The Navajo Code Talkers: Unbreakable Language of War

The Navajo Code Talkers: Unbreakable Language of War

Date: 1942-1945

Story:

The story of the Navajo Code Talkers is perhaps one of the most effective and unique uses of indigenous language in military history. During the Pacific Campaign, the U.S. Marine Corps faced a critical challenge: Japanese cryptanalysts were breaking every code the Americans developed. Philip Johnston, a WWI veteran who had grown up on the Navajo Nation, proposed using the Navajo language itself as a code. The language, with its complex syntax, tonal variations, and lack of a written alphabet, was virtually unknown outside of the Navajo people. Around 400 Navajo Marines were recruited and trained as "code talkers." They developed a dictionary of military terms using Navajo words (e.g., "turtle" for tank, "iron fish" for submarine) that made no sense to non-Navajo speakers, even if they intercepted the raw sounds. The Japanese, despite their best efforts, never broke the code. The Navajo Code Talkers transmitted vital messages, orders, and intelligence with unparalleled speed and accuracy, playing a critical role in every major Marine assault in the Pacific, from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima. Their heroic contributions remained classified until 1968 and were not widely recognized until decades later.

Reference:

McClain, Sally. Navajo Weapon: The Story of the Navajo Code Talkers. Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2001.

Begay, Chester, and Johnson, Peter. Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII. Berkley Books, 2011.