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nEvernsince the U.S. declared itself an independent nation, NativenAmericans have served that nation in its armed forces. General GeorgenWashington praised the bravery of the Indians who fought undernhim—that’s how far back I’m talking. But in World War II, NativenAmericans served the nation in a new way.
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Theyncreated the only unbroken code in military history.
Theyncreated the only unbroken code in military history.n
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nPresidentnRonald Reagan said in 1982, as he made August 14 National Navajo CodenTalkers’ Day:
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nEquippednwith the only foolproof, unbreakable code in the history of warfare,nthe [Navajo] code talkers confused the enemy with an earful of soundsnnever before heard by code experts. The dedication and unswervingndevotion to duty shown by the men of the Navaho Nation in serving asnradio code talkers in the Marine Corps during World War II shouldnserve as a fine example for all Americans.
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nItnis fitting that at this time we also express appreciation for thenother American Indians who have served our Nation in times of war.nMembers of the Choctaw, Chippewa, Creek, Sioux, and other tribes usedntheir tribal languages as effective battlefield codes against thenGermans in World War I and the Japanese and Germans in World War II.
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nWikipedianalso lists bilingual Lakota, Comanche, and Meskwaki, and Basquensoldiers, as additional WWII code talkers. But it is thenapproximately 400 Navajo Marines who were the most successful andn(after the war) the most famous of the code talkers.
nWikipedianalso lists bilingual Lakota, Comanche, and Meskwaki, and Basquensoldiers, as additional WWII code talkers. But it is thenapproximately 400 Navajo Marines who were the most successful andn(after the war) the most famous of the code talkers.
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nWhyndid Philip Johnston, a non-Navajo, suggest using the Navajo languagenas a code? He had been raised on the Navajo reservation, the son of anmissionary, and was one of the few non-Navajos to speak the languagenfluently. He knew that the language had a complex grammar and was notnunderstood by speakers of even the closest Na-Dene languages, and henknew that the language had never been written down before.
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Thenfirst 29 Navajo soldiers recruited as code talkers devised the code.nThey decided that the Navajo word for potato would mean handngrenade, for example, and turtle would mean tank.nThey developed portmanteaus (combinations of two words in which bothnthe sounds and the meanings are blended, such as “smoke” andn“fog” blending to create “smog”) such as gofasters fornrunning shoes and ink sticks for pens. (Some of thesenportmanteaus are still in use in the Marine corps today—the Englishnversions, of course.)
Thenfirst 29 Navajo soldiers recruited as code talkers devised the code.nThey decided that the Navajo word for potato would mean handngrenade, for example, and turtle would mean tank.nThey developed portmanteaus (combinations of two words in which bothnthe sounds and the meanings are blended, such as “smoke” andn“fog” blending to create “smog”) such as gofasters fornrunning shoes and ink sticks for pens. (Some of thesenportmanteaus are still in use in the Marine corps today—the Englishnversions, of course.)n
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nThenNavajo code talkers were able to cipher and decipher coded messagesneven faster than the coding machines in use at the time, and theynwere praised for their skill and accuracy as well. The famous battlenof Iwo Jima, particularly, hung on their performance, as six codentalkers worked around the clock for two days, sending 800nmessages—all without error. Signal officer Major Connor claims thatnthe U.S. would not have taken Iwo Jima, if it weren’t for thenNavajos’ amazing performance. n
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nTonlearn more, and to hear the Navajo language, watch this short video.
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| In 2000, the original 29 code talkers were awarded gold medals, and the other Navajo code talkers were awarded silver medals. |
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nAlsonon this date:
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World Lizard Day
World Lizard Day n
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nHoney Spas in Russia
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