The Navajo Code Talkers and Their Everlasting Legacy
Throughout recent United States history (post civil-war), discussion of Native American struggles and triumphs has lessened greatly. This is primarily due to the decline in wars and conflict between the government and tribal groups. Although this sort of activity has declined, Native American groups have impacted United States history on many occasions during this time period. One of events that is particularly interesting to research is the Navajo Code Talkers intervention of World War II. Essentially, the Navajo people were utilized by the United States government during the second world war in order to disguise their military codes through another language. The Navajo people have an
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Initially it was the Marine Corps that had recruited 29 Navajo men to train as Code Talkers. This was at the beginning of the war. By the end, over 400 Navajo were trained and many of them served in the Pacific Theater. The Army had similar training programs for troops in Europe and North Africa (TNA 2016). Although many men from many different tribes were trained as Code Talkers, it was the Navajo that were primarily used during the second World War. Similar to World War I, the Code Talkers were considered another essential part of the victory by the Allied …show more content…
As previously mentioned, the Navajo were the first people to be recruited for WWII as Code Talkers. One reason the Navajo were the first men gathered for the Code Talkers during WWII was because the director of the program for encryption used his position and power to decide that they were perhaps the most valuable group to complete this task. The initiator of the Code Talker program for the Marine Corps, Phillip Johnston, grew up on a Navajo reservation and was familiar with the people and their language. Also according to the National Archives, Johnston was a veteran from the first World War. From this, he knew of the United States’ desire to send and receive messages in an, “unbreakable code” (TNA 2016). Because of his relation and familiarity with the tribes, Johnston deemed the Navajo as the primary recruit for his project during World War
Navajos sent and received all kinds of very important messages helping keep our troops safe and successful. By sending and receiving some of the Marine Corps’ most important code Navajos helped to secure the U.S. win in World War
It is a widely known fact that during WWII, the Navajo's were enlisted in the military to send and receive encrypted messages between different military groups embedded in combat. These messages were secret tactical messages developed solely to keep information from the Japanese Imperial Army. There were approximately 500 Native Americans enlisted in the United States Marine Corps with the purpose of using formal or informal codes that were built upon their native languages. Although the Navajo People are recognized as being the code talkers, there were many other tribes brought into the military for the same purpose as early as WWI, mainly the Cherokee and Choctaw peoples. The military also enlisted Lakota, Meskwaki and Comanche soldiers,
The medals included a message on the back written in the Navajo language that translates to “With the Navajo language they defeated the
Shortly after the US started using Choctaw Code Talkers the Germans started retreating. Code Talkers helped with many victories in WWI and they paved a way for future Code Talkers. After WWI many of the military personnel was unsure whether they should continue with the language because Japan had sent over students to learn the Native American languages. Because of this, new ideas were looked for so that they did not have to worry about the Japanese. During WWII the navy had to think of a new code to use.
Have you ever wondered how US soldiers communicated on the battlefield? This essay is about the Navajo Code Talkers and how they were very important in World War II. One of my topics will be the origin of the Navajo Code and it’s select few of talkers. My second topic will be how the code was used in World War II.
While World War II Went on, new words were integrated throughout the program, Marine Divisions throughout Hawaii met to discuss the changes and additions made. Navajo Code talkers continued to code throughout the World War II, the Korean war, and ending early in the Vietnam war, remaining the only military code never to be
The Navajo Code Talkers are seen as one of the most essential aspects of WWII for their unbreakable code and easy communication skills with each other. The Code Talkers were a special group of 29 Navajo soldiers who were fluent in English and Navajo languages and also physically fit. They were sent to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot for seven weeks of training, after which they started to develop the code they would use. The language that they created was a alphabet language which consisted of words chosen from nature. They created 411 terms using this language.
The Navajos were better suited to the style of fighting. Much of the fighting involved sneaking around in small groups and fighting, much like the old Indian style (Paul, 2003). Maneuvering in the darkness was also easier for the Navajos, because they were used to the absence of light on the reservations (Paul, 2003). The tougher life that the Navajos lived on the reservation was a huge benefit during the war. Many parts of the reservation life helped the code talkers in the
During World War I, the Choctaw language was used to communicate and the Germans could not figure out what they were saying. During World War II, the Navajo language was used for the same reasons what happened during World War I. Twenty-nine Navajo people were gathered and helped to develop the Navajo Code. The language was so rare and hard to understand that it was perfect for code talking. Philip Johnston was a World War I veteran heard about the successes of the Choctaw telephone squad. Even though he is not an Indian, he grew up on the Navajo reservation.
Parents on the reservation worked to keep their culture alive by continuing to use their native Navajo language. The Navajo language was extremely hard, nearly impossible, for non-native speakers to understand or learn. Some have described listening to the Navajo language as ‘the rumble of a freight train, the gurgling of a partially blocked drain, or the flushing of an old fashioned commode’. Each word in the language can have four meanings, depending on the inflection, and the verbs are extra complex. There is no written alphabet or language.
The Navajo Code Talkers The Navajo Code Talkers performed a role that changed the outcome of World War II. With Britain on the verge of complete destruction due to constant bombings, and with France about to surrender, U.S. intervention was necessary for the greater good of world against fascism of Germany, Italy, and Japan. The Navajo Code provided the U.S. with strategic advantage to combat the Axis Powers and aided in numerous victories. While it was not the first of its kind to be used in U.S. army, it left a lasting impression on the history of warfare and the events of the twentieth century.
Native American Code Talkers Made World War 1 Interesting During World War 1, there were many strategies and techniques that were first introduced. In particular, code talkers are people who use their knowledge of unknown Native American languages to secretly communicate messages. Because of communication failures, a U.S commander suggested using Choctaw Native Americans to secretly transmit messages. Before this suggestion, Germans were able to wiretap the U.S allies’ conversations; they then cracked their codes which were based off of European languages. Despite the benefits of this communication method, it also caused an uproar for Native American rights.
They were the largest Indian Reservation and the most recognized tribe in all of the United States of America. Children on those Reservation couldn’t speak their on language and when they were caught speaking the language they had their mouths washed out with soap. Much of the Navajos had never left the Reservation let alone
Ultimately, the Navajo, who at one time were forbidden to speak their own language by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, used that language to help the United States win the war. Eventually the 382nd platoon was created specifically for Navajo code talkers.(Pash) The Navajos served in all six marine divisions, taking part in every assault the
They felt that this country was taken away from them by the white man and should not be required to help in the case of attack, but when war was declared against the Axis powers, The Navajo Nation declared: “We resolve that the Navajo Indians stand ready… to aid and defend our government and its institutions against all subversive and armed conflict and pledge our loyalty to the system and a way of life that has placed us among the greatest people of our race” (Takaki 60). Altogether forty-five thousand Indians served in the U.S. armed forces. Despite this, Indian workers received lower pay that that of whites, In the cities, Indians also experienced discrimination. Ignatia Broker of the Ojibway wrote “Although employment was good because of the labor demand of the huge defense plants, Indian people faced discrimination in restaurants, night clubs, retail and department stores… and worst of all, in housing” (Takaki