WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — A former resident of Washington Court House was a code-breaker during World War II. Cryptologists were recruited by the Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges to serve the war.

Ada A. Nestor was one such “Code Girl” who tested and was recruited to move to Washington D.C. to work in Arlington Hall near the Pentagon during the early days of the war.

Her son, Dr. John Nestor, of Washington Court House, gave a presentation to the Fayette County Genealogy Society Monday evening about his mother and her secret career.

Young women would train in a classroom, have to memorize materials because no notes, books or papers could be removed from the classroom. It was said during those times that execution was the penalty for leaking any information of any kind regarding their job.

The Purple Code is a code name for the crypts that were sent through a “Type B Cipher Machine,” an encryption machine used by Japan during the war from 1939 to 1945. Nestor said that if no one was at or using the machine, it had to be covered completely before anyone could walk away from it in the room.

More than 10,000 women learned the meticulous job of code-breaking and those efforts saved many lives during the war.

The book, “Code Girls,” by Liza Munday, is a story about the early code-breakers. Nestor read some excerpts from the book during his discussion. This vital story is of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishments of these women.

These women were part of the SIS-Signal Intelligence Service under the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Their motto was “no code is so difficult that it could not be broken.”

Ada Stemple met Edwin Nestor, then had to leave during those years in Washington D.C., but later married Edwin Nestor in 1944 and they had three children. After she left her code-breaking career, she joined the American Red Cross and the Nestors lived in West Virginia. They moved to Washington Court House and lived in an apartment at what is now the Fayette County Museum building, and Edwin took a job as a school teacher, later becoming school superintendent in Washington Court House.

Nestor said he found a certificate belonging to his mother after she died from the Military Intelligence Division, War Department, which he showed to the group during the presentation. It was in recognition of outstanding service to her country during World War II.

Nestor said of his mother, “She was a very smart woman, but he didn’t learn anything of her career until later in his life.” She kept her secrets very well guarded through her former training and sacrifice to her country.