichelberger, Commanding General of the 8th Army.
After the war he entered the National Security Agency as a Russian linguist and served there until retirement in 1980.
He had been a musician all his life and while living in the Washington area functioned in classical, jazz and choral music and on various instruments. After retirement he immersed himself in the study of history, specializing in the 13th and 14th century periods in European and Asian history. He also worked for more than twenty years with recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union, helping them by explaining American customs and language. He also taught Spanish.
He was a member of the National Museum of Language and founder of the Phoenix Society. After moving to a retirement community in Naples, FL in 2002, he taught many of the residents Spanish.
As one of his acquaintances said, “Jack will be missed greatly by all who had the privilege of knowing him.” He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Audrey, three sons and six grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers donations to the Salvation Army are suggested. Arrangements for a future memorial service are pending.