This week I read a book about America's code-breakers
during WW II. Most people know about Alan Turing and the
heroes at Bletchley Park who broke the German "Enigma"
codes (referred to as "Ultra") in England during the war.
And many know that our State Department could read the
Japanese diplomatic codes ("Purple") even before Pearl
Harbor. But as far as I can tell, very few people know the
story of America's work on the Enigma codes.
Based in Dayton, Ohio and with the support of the old
National Cash Register company, a man named Joe Desch
assembled a team of engineers and mathematicians who
labored day and night to build crude mechanical "computers"
to break the German codes. (See Jim De Brosse and Colin
Burke: "The Secret in Building 26".)
It's an amazing story of hundreds of people laboring in
total secrecy to do vital work that dramatically shortened
the war. What they achieved is astonishing, and laid the
foundation for the computer you use every day. After the
war, Desch was honored with the highest medal America can
give a civilian, but the ceremony was held in secret and
even his daughter never knew what the medal in her father's
office signified or why he received it.
Desch was an extreme example of an everyday reality: Our
world is full of unsung heroes.
I've often noted that "we all stand on the shoulders of
those who went before us." We can read and write because
someone taught us. We drive cars we could never build on
our own. We take the internet and our phones for granted,
even though we have no clue how they work or who invented
them. We have ambitions, values, skills and abilities
because someone, somewhere, taught us. They loved us enough
to show us "how" and to release the potential they knew was
in us.
How often do we thank them? Or even think of them?
We are surrounded by heroes who will never receive medals
or awards, or even a thank-you card from the individuals
they touched in profound ways.
Most of the time, I work with talented, brilliant people
who are focused on doing and achieving and having "more."
We look to the future with great expectations. We are eager
to get there faster, easier and more dramatically. And that
is how it should be. The future is where we will spend the
rest of our lives and naturally we are curious to make the
most of it.
But this week, I urge you to look back and take a moment to
think about the heroes in your life. Who were the teachers
who made all the difference? Who gave you your first job,
or encouraged you in just the right way, at a critical
moment? Think of the parents, coaches, neighbors and even
the strangers who have been your role models. And, at the
very least, give a prayer of thanks for them. If
appropriate, perhaps call them up or send a note to let
them know that for you, at some point in your life, they
made all the difference.
Philip Humbert said, "For me, one of those people was Miss King. She's long-since
passed away. When I was a high school sophomore, she was
elderly, and pretty much hated and ridiculed by generations
of students. She was what we called an "old bitty" back
then. Every Friday, she made us write a 300 word essay on a
topic of our choice! Imagine the horror! She made us
diagram sentences, read poetry and Shakespeare. She
corrected spelling and punctuation. Of all the petty, mean-
spirited things to do to a bunch of know-it-all teenagers!
She taught us to write. She changed my life and opened
doors I've been exploring ever since. The skills she
painfully taught have made me money, brought me friends,
given me the chance for education beyond my dreams. She
changed my life and I never thanked her.
Our lives are surrounded by people like Miss King. They
sometimes annoy or frustrate us. They insist we can do
better when that's the last thing on our minds. They open
doors and change our lives. And we should find ways to
thank them".
I often wonder if I've passed on enough of what she did for
me. Have I encouraged or taught or supported anyone the way
she did me? I hope so.
This week, I encourage you to focus on the unsung heroes in
your life. Thank them. And, consider the people and the
ways you can "pay it forward" by helping someone else. Very
few of us will have the impact or make a difference the
size of Joe Desch, but in our own ways and in our own
corner of this world, we have a role to play. Pass it on.
during WW II. Most people know about Alan Turing and the
heroes at Bletchley Park who broke the German "Enigma"
codes (referred to as "Ultra") in England during the war.
And many know that our State Department could read the
Japanese diplomatic codes ("Purple") even before Pearl
Harbor. But as far as I can tell, very few people know the
story of America's work on the Enigma codes.
Based in Dayton, Ohio and with the support of the old
National Cash Register company, a man named Joe Desch
assembled a team of engineers and mathematicians who
labored day and night to build crude mechanical "computers"
to break the German codes. (See Jim De Brosse and Colin
Burke: "The Secret in Building 26".)
It's an amazing story of hundreds of people laboring in
total secrecy to do vital work that dramatically shortened
the war. What they achieved is astonishing, and laid the
foundation for the computer you use every day. After the
war, Desch was honored with the highest medal America can
give a civilian, but the ceremony was held in secret and
even his daughter never knew what the medal in her father's
office signified or why he received it.
Desch was an extreme example of an everyday reality: Our
world is full of unsung heroes.
I've often noted that "we all stand on the shoulders of
those who went before us." We can read and write because
someone taught us. We drive cars we could never build on
our own. We take the internet and our phones for granted,
even though we have no clue how they work or who invented
them. We have ambitions, values, skills and abilities
because someone, somewhere, taught us. They loved us enough
to show us "how" and to release the potential they knew was
in us.
How often do we thank them? Or even think of them?
We are surrounded by heroes who will never receive medals
or awards, or even a thank-you card from the individuals
they touched in profound ways.
Most of the time, I work with talented, brilliant people
who are focused on doing and achieving and having "more."
We look to the future with great expectations. We are eager
to get there faster, easier and more dramatically. And that
is how it should be. The future is where we will spend the
rest of our lives and naturally we are curious to make the
most of it.
But this week, I urge you to look back and take a moment to
think about the heroes in your life. Who were the teachers
who made all the difference? Who gave you your first job,
or encouraged you in just the right way, at a critical
moment? Think of the parents, coaches, neighbors and even
the strangers who have been your role models. And, at the
very least, give a prayer of thanks for them. If
appropriate, perhaps call them up or send a note to let
them know that for you, at some point in your life, they
made all the difference.
Philip Humbert said, "For me, one of those people was Miss King. She's long-since
passed away. When I was a high school sophomore, she was
elderly, and pretty much hated and ridiculed by generations
of students. She was what we called an "old bitty" back
then. Every Friday, she made us write a 300 word essay on a
topic of our choice! Imagine the horror! She made us
diagram sentences, read poetry and Shakespeare. She
corrected spelling and punctuation. Of all the petty, mean-
spirited things to do to a bunch of know-it-all teenagers!
She taught us to write. She changed my life and opened
doors I've been exploring ever since. The skills she
painfully taught have made me money, brought me friends,
given me the chance for education beyond my dreams. She
changed my life and I never thanked her.
Our lives are surrounded by people like Miss King. They
sometimes annoy or frustrate us. They insist we can do
better when that's the last thing on our minds. They open
doors and change our lives. And we should find ways to
thank them".
I often wonder if I've passed on enough of what she did for
me. Have I encouraged or taught or supported anyone the way
she did me? I hope so.
This week, I encourage you to focus on the unsung heroes in
your life. Thank them. And, consider the people and the
ways you can "pay it forward" by helping someone else. Very
few of us will have the impact or make a difference the
size of Joe Desch, but in our own ways and in our own
corner of this world, we have a role to play. Pass it on.
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