The Navajo Code Talkers Essay

Native American code transmission began in World War I, with the Choctaw Indians (Meadows, “Honoring”). “Because the Native languages were not based on European languages or

Native American code talking began during World War I with the Oklahoma Choctaw. To counter German interception of American telephone lines Choctaws were placed at

Naturally, the members of the U.S Military were uneasy that the Germans would crack the code. Luckily, they didn't. The Navajo language was rarely written and most only knew it because they had grown up on a reservation or had parents to teach them. A hesitant lieutenant decided to test it before actually allowing them to be transmitted in combat.

"In very exceptional cases, they made no mention of their plans or movements to any of their embassies, so that, in these instances, there were no codes to decipher. The attack on Pearl Harbour was such a case" (Ford,

“Sitting at the dais, I felt tired but much too excited to think about sleep. I glanced around the room and smiling faces turned toward me. Someone asked whether I was ready to leave. I shook my head. ‘I'd like to stay awhile longer.”

Remember back in elementary school when friends of yours would create a language or signs to have a conversation without anyone knowing what you are talking about? Well, Code Talkers is very similar to creating a code in school, but more intense and heightened. William R. Wilson, a writer and photographer goes in debt to explain how the Navajo language was brought to serve as a new code in the U.S. Military in World War II. He also writes about who the military has to use to interpret and send out messages for militia combat plans. The author does an exceptional job at being very clear and informative in this article.

Upon being declared the definite “winners” of World War II, President Harry S. Truman declared that there be a national agency devoted to breaking private codes sent by enemies during times of war (Timeline…). His

Indian code talkers are a group of bilingual Navajo speakers that were used to transfer messages during World War II. The Marine Corps recruited many of these Code Talkers to help them in the war. The Marines were so protective of the Code Talkers that if there was any danger of the Indians being captured for the Japanese to learn the code the Marines would have to kill the Code Talker. After the Navajo Code, also known as the Type One Codes, were created the Marine Corps started a Code Talking School. Along with learning the language they learned how to march in cadence, obey orders, and keep their quarters very clean. It was here that over four hundred Navajos were recruited as Code Talkers. The Code Talkers were from at least sixteen

The Nisei’s efforts during WWII were not recognized for over 50 years because much of their work was considered classified information. Finally, in 2000, the Japanese Americans who served in the MIS were recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation for their incredible performance of duty during the War in the Pacific and on many other fronts and

“What I’m about to tell you, Corporal, cannot leave this room. Under no circumstances can you allow your code talker to fall into enemy hands. Your mission is to protect the code… at all cost.” In the movie, Windtalkers, this is how a commander wants his marine to treat the paired Navajo code talker. That is, if it’s necessary, his marine could kill the Navajo, just like abandoning one of his properties. Even in the mid 1900s, the Native Americans were still treated not as human beings, but rather, machines; therefore, it is not hard for us to imagine how even more frightening the Native Americans’ circumstances were in the early days when they were first colonized by the western settlers. In Deborah Miranda’s “Indian

American history retells World War II (WWII) stories about heroes, and their contribution to the success in ending the conflict between Japan and the United States (U.S.). The U.S. Military’s attempt to seize key islands in the South Pacific seem futile as Japanese Imperial Intelligence Teams (JIIT) monitored U.S. communications systems. Messages intercepted by the JITT compromised U.S. Military synchronization activities, putting their efforts and the lives of American Soldier’s at risk. The Navajo Code Talker program is the U.S. Marine Corps’ solution to secure communications.

In other words, without the Navajos, we wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Japanese after they had bomb Pearl Harbor. The second article, Memorandum Regarding The Enlistment of Navajo (archives.org) states, “Philip Johnston was the initiator of the Marine Corps' program to enlist and train the Navajos as messengers. Although Johnston was not a Navajo, he grew up on a Navajo reservation as the son of a missionary and became familiar with the people and their language.” This quote illustrated us, who exactly came up with the idea of the code talkers. Furthermore, Phillip Johnston was the mastermind of code talkers, even though he didn’t speak the

It was a blessing in disguise for the Japanese, because they unknowingly avoided interception from the American Warhawk Fighters on that cloudy night. The series of circumstances seemed favorable for the two Japanese flying boats, except the fog of war was relentless: The air raids commander, Lt. Hashizume, radioed his wingman to make an unexpected left turn around the island to attack its northern side. The wingman, whose name was Sasao, did not hear the message, and flew to the southern coast of Oahu, instead (Op. K n.pag.).

World War II wasn’t the primary time a Native american language was used to produce a code. throughout world war I, the Choctaw language was used in the transmission of secret tactical messages. it had been instrumental in an exceedingly productive surprise attack against the Germans.

At the same time, the Northern Mariana Covenant had sent 200 Force Reconnaissance Marines to the Tongan archipelago via Chamolinian proas. The Marines were disguised as tribals and act confused the local Tongans as they mistook the Marines for settlers. Overnight the NMC Marines were able to set up various landing zones across the archipelago for the rest of the expeditionary force and scout the local region for PR military outposts. And it was within two weeks the entire Tongan archipelago was subdued by the 4th Marine Expeditionary Unit, without the use of violence, only force projection. The Tongan locals tried to replicate the Marines' proas but did not possess the skill or technique to perfectly replicate the seafaring craft, all of their attempts to replicate the ships were met with disastrous