What did the declassified documents reveal?

Cold Open. This is the declassified record titled “15 May Bob Passwords,” a memorandum dated thirty September, nineteen fifty‑nine. It details an arrangement of a password for a wartime meeting code‑named “BOB” in nineteen forty‑three, and it appears in the holdings of The Black Vault, a public archive of United States government documents. Provenance. The document was released to the public through The Black Vault’s digital archive, reference number not assigned, with the entry posted on the Internet Archive. The release date is not specified in the source metadata. The declassification authority is listed as the United States Government, and the record can be accessed at the canonical URL https://archive.org/download/15maybobpasswords/15maybobpasswordsdjvu.txt. The Document. Ref. No: M B M (or nine slash one slash nineteen fifty‑nine) apuabeaeaine: Issued: thirty slash nine slash nineteen fifty‑nine Copy No: & O w RE‑ISSUE ARRANGEMENT OF A PASSWORD FOR MEETING “B O B” (nineteen forty‑three) Fron: NEW YORK To: Me S O r Wa: sixty‑nine h, fifteen May forty‑three + w p o p “(2)” rere Time [ t m R ] forty‑four] forty‑six groups unrecevered | him. Liaison my be established with B O B by the Pollmang password: Our man: “I em Mr. (or Miss) M O S S.” Bow : “Joe (or Josephine) M O S S?” C x mim: “No, [ G s Edvard] (or Edna) [ six groups umreceverable].” [ twenty‑eight groups wrecoverable | a Comments: [ i ] B O B Presumably Robert C w e r H M E M A R E E. [ forty‑four] T Y R E: NEW WORK O I T r. Distribution. Context. The Black Vault’s archive entry describes the document as a “password arrangement for a wartime meeting, showing the cryptic communication methods used by operatives.” The entry notes that the material is part of a larger collection of intelligence communications from the late 1940s and early 1950s, and that it illustrates the procedural language of the era. Outro. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. For more declassified documents, visit storyflo.com and the URL https://archive.org/download/15maybobpasswords/15maybobpasswordsdjvu.txt.

Why was this case declassified?

This material was released by the National Security Agency (NSA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

15may Bob Passwords

◆ BLUF — The short version

Cold Open. This is the declassified record titled “15 May Bob Passwords,” a memorandum dated thirty September, nineteen fifty‑nine. It details an arrangement of a password for a wartime meeting code‑named “BOB” in nineteen forty‑three, and it appears in the holdings of The Black Vault, a public archive of United States government documents.

Agency: National Security Agency (NSA)
Date: JUL 18 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was 15may Bob Passwords about?: Cold Open. This is the declassified record titled “15 May Bob Passwords,” a memorandum dated thirty September, nineteen fifty‑nine. It details an arrangement of a password for a wartime meeting code‑named “BOB” in nineteen forty‑three, and it appears in the holdings of The Black Vault, a public archive of United States government documents.
Why was this case declassified?: This material was released by the National Security Agency (NSA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked in the case notes above so the citation chain is fully auditable.

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