John "Jack" Roland Redman (January 31, 1898 – May 29, 1970) was an admiral in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. A naval communications officer, he played key roles in signals intelligence during World War II in Washington, D.C., and on the staff of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. He also competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics.

Biography

A native of Reno, Nevada, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy in June 1918 with the class of 1919. He was a member of the United States Olympic Team, participating as a wrestler in the 1920 games. He was the brother of

Joseph Redman Joseph Reasor Redman (April 17, 1891September 7, 1968) was an admiral in the United States Navy. A naval communications officer, he played key roles in signals intelligence during World War II, while he served as Director of Naval Communications. ...

, also a naval communications officer. He reached the active rank of Rear Admiral in March 1944. In February 1942, with the reorganization and centralization in Washington of U.S. Navy signals intelligence, he was put in charge of

OP-20-G OP-20-G or "Office of Chief Of Naval Operations (OPNAV), 20th Division of the Office of Naval Communications, G Section / Communications Security", was the U.S. Navy's signals intelligence and cryptanalysis group during World War II. Its mission ...

, the section of naval communications responsible for cryptanalysis. John Redman served as the Communications Officer on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, United States Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz, from October 1942 to March 1945. Under his tenure his actions were criticised. Redman rejected Captain

Joseph Rochefort Joseph John Rochefort (May 12, 1900 – July 20, 1976) was an American naval officer and cryptanalyst. He was a major figure in the United States Navy's cryptographic and intelligence operations from 1925 to 1946, particularly in the Battle of M ...

's accurate analysis of the intercepted Japanese messages that ultimately led to the successful

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under ...

, and he subsequently played a role in Rochefort's ejection from cryptanalysis in the months that followed. His organisation's intentional withholding of intercepts and tips from the British, Indian and New Zealand allies and the US Army, who were also working on the decryption of other Japanese codebooks, was considered to have collectively held them all back. Information was only shared between organizations after the intervention of his brother Admiral Joe Redman in September 1943. On May 2, 1945, he assumed command of the battleship , which he held through the end of the war. From August 1949 to September 1951, he was the

Director of Naval Communications {{Refimprove, date=March 2017 Director of Naval Communications was a post on the staff of the United States Navy's Chief of Naval Operations responsible for organizing, administering and operating the Naval Communications Service. In Navy parlance ...

in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy. Subsequently, he served as Director of Communications-Electronics for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C. His final tour was as Commandant, Twelfth Naval District, from 1954 to 1957.Twelfth Naval District--List of Commanding Officers, Naval History and Heritage Command, He retired from the Navy on October 1, 1957, with the rank of Vice Admiral. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Redman, John R. 1898 births 1970 deaths American male sport wrestlers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Olympic wrestlers for the United States Recipients of the Legion of Merit Sportspeople from Reno, Nevada United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy admirals United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy World War II admirals Wrestlers at the 1920 Summer Olympics