May 12, 1900 Joseph J. Rochefort was born in Dayton, Ohio. His name may be unknown to most people, but his accomplishments and those of his team helped to seal the fate of the Japanese Empire in World War II. Rochefort was a U.S. Navy cryptanalyst and it was he and his team, stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, that broke the Japanese code and pinpointed the date and location of an anticipated Japanese attack, the attack on the atoll of Midway.

Many people have seen the film Midway with Charleton Heston and Henry Fonda, in that film Rochefort was portrayed by Hal Holbrook as a quirky officer, but someone who was totally dedicated to the task at hand. In reality he was a brilliant cryptanalyst who assembled a team of top people who broke the Japanese codes and saved countless American lives. Rochefort, one of America's unsung heroes, served in the Navy from 1918 through the Second World War and was even recalled during the Korean War, he was awarded Navy Distinguished Service Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, both posthumously. He passed away in California on July 20, 1976.