Navajo Code Talkers Day, celebrated every year on August 14, is a day that holds great importance in the history of the U.S. This is because the day recognizes the contributions of Navajo marines during World War II. Yes, Navajo marines encoded and transmitted messages using a complex Navajo language-based code during a time when secret communication was essential to win a war. And guess what? The code was never broken by Japanese forces in the Pacific and proved to be of great assistance to the U.S. Marines. On this day, celebrate the great American heroes and their service to the nation! All started in 1942 when the U.S. was fighting World War II in the Pacific and needed an unbreakable code to ensure the success of military operations. During this time, Philip Johnston, the son of a missionary who had grown up in the Navajo Nation, suggested using the Navajo language as a code. After this, there was no turning back the U.S.
In 1942, Philip Johnston was reading a newspaper article about an armored division in Louisiana that was attempting to come up with another code using Native American languages. Johnston knew the perfect Native American language to utilize in a new, unbreakable code. As a child, Johnston spent most of his childhood on a Navajo reservation while his parents served there as missionaries. He grew up learning the Navajo language and customs. Johnston became so fluent in the Navajo language that he was asked at age 9 to serve as an interpreter for a Navajo delegation sent to Washington, D.C., to lobby for Indian rights. In spite of concerns about the security of a code based on a Native American language, the U.S. Marine Corps decided to give Johnston’s idea a try. They approved a pilot project with 30 Navajos and allowed Johnston to enlist and participate in the program.
The American government recruited over 400 Navajo men to serve during the war. The Navajo Code Talkers successfully transmitted more than 800 messages without error and helped the U.S. win the war. Hence, in 1982, Navajo Code Talkers Day was established through a presidential proclamation by President Ronald Reagan. In 2014, Arizona passed legislation declaring every August 14 Navajo Code Talkers Day in Arizona.
There were two code types used during World War II. Type one codes were formally developed based on the languages of the, Hopi, Meskwaki , and Navajo peoples. They used words from their languages for each letter of the English alphabet. Messages could be encoded and decoded by using a simple substitution cipher where the cyphertext was the Native language word. Type two code was informal and directly translated from English into the Indigenous language. Code talkers used short, descriptive phrases if there was no corresponding word in the Indigenous language for the military word. For example, the Navajo did not have a word for submarine, so they translated it as iron fish.
The term Code Talker was originally coined by the United States Marine Corps and used to identify individuals who completed the special training required to qualify as Code Talkers. Their service records indicated "642 – Code Talker" as a duty assignment. Today, the term Code Talker is still strongly associated with the bilingual Navajo speakers trained in the Navajo Code during World War II by the US Marine Corps to serve in all six Division of the Marine corps and the Marine Raiders of the Pacifica theater. However, the use of Native American communicators pre-dates WWII. Early pioneers of Native American-based communications used by the US Military include the Cherokee, Choctaws , and Lakos peoples during World War I. Today the term Code Talker includes military personnel from all Native American communities who have contributed their language skills in service to the United States.
5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know About The Navajo Code Never broken:
It’s the only oral code in history that has never been broken.
Terms created: The original thirty men created 211 terms.
The code : Navajo bird names were used and applied to weapons of war.
First deployment : The Navajo Code Talkers were first deployed to the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Another Navajo cannot decipher the code: Deciphering the code is not possible unless the Navajo is a code taught.
Celebrating the Navajo codes talkers !
Navajo Code Talkers Day, celebrated every year on August 14, is a day that holds great importance in the history of the U.S. This is because the day recognizes the contributions of Navajo marines during World War II. Yes, Navajo marines encoded and transmitted messages using a complex Navajo language-based code during a time when secret communication was essential to win a war. And guess what? The code was never broken by Japanese forces in the Pacific and proved to be of great assistance to the U.S. Marines. On this day, celebrate the great American heroes and their service to the nation! All started in 1942 when the U.S. was fighting World War II in the Pacific and needed an unbreakable code to ensure the success of military operations. During this time, Philip Johnston, the son of a missionary who had grown up in the Navajo Nation, suggested using the Navajo language as a code. After this, there was no turning back the U.S.
In 1942, Philip Johnston was reading a newspaper article about an armored division in Louisiana that was attempting to come up with another code using Native American languages. Johnston knew the perfect Native American language to utilize in a new, unbreakable code. As a child, Johnston spent most of his childhood on a Navajo reservation while his parents served there as missionaries. He grew up learning the Navajo language and customs. Johnston became so fluent in the Navajo language that he was asked at age 9 to serve as an interpreter for a Navajo delegation sent to Washington, D.C., to lobby for Indian rights. In spite of concerns about the security of a code based on a Native American language, the U.S. Marine Corps decided to give Johnston’s idea a try. They approved a pilot project with 30 Navajos and allowed Johnston to enlist and participate in the program.
The American government recruited over 400 Navajo men to serve during the war. The Navajo Code Talkers successfully transmitted more than 800 messages without error and helped the U.S. win the war. Hence, in 1982, Navajo Code Talkers Day was established through a presidential proclamation by President Ronald Reagan. In 2014, Arizona passed legislation declaring every August 14 Navajo Code Talkers Day in Arizona.
There were two code types used during World War II. Type one codes were formally developed based on the languages of the, Hopi, Meskwaki , and Navajo peoples. They used words from their languages for each letter of the English alphabet. Messages could be encoded and decoded by using a simple substitution cipher where the cyphertext was the Native language word. Type two code was informal and directly translated from English into the Indigenous language. Code talkers used short, descriptive phrases if there was no corresponding word in the Indigenous language for the military word. For example, the Navajo did not have a word for submarine, so they translated it as iron fish.
The term Code Talker was originally coined by the United States Marine Corps and used to identify individuals who completed the special training required to qualify as Code Talkers. Their service records indicated "642 – Code Talker" as a duty assignment. Today, the term Code Talker is still strongly associated with the bilingual Navajo speakers trained in the Navajo Code during World War II by the US Marine Corps to serve in all six Division of the Marine corps and the Marine Raiders of the Pacifica theater. However, the use of Native American communicators pre-dates WWII. Early pioneers of Native American-based communications used by the US Military include the Cherokee, Choctaws , and Lakos peoples during World War I. Today the term Code Talker includes military personnel from all Native American communities who have contributed their language skills in service to the United States.
5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know About The Navajo Code Never broken:
It’s the only oral code in history that has never been broken.
Terms created: The original thirty men created 211 terms.
The code : Navajo bird names were used and applied to weapons of war.
First deployment : The Navajo Code Talkers were first deployed to the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Another Navajo cannot decipher the code: Deciphering the code is not possible unless the Navajo is a code taught.