"There's no way to describe a thousand airplanes in the air at one time." (Interview)

Glenn B. Webber

Glenn Weber, November 1942 [detail] War: World War II, 1939-1946 Branch: Air Force Unit: 8th Bomber Command, 9th Bomber Command Service Location: Camp Atterbury, Indiana; Miami, Florida; Madison, Wisconsin (radio school); Scotland; Cheedle, England; Central Europe; Rhineland Rank: Sergeant Place of Birth: Vincennes, IN

The duties of a humble radio operator took on great significance when Glenn Webber became one of the first Americans to train in intercepting German transmissions. Working with British intelligence, Webber was able to recognize and pick up coded Luftwaffe messages regarding planned air strikes on Britain, blunting the advantage that the Germans had enjoyed in the air from the beginning of the war. He landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day Plus 11 and continued to monitor enemy transmissions, spending nine months in Paris after it was liberated.