West Wind Clear: Cryptology and the Winds Message Controversy--A Documentary History

4.6. The Case of Captain Alwin Kramer's Changing Testimony

Here the actions of Captain Alwin Kramer need to be addressed. Kramer's role in the Winds controversy is difficult to assess. Some critics find his recanting of earlier support for Safford a dark indicator of a deep and sinister undercurrent to the entire Pearl Harbor controversy. When Kramer had testified before the Hewitt Inquiry (May – June 1945), he changed the testimony he had given previously to the Naval Court of Inquiry (July – October 1944). Some writers have suggested that Kramer's recanting may have resulted from pressure from the Navy's hierarchy bent on destroying Safford and discrediting his testimony.

Kramer's changing testimony went like this. On 24 July 1944, in front ...