Henry Philler, decoded top messages for White House

As a codebreaker assigned to the White House, Henry Philler sent the official telegram to Washington, D.C., announcing the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Warm Springs.

He also played late-night card games with President Harry Truman and was among the first to know of important events taking place during World War II — including, probably, that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, said his stepdaughter, Sally Mills Bowman of Atlanta.

“So much of what he did was classified, of course, and he was not a talkative man, anyway,” she said. “But he decoded all of the messages to and from the White House.”

Mr. Philler, 90, of Atlanta, died Tuesday at Hospice Atlanta. He had prostate cancer and other ailments. The body was cremated. A memorial service will be 2 p.m. today at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. Cremation Society of the South is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Philler was an Atlanta native who graduated from Emory University. In 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. His first post was as a radio operator in Fairbanks, Alaska, where it was dark much of the time in winter and there wasn’t much for a young man to do, Mrs. Bowman said.

While in Alaska, he taught himself to use the Army’s coding machine. One day, he volunteered to send a message for an officer; from that day on, he was considered a cryptographer or decoder.

Through a series of lucky breaks, he ended up assigned to the White House, according to a written account by his nephew, Mills Kelly, an associate professor of history at George Mason University.

Mr. Philler traveled with the president and was in Warm Springs in April 1945 when FDR died.

The telegram to Washington announcing the death was the only message that he, as an enlisted man, wrote himself, according to Mr. Kelly’s account. His commanding officer was too upset about FDR’s death to compose the message.

While working for President Truman, Mr. Philler sometimes manned the White House switchboard at night. Since there was little to do that late, the switchboard operators would play cards. President Truman had trouble sleeping and often would come down and play with them.

After leaving the service, Mr. Philler worked as a technical editor in the aerospace industry and for Georgia State University, where he retired in 1983.

He also was a birder who often practiced bird whistles, Mrs. Bowman said. “He whistled all the time, not always in tune,” she said.

He edited the newsletter for Central Presbyterian Church and had served as an elder. He was sensitive to the concerns of disabled persons after serving with President Roosevelt, who used a wheelchair, and was involved in a project to improve accessibility at his church, his stepdaughter said.

Other survivors are his wife, Betty Philler of Atlanta; son, David Philler of Brunswick; stepchildren Chriss Mills and Kelly Mills, both of Atlanta, and Patrick Mills of Champaign, Ill.; six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.