Although women in the military were fewer in number, some played key rolls in service to their country. Dortha Lee Bishop (Manly) was one such woman. Born, 12 September 1917, and raised in Keyser, West Virginia, she worked in a factory after graduation and decided it wasn’t enough. She was the daughter of Frank and Grace (Penner) Bishop. Siblings were: LeRoy, Russell, James, Theda, Mary Jane, Betty Ann, Marie, and Mildred.
Dortha wanted to see what the Army and the world had to offer and enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) on 1 September 1943. Dortha was stationed in Chicago, then Missouri and eventually to Washington, D.C. She was assigned as a Cryptographer in the code room of the Signal Corps cryptographic section of the Pentagon. She encoded and decoded top secret, secret and confidential messages and maintained cryptographic files from 1943 to 1946.
Dortha coded messages in English. Those in German or other languages were sent to other departments. Messages were brought to the technician in several different ways, either through a teletype machine or handwritten or typewritten. “Sometimes they took a long time to decode and other times, they set in front of you and the message would be clear.” Her most interesting message was one she decoded from then General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The message said, “Send me 2 dozen golf balls.”
Dortha was a war bride as she met and married a fellow cryptographer, Ronald Manly. There were married in Washington 9 August 1946. They returned to Iowa where they made their home for 52 years. Dortha and Ron had one daughter, Rhonda. Rhonda is extremely proud of the part her parents took in World War II. [Link to Ronald Manly page]
Dortha received the American Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the WAAC Service Ribbon. Dortha was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary in Moville.
At the end of Memorial Drive in Arlington Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, are the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. The memorial features exhibits of Women in all branches of Military Service. Dortha’s name can be found in those records....a time of her life, which she was very proud of.
The Sioux City Journal, Sioux City, Iowa, featured Dortha’s story in Decoders played key WWII role. This appeared around Veteran’s Day, 2001, when Dortha was 84 years young.
Dortha passed away on 20 June 2002. She was a woman ahead of her time.
This was in Dot Bishop’s WWII memory files:
WVY V WVLX NR 1 WD FROM WVLX 291730Z
TO WVY GR 86 BTLL
THIS IS TTE FIRST MESSAGE IN HISTORY TO PASS
BETWEEN JAPAN AND THE UNTIED STATES OVER AN ARMY CIRCUIT PD IT IS THE FIRST DIRECT MESSAGE OF ANY KIND BETWEEN JAPAN AND THE UNTIED STATES SINCE THAT INFAMOUS DECEMBER DAY IN 1941 PD FROM THE UNITED STATES ARMY SIGNAL CORPS PERSONNEL OPERATING FROM SPECIAL FACILITIES ON A UNITED STATED NAVAL VESSEL IN THE WATERS OF TOKYO BAY COME FELICITATIONS TO OUR COMRADES IN ARMS CMA THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE SIGNAL CORPS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
1820ZV
Submitted by her daughter, Rhonda Manly Carnell.
