World War II Honoree

Elsee 'Dee' Dutton Barrington

Hometown

Ponca City, Oklahoma

Honored By

Robert S. Cox

WORKED AS A CONTROL TOWER OPERATOR AT THE DARR BRITISH FLYING TRAINING SCHOOL #6 IN PONCA CITY IN 1942, DURING THE WAR. SHE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST FEMALE CONTROL TOWER OPERATORS IN THE UNITED STATES. IT WAS A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE ROYAL AIR FORCE (RAF) PILOTS IN TRAINING TO HEAR A FEMALE VOICE OVER THE RADIO. TO SHOW THEIR APPRECIATION, SOME WOULD 'BUZZ' THE CONTROL TOWER WHEN THEY KNEW SHE WAS ON DUTY, ALTHOUGH IT WAS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. SHE WAS RECRUITED, AND AFTER A BATTERY OF TESTS, WAS HIRED FOR A SECRETARIAL JOB WITH THE U.S. ARMY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. SHE INTERVIEWED FOR ANOTHER JOB IN HOPES OF SERVING OVERSEAS, WAS HIRED, AND BEGAN TRAINING IN CIPHERING AND CODING. SHE TRAVELED TO ENGLAND BY TROOP SHIP AND WORKED IN LONDON FOR SOME 5 YEARS AS A CRYPTOGRAPHER FOR THE OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICES (OSS), WHICH WOULD LATER BECOME THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (CIA). SHE WAS SWORN TO SECRECY, TOOK A LOYALTY OATH, AND WORKED IN A BUILDING ON GROSVENOR SQUARE, IN THE MAYFAIR DISTRICT OF LONDON, BEHIND HEAVY SECURITY, DECODING AND ENCODING MESSAGE TRAFFIC FROM FIELD AGENTS. WHILE THERE, SHE WAS UNDER THREAT FROM GERMAN 'BLITZ' ATTACKS BY V-1 BUZZ BOMBS. ONE OF HER MOST UNIQUE TASKS WAS TO TURN NEW PAPER MONEY FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES INTO OLD-LOOKING BILLS FOR USE BY THEIR FIELD OPERATIVES. SHE AND OTHERS WOULD MAKE IT A POINT TO WALK ON THE MONEY EACH DAY TO AGE IT. THEIR EFFORTS PAID OFF. SHE WAS ALSO TRAINED IN THE USE OF A WIDE VARIETY OF UNIQUE EXPLOSIVE DEVICES USED BY THEIR AGENTS, AND TRAINED IN TECHNIQUES TO KILL SOMEONE SILENTLY, INCLUDING IN THE USE OF POISONS. AS FATE WOULD HAVE IT, SHE MARRIED, AFTER THE WAR, ONE OF THE RAF PILOTS WHO SHE MET AND WHO WAS TRAINED IN PONCA CITY. TURNS OUT THAT HE WAS ONE OF THE ONES THAT 'BUZZED' HER TOWER.