Honoring Service in Silence: The NCVA Captain Laurance Safford Scholarship Program
Each year, the U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association (NCVA) awards the Captain Laurance Safford Scholarship to support the next generation of scholars while preserving the legacy of America’s naval cryptologic community. Named for the “Father of Naval Cryptology,” the program reflects the values Safford championed — intellectual rigor, quiet professionalism, and unwavering devotion to duty.
In 2026, this scholarship carries a deeper resonance. The U.S. NCVA has dedicated the program to the Navy and Marine Corps cryptologists memorialized on the National Security Agency’s “They Served in Silence”wall. Their names, etched in stone, represent men and women who operated in the shadows, safeguarding the nation through missions that were rarely spoken of and often never fully understood outside the cryptologic world.
The dedication is both tribute and reminder. It honors those who paid the ultimate price while performing work that demanded secrecy, precision, and extraordinary personal commitment. Cryptologists have long served without fanfare — decoding adversary intentions, protecting U.S. communications, and enabling commanders to act with clarity in moments of crisis. Their sacrifices, often known only within secure spaces, shaped the course of history.
By linking the scholarship to these silent heroes, the U.S. NCVA reinforces the enduring values of the cryptologic profession: service without recognition, courage without applause, and loyalty without expectation of reward. The Captain Laurance Safford Scholarship Program stands as a living testament to that legacy — empowering future leaders while ensuring that those who served in silence are never forgotten.
Each year, the U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association awards three scholarships to three meritorious students in the amounts of $3000, $2500, and $2000. These scholarships are intended to recognize academic excellence, leadership, community service and a commitment to pursuing higher education in the fields of science, technology, engineering, math, linguistics, and cyber.
About Captain Safford
Captain Safford established the Naval cryptologic organization after World War I, and headed the effort more or less constantly until shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. His identification with the Naval cryptologic effort was so close that he was often referred to as the Friedman of the Navy.
Captain Safford was the first to begin organizing the worldwide Naval collection and direction finding effort, so that when the United States entered World War II it already had a system of intercept stations. The effort he headed broke Japanese naval codes, and began mechanizing its operations with IBM equipment.
Safford was directly involved with building cryptographic machines. He collaborated with the Army's Frank Rowlett in the invention of the SIGABA, the only cipher machine never broken by any country during World War II.
Laurance Safford was inducted into the NSA Cryptologic Hall of Honor in 1999.