Talk:Rufus S. Bratton

Old discussion
"as it comes out of the description machine, codenamed "Purple."

Is "decryption machine" intended? It seems to be implied that there is a conflict between a transcript being called "Magic" and the machine "Purple". "Magic" applied to all crypto intel. "Purple" was a specific cypher.

Henry H. Henry H. 21:38, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

THe story jumps from Bratton allegedly trying to contact Marshall to Bendetson coming back from Hawaii, and Bendesons messages from Short & Kimmell sound like CA or "covering ass" messages, blaming anyone in Washington for not being on alert! Claussen says that the stages of alert were 1,2,3 not Red, Yellow etc. Hugo999 20:06, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

I removed the following -- Bendetsen said "I reported to Colonel Smith that I had been requested by General Short to convey a personal and important message to the Chief of Staff as soon as possible. He said, 'The Chief will want to see you, and he will soon be here, so instead of briefing yourself to me, you look a little tired, why don’t you go home, kiss your wife, freshen up and return here promptly. I will order a staff car for you to save time. The Chief left here about 8:30 for some exercise. He will have some incoming and outgoing messages to attend to; so be here by 10 a.m.'". --->Removed because review of the source interview shows that this passage really had nothing to do with Col Rufus Bratton. The passage does support the timeline given by Bratton and others who testified before Congress after the war however, so I think a link to Bendetsen's interview is warrented. The report of the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack is a much more useful reference for information about Col Bratton than the Bendetsen interview. I do think Karl R. Bendetsen, who played a key role in incarceration of Americans of Japanese descent on the west coast during WWII, was an interesting person who deserves his own Wikipedia entry. Perhaps someone will step up and do that.

Hugo999 -- I think your comment about Short and Kimmell is off the mark. Remember Bendetsen says he in Washington with the purpose of delivering a message about preparedness from Short to Marshall, and that this message had been written several days BEFORE the attack. Now would Bendetsen be trying to cover for Short and Kimmell years later. I doubt it, because I don't see what his motive would be. Also remember that Short and Kimmell were posthumously exonerated by Congress in 1999. It's far more likely that others saw Short and Kimmel as convenient cover for themselves. The fact that there was no due process in their punishment (relieved of command and reduced in rank without a formal Court Martial) shores up that argument. Also consider that Claussen has his own critics who say he had a vested interest in protecting his boss --> FDR.

Changed middle inital in the body of the article from Rufus G. Bratton to Rufus S. Bratton. It appears that the Internet Movie Database for Tora Tora Tora, has this wrong, and it has been copied elsewhere. The actual movie cast credit doesn't show a middle intial -- only Col Rufus Bratton. Plamoa 09:54, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Re the anonymous comment two above, Henry Clausen's boss (who he admired) was Stimson not FDR. And - see the new article on him - Karl R. Bendetsen's story is dubious anyway!! Hugo999 (talk) 03:20, 3 February 2008 (UTC)