The Hidden Female Codebreakers of World War II
The world was at war in 1941. Men were heading overseas, and the United States desperately needed to turn the tide in the Pacific against the formidable Japanese Navy.
So the Army and Navy sent letters to top women’s colleges, and dispatched handsome young soldiers across the country to find single women willing to learn new skills and move to Washington, D.C. The ones who accepted — and passed the training — became codebreakers.
Author and journalist Liza Mundy was floored to learn that 11,000 women made up more than 70 percent of the domestic codebreakers during the war, but because their work was top secret, she could barely find mention of their contributions.
Mundy wanted to recognize their work, so she decided to write a book. It’s called “Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II," and it comes out today. Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear the full discussion with Munday about the women codebreakers.
