Desch lived in Bletchley Park with other codebreakers during World War II. The project he was to work on during the war would be the biggest project ofhis life, draining both his physical and emotional strength. He would suffer severe emotional breakdowns after he finished, and have nightmares about the war beginning again.
Desch worked day and night, almost nonstop, on the new machine that would decipher the German code. After al of his work, he developed the Bomba, a machine that could deode the German Enigma
After all of his work, the American Navy turned his machine down, saying that it could not decipher quicly enough for their needs. Their request was for Desch to build a new machine -- one that had the capabilities of a modern computer!
Years later, Joe desch recieved the congressional Metal of Merit for his work. This is the highest award given to civilians for service to the country.
For a news article about desch, click HERE.
