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Vic Smith Vic Smith is offline
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First recorded activity by BoatBanter: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,310
Default OT - Hanoi Hilton - POW Tap Codes

On Wed, 6 Feb 2008 15:18:08 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

On Feb 6, 6:14*pm, Tim wrote:
On Feb 6, 4:52*pm, wrote:





On Feb 6, 5:49*pm, Vic Smith wrote:


On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:07:33 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing


wrote:
On Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:46:46 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:


Heard a John *McCain stump speech today.
John talked about speaking in tap codes to fellow POWs about
a Republican Governor who was trying to get the guys released.
That governor was Ronald Reagan.
Anybody know how to spell Ronald Reagan in tap code?
Is that morse code?


It's a cipher code based on a two sided square. *We used to teach it
in the original SERE school which wasn't called SERE back then - way
back then - there. *:)


Found it. *Here's the article.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tap_Code

Thanks. *At first glance that looks clumsy, but then you realize how
it could help retain sanity, and I bet they got real fast with it too.


--Vic *- Hide quoted text -


- Show quoted text -


Wouldn't morse code have been easier? Seems so to me.- Hide quoted text -


- Show quoted text -


I imagine that the enemy could crack the Morse code, so an alternate
was vital.

Just an uneducated opinion.- Hide quoted text -

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It just hit me that a "cheat sheet" for tap would be easier to make
and you do not really have to "learn" tap, just look at a quick cheat
sheet in the dirt or whatever..


Morse requires length of signal - dots versus dashes. Can't do that
tapping a wall. I don't these guys were worried about secrecy, just
talking and keeping spirits up.

--Vic