Women Cryptologists of World War II Forever Stamp 2022
Honoring Women Cryptologists of World War II
This stamp pays tribute to the women cryptologists who played a crucial role in securing Allied victory during World War II. It includes a hidden message that can be decoded using the cipher provided on the reverse side of the pane of 20 stamps.
Purpose of the Stamp:
The stamp was issued to commemorate the women cryptologists who cracked the Japanese ??Purple?? code during World War II. Their efforts were instrumental in altering the course of the conflict.
Stamp Design:
The design features a World War II-era WAVES recruitment poster, overlaid with characters from the ??Purple?? code and random letters. The reverse side of the stamp pane provides the cipher needed to decode the hidden message on the front.
First Day of Issue Ceremony:
The ceremony took place at the National Cryptologic Museum in Annapolis Junction, Maryland.
Historical Significance:
During World War II, both Allied and Axis powers relied on radio messages for communication, which were easily intercepted. To protect sensitive information, complex cryptographic codes were used. Large teams, including many women, were tasked with breaking these codes to gather secret intelligence.
One of the most notorious codes was created by Japan's Type B Cipher Machine, known as ??Purple?? by the United States. The US Army Signals Intelligence Service (SIS) was responsible for breaking this code, a task that involved thousands of women, including a key figure named Genevieve Grotjan. After 18 months of effort with little progress, Grotjan made a breakthrough in September 1940 by identifying patterns in Japanese coded messages that others had missed.
Building on Grotjan??s findings, other cryptologists made further advances, allowing the US to decode ??Purple?? and read Japanese diplomatic communications. This gave the Allies a significant tactical advantage. The contributions of these women cryptologists were vital to the Allied success in World War II, highlighting their indispensable role in the war effort.
