by Patrick J. Buchanan- August 26, 2002

He died at 89, unknown to most Americans. Yet, he was an authentic hero to whom all Americans owe a debt – for our freedom and victory in the Cold War.

Meredith Knox Gardner was the greatest code-breaker of his age, a bird of paradise. A graduate of the University of Texas, he earned a master’s in languages from Wisconsin and became fluent in Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, Lithuanian, Sanskrit, Old High German, Middle High German and old church Slavonic.