Cracking enemy codes was Cape man's mission

~ Clarence Schade, 90, recalls working in secret during World War II.

Like millions of others, Clarence Schade describes himself as an ordinary soldier drafted into the Army during World War II.

But Schade wasn't an ordinary soldier. Extraordinary seems to be more of an appropriate term.

The 90-year-old Cape Girardeau resident spent the majority of his two-and-a-half-year military career as a cryptologist, studying secret German codes and creating devices to decipher them.

When the war ended, Schade said he was ordered not to speak of his experiences for 25 years.

"We were told most of it would fade from our memory, and a lot of it has," Schade said. "My wife and boys would ask me about it, but I told them I didn't want to talk about it."

Fifty years after he returned home from the war, in 1991, Schade was able to recall a majority of his memories and published a book, "A Signal Victory."

"I didn't keep a scrap of paper about any of this during the time I was gone," he said.

When he was deployed on Jan. 20, 1942, Schade reported to Jefferson Barracks, a gathering point for troops during World War II in St. Louis.

Gradually a group of 40 soldiers, including Schade, were placed into a cryptology school.

"I don't know really how I was picked," Schade said. "I did find it very interesting and I guess I was good at it."

An excerpt from the book, "Secrets of the New Cryptology" by Dr. David Kahn of Oxford University in London, England, said "all American recruits were given an IQ test; those who scored the highest were proposed for cryptologic work."

One of the greatest moments of Schade's military career was when he was ordered to attend the Code and Cypher School at Oxford University.

"Everything about cryptology was strictly hush-hush," Schade said. "We were checked out by Army security and the FBI before we were enrolled in the cryptographic classes. We were sworn to the strictest secrecy on everything about our training and work in this area."

Schade said the cryptologists were even threatened with severe punishment, including death, if they violated any of the rules.

"I'm not one to brag, but I was probably one of the only non-college graduates in this group of cryptoglogists," Schade said. "We worked at developing and deciphering codes."

During his time serving in the Army, Schade said he was able to experience many memorable events while stationed at various locations throughout Europe.

His most exciting times during his service was when he was stationed in London.

"I'd sneak off at night and walk the streets of London," Schade said. "During those times, London and New York were the two biggest cities in the world. London was an amazing city."

Although Schade is modest about his service to the country during World War II, his 94-page book recounts many stories and events that took place, which he was able to recall from memory after 50 years.

"I was neither the greatest nor the worst individual among these millions," Schade said in his book. "I did serve honorably and well. I was a great observer of the world scene, and I trust that my reminiscences and observations will prove entertaining."

When Schade returned from the Army, he and his brother, Arthur Schade, opened up a men's clothing stores in Jackson and Cape Girardeau.

Currently Schade resides in the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau, where he has donated a copy of his book. He also wrote and copyrighted another book, "The Life and Times of Clarence C. Schade."

jfreeze@semissourian.com

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