My mother (Louise Line Grout) and father (Milton Lory Grout) were married in September of 1941.  Just a little over a year later, on December 7, 1942 Pearl Harbor was bombed.  By March of that year my Dad had enlisted in the US Navy and applied for a commission.  The following is the story of some of the amazing experiences he had during the war.

At the time he enlisted in the Navy he was employed as the Purchasing Agent in the Financial Office at Mt Holyoke College.  Having completed an MBA at Harvard University he was will on his way to a career in College financial management.  The letter below sheds some light on how disconcerting the world was at that time, the losses involved, and why he enlisted in the Navy.  The letter is scanned from a carbon copy hence the blurriness.

Lieutenant Grout reported to his assigned duty in London, England on July 1, 1942.  He was there for two years until armistice.  Since he was working in a headquarters office and not on a base he was housed in a hotel in London. During a bombing raid one night Dad said the corner of the hotel was torn off which was right next to his room.  Here are a few photos of his room and location from my mother’s photo album at the time.

Prior to arriving in London Dad received training at the Naval Training School in Communications in Connecticut.  Just before he died (1985) he said he’d been reading the Winds of War and since so much classified information had been de-classified he felt he could reveal some of what he was doing in London.  

After 11 months of duty he was made Supervisor of a full watch consisting of 8 to 12 officers and 10 enlisted.  Ultimately he became one of 2 people on 24 hour watch to send and receive messages between President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.  At any hour of the day or night he would deliver messages to Churchill who most often was sitting up in his bed, as was known to be his practice at the time.  He would wait for Churchill’s reply and then return to headquarters to relay the message to the President.  On the day of the Normandy Invasion he and one other officer were the only low ranking officers in the war room.  

Over the years he had often mentioned going out to some place in the English countryside.  He sometimes talked about things he observed there like a goose hung in the barn as one does to process game.  Many years later I learned about Bletchley Park.  I can only think this was my father’s countryside destination.  Following are a few notes from online sources which lead me to this conclusion.

Bletchley Park was the top-secret British center for cryptanalysis during WWII, responsible for breaking German codes like Enigma and Tunny. Experts suggest its “Ultra intelligence” work shortened the war by up to two years. The intel gathered allowed the Allies to track enemy movements and was crucial for the success of D-Day. 

Thousands, mostly women, worked on intelligence that revealed German troop deployments and helped win the war. Situated 80 km northwest of London, it was the headquarters for the Government Code & Cypher School.  

After the Normandy Invasion in June Dad was transferred to the Western Sea Frontier Naval offices in San Francisco.  For another year, up until the end of the war in the Pacific, he continued to work in communications where he supervised 14 to 18 officers and 6 enlisted.  Following is his formal commendation from Admiral R.E, Ingersoll, as well as his hand written note, and recognition from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.