Dayton Codebreakers:

The People in Building 26

ENGINEER EDWARD CAREY DIES -

He had more than 20 patents and helped decipher war codes

- September 28, 1999 -- Timothy R. Gaffney Dayton Daily News

OAKWOOD - Edward Joseph Carey of Oakwood, a patent-winning engineer who leveraged an eighth-grade education into a distinguished career at NCR Corp., died Sept. 19. He was 93.

Born in Mohawk, N.Y., in 1906, Mr. Carey later took night training classes at what was then the National Cash Register Co., became an engineer who received patents for commercial inventions and worked on some of the most important secret projects of World War II.

He was awarded more than 20 patents on mechanical systems for cash registers, adding machines and calculators, according to his son, James. He was honored by the U.S. Senate for his World War II role in developing the "Bombe" machine that enabled the Allied Forces to decipher German and Japanese codes, contributing to the saving of many lives and an earlier conclusion to the war.

He also received the Exceptional Service Award from the National Security Agency for his World War II contributions to the top secret Project Ultra. This award acknowledges the project's cryptographic accomplishments as the foundation that led to the establishment of the National Security Agency.

After completing eighth grade, Mr. Carey took a job as a messenger at a Remington Arms plant. He worked odd jobs there until 1922, when he began doing drafting and drawing work.

He moved to Dayton in 1932 after NCR acquired the Remington plant. He started with NCR as a draftsman but took in-service training and night courses "for years and years" to become a mechanical design engineer, James Carey said.

"He really believed in the free enterprise system," James Carey said.

Mr. Carey retired from NCR in 1968 after 46 years. He was a 52-year resident of Oakwood and is survived by his wife, Eloise, their five children; 24 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.