US Navy Waves
On 30 July 1942, the WAVES were established. The name was an acronym for "Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service" (as well as an allusion to ocean waves). Their official name became the U.S. Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), but the nickname "WAVES" stuck. The word "emergency" in WAVES implied that the acceptance of women was due to the unusual circumstances of World War II, and at the end of the war the women would not be allowed to continue in Navy careers, but it or its successors continued for decades afterwards. On 12 June 1948, women gained permanent status in the armed ...
Floyd L. Weakley
Mr. Floyd Weakley was a National Security Agency (NSA) trailblazer in cryptanalysis. He led an elite cryptanalytic team, and he developed a brilliant cryptanalytic test procedure that bears his name. He also played a key role in NSA’s recruitment of minorities into cryptologic careers. He was inducted into the NSA/CSS Cryptologic Hall of Honor in 2017.
Floyd reported to NSA in 1965 as a mathematician in a development program for new cryptanalysts. By the 1980s, he was leading a team of analysts in the study of a state-of-the-art cryptosystem used by several ...
Dr. Nancy K. Welker
Dr. Nancy K. Welker is a physicist and nationally recognized expert in superconducting electronics. She was a pioneer in technology development in Maryland and nationwide. During her 55-year distinguished career with the National Security Agency (NSA), she led groundbreaking research in superconducting materials and integrated circuit manufacturing, which made it possible to develop a new generation of faster and more powerful computers. Dr. Welker earned an A.B. in physics in 1963 from Mount Holyoke College, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from American University. ...
Command Sergeant Major Odell Williams, USA
Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Odell Williams was a superb Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) whose impact extended far beyond those he supervised. Flag-rank officers referred to him as an "extraordinary soldier" and "charismatic leader." As one senior officer put it: "We learned lessons of character, selfless service and leadership from him." When he was the Director of NSA, Lieutenant General William Odom chose CSM Williams to be his Senior Enlisted Advisor and later commented that his counsel "was of greater value to me than I can possibly explain in words."
CSM ...
Eunice Russell Willson Rice
Eunice Russell Willson Rice was a pioneering US Navy cryptologist who successfully broke Italian and Japanese codes during WWII. She joined the Office of Naval Intelligence as a language analyst in 1935 and transferred to OP-20-G—the Office of Naval Communication’s Code and Cipher Section—as a civilian cryptanalyst in 1939. During WWII, Rice led the team working Italian ciphers and codes, then learned enough Japanese on her own to lead the team charged with recovery and analysis of the vital Japanese Water Transport code.
Degrading the Japanese Merchant Marine ...
Milton S. Zaslow
Mr. Milton Zaslow was inducted in the NSA/CSS Cryptologic Hall of Honor in 2007. His Hall of Honor page information is included later on this page (see below). Milt passed away on July 15, 2008.
Special NCF-sponsored Maryland History Day Awards for Junior and Senior High students were established in memory of Mr. Zaslow. Learn about the Milton Zaslow Award for ...