Code talkers (American Indian)
Code talkers were American Indian soldiers who played a pivotal role in World War II by using their native languages to create secure and rapid communication for the U.S. military. As traditional methods of encryption were being intercepted by enemy forces, groups like the Comanche and Navajo developed unique codes based on their languages, enabling them to transmit sensitive military information. The Comanche code talkers, for instance, formed a specialized code in 1941, adapting their language to convey military terms and using a system to spell out messages letter by letter.
In the Pacific theater, the Navajo code talkers, famously known as the "First 29," developed an even more expansive code that proved to be unbreakable throughout the war. Their communication methods were significantly faster than prior technological options, allowing for efficient coordination of military operations. The impact of their contributions extended beyond the war, leading to a revitalization of their languages and cultures. Recognition for their service grew over the years, culminating in a national holiday and various honors in their name. Today, efforts to commemorate their legacy continue, including the development of a museum dedicated to Navajo code talkers.
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Code talkers (American Indian)
American Indian military personnel who relayed messages in codes based on their languages
During World War II, Comanche and Navajo combat communication specialists, among others, created and implemented an unbreakable code based on their languages, saving the lives of untold numbers of American sailors and troops.
During World War II, the US military needed to send reliable, rapid, and secure coded messages concerning supplies of ammunition, food, and medicine as well as messages concerning the numbers of dead, among other sensitive military topics. Information about the enemy and instructions for Allied forces were communicated from division to division, and from ship to shore. Many German, Italian, and Japanese personnel of the Axis forces intercepted Allied communications. Existing methods for securing information, including cryptograph machines and Morse code, were slow and could be broken by the enemy.
Several American Indian groups used noncoded forms of their languages to send messages. For example, Hopi soldiers relayed battle messages in their language at Guadalcanal. In 1941, the US Army recruited Comanche to create a specialized code. Because the Comanche language did not contain words for many specialized military terms, such as “.30 caliber machine gun,” code talkers created new words or used existing Comanche words to mean different things. For other terms and words for precise transmission, such as place names, the code talkers used a Comanche word to represent each letter of the English word. For example, to spell a place name that began with S, the code talker would take a word in Comanche that translated into an English word beginning with the letter s, such as the Comanche word for “sheep,” to represent the first letter. The rest of the word or term would be spelled out similarly.
In 1944, thirteen Comanche infantrymen of the Fourth Signal Company became the first organized American Indian code-talking unit in the European campaign. A man at one end would translate an English message into Comanche code, and a man at the other end would receive the message in code and translate it back into English. The method was fast, accurate, and secure. The military kept secret the formation and use, but not the existence, of the code.
In the Pacific theater of the war, US Marines needed a quick and reliable code that was secure from the Japanese. In 1942, twenty-nine Navajo Marines became the “First 29.” These men created a Navajo code to coordinate movement of men and artillery. Similar to Comanche code talkers, the Navajo used short, easily memorized words in their language that were descriptive of military terms. For example, the Navajo word for buzzard was used for “bomber.” The code also consisted of Navajo words with literal translations in English that, when combined, formed the actual English word. For example, the code for the word “been” was a combination of the Navajo words for “bee” and “nut.”
A compilation of 211 Navajo code words for the most common military terms grew to more than 600 by the end of the war. Multiple Navajo words represented each letter of the English alphabet (such as Navajo words for “ant,” “ax,” and “apple” representing the letter a). A code talker could transmit three lines of English in twenty seconds, compared to thirty minutes using a cryptograph machine.
An estimated 350 to 400 Navajo communication specialists transmitted messages in a code that was never broken. The existence of the code remained a secret until declassified in 1968.
Impact
In 1982, as well as establishing a national holiday celebrated each August honoring American Indians' efforts in these capacities, President Ronald Reagan issued a Certificate of Recognition to the Navajo code talkers, and code talkers have received various other military and civilian honors and forms of recognition. The experiences of the code talkers led to a revitalization of the Comanche and Navajo languages and traditions. The experiences of code talkers were fictionalized in the 2002 film Windtalkers. In August 2022, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for a Navajo code talkers museum that had been planned for construction in New Mexico.
Bibliography
Aaseng, Nathan. Navajo Code Talkers: America’s Secret Weapon in World War II. New York: Walker & Company, 1992.
Hongeva, Geri. "Historical Event: Groundbreaking for Code Talker Museum." Navajo Times, 19 Aug. 2022, navajotimes.com/opinion/essay/guest-column-historical-event-groundbreaking-for-code-talker-museum/. Accessed 9 Sept. 2022.
McClain, Sally. Navajo Weapon: The Navajo Code Talkers. Tuscon, Ariz.: Rio Nuevo, 1981.
Meadows, William C. The Comanche Code Talkers of World War II. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002.