Virginia Dare Aderholdt
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Virginia Dare Aderholdt was an Arlington Hall cryptanalyst and Japanese translator, who decrypted the intercepted Japanese surrender message, August 14, 1945.


Early years

Virginia was the daughter of Oscar Wrey Aderholdt, a Lutheran clergyman, and Genolia Ethel Powlas. Aged 10, Virginia performed music for the wedding of her aunt. As a twelve-year-old student, Virginia took third place in a state spelling competition. Virginia graduated with honors from Wyandotte High School, studied at
Mitchell Community College Mitchell Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Statesville, North Carolina and a second campus in Mooresville, North Carolina. Mitchell provides classes all year round on both campuses with many degree choices. ...
in Statesville,
Lenoir–Rhyne University Lenoir–Rhyne University is a private Lutheran university in Hickory, North Carolina. Founded in 1891, the university is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Academics The university ...
in Hickory,
Bethany College (West Virginia) Bethany College is a private liberal arts college in Bethany, West Virginia. Founded in 1840 by Alexander Campbell of the Restoration Movement, who gained support by the Virginia legislature, Bethany College was the first institution of higher ...
, and
Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...
. Virginia also studied at the Biblical Seminary in New York and the Tokyo School of Japanese Language and Culture in Tokyo. She was a grade school teacher, and taught at the
Kansas State School for the Blind Kansas State School for the Blind (KSSB) is a fully accredited public high school located in Kansas City, Kansas, U.S., serving students in grades Pre-K through 12. The school was established in 1867. It is located on located in downtown Kansas ...
. She spent four years in Japan.


Cryptanalyst

During World War II, Aderholdt worked at
Arlington Hall Arlington Hall (also called Arlington Hall Station) is a historic building in Arlington, Virginia, originally a girls' school and later the headquarters of the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) cryptography effort during W ...
decrypting and translating Japanese messages, particularly those in an older diplomatic code, JAH. Because she was fluent in Japanese, she could decrypt and translate simultaneously. At noon, August 14, 1945, Arlington Hall received an intercept in JAH from Tokyo to the Japanese Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, announcing the Japanese surrender. Aderholdt decrypted and translated the message, which was sent in Japanese and English. The decrypt was telephoned to military intelligence, and at 7 p.m. that evening, President
Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
announced the surrender. The war was over.


Later years

Aderholdt was the only musical missionary sent to Japan by the
United Lutheran Church in America The United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) was established in 1918 in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation after negotiations among several American Lutheran national synods resulted in the merger of three German-l ...
. She worked for ten years in Japan as a musical training teacher at the Shokei College School for Girls at
Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...
, Japan. In November 1957 she delivered a talk on her work at United Lutheran Church, Langley Park, Maryland. She was married twice: first to Paul Wehrmeister McDole, a music teacher, and later to Aksel Christian Larsen, a Lutheran minister. She died of pancreatic cancer in 1997.


See also

* Code Girls


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aderholdt, Virginia 1910 births 1997 deaths American cryptographers Signals Intelligence Service cryptographers American Japanologists Bethany College (West Virginia) alumni Lenoir–Rhyne University alumni Women cryptographers