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During World War II, the Allied forces routinely intercepted German messages transmitted by radio. Decoding these secret military and diplomatic missives became the bedrock of the ULTRA intelligence network. In late 1943, future Associate Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. was recruited from the 319th Bombardment Group as an intelligence officer for ULTRA. Trained at Bletchley Park, the secret codebreaking compound, Powell recalled that he “was an authentic expert on the German Air Force” by the end of his time there. His role was to brief top officials on the uncovered intelligence, and by August 1944, he was the chief of operational intelligence of the U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe.