American Indian Code Talkers | The National WWII Museum

American Indian Code Talkers ... The idea of using American Indians who were fluent in both their traditional tribal language and in English to send secret ... SkiptoMainContentofWWII Breadcrumb / Home / TheWar AllArticles Profiles FromtheCollection ResearchAVeteran WWIIVeteranStatistics JennyCraigInstitutefortheStudyof… Podcasts Seize&Secure:TheBattleforLaFière / AmericanIndianCodeTalkers Article AmericanIndianCodeTalkers Theideaof usingAmericanIndianswhowerefluentinboththeirtraditionaltriballanguageandinEnglishtosendsecretmessagesinbattlewasfirstputtothetestinWorldWarIwiththeChoctawTelephoneSquadandotherNativecommunicationsexpertsandmessengers.However,itwasn’tuntilWorldWarIIthattheUSmilitarydevelopedaspecificpolicytorecruitandtrainAmericanIndianspeakerstobecomecodetalkers. Whatisacodetalker?AcodetalkeristhenamegiventoAmericanIndianswhousedtheirtriballanguagetosendsecretcommunicationsonthebattlefield.MostpeoplehaveheardofthefamousNavajo(orDiné)codetalkerswhousedtheirtraditionallanguagetotransmitsecretAlliedmessagesinthePacifictheaterofcombatduringWorldWarII.Butdidyouknowthattherewereatleast14otherNativenations,includingtheCherokeeandComanche,thatservedascodetalkersinboththePacificandEuropeduringthewar?TheideaofusingAmericanIndianswhowerefluentinboththeirtraditionaltriballanguageandinEnglishtosendsecretmessagesinbattlewasfirstputtothetestinWorldWarIwiththeChoctawTelephoneSquadandotherNativecommunicationsexpertsandmessengers.However,itwasn’tuntilWorldWarIIthattheUSmilitarydevelopedaspecificpolicytorecruitandtrainAmericanIndianspeakerstobecomecodetalkers.TheironyofbeingaskedtousetheirNativelanguagestofightonbehalfofAmericawasnotlostoncodetalkers,manyofwhomhadbeenforcedtoattendgovernmentorreligious-runboardingschoolsthattriedtoassimilateNativepeoplesandwouldpunishstudentsforspeakingintheirtraditionallanguage. TheUSArmywasthefirstbranchofthemilitarythatbeganrecruitingcodetalkersfromplaceslikeOklahomain1940.Otherbranches,suchastheUSMarinesandNavy,followedafewyearslater,andthefirstclassof29NavajocodetalkerUSMarinerecruitscompleteditstrainingin1942.Apartfrombasictraining,thesemenhadtodevelopandmemorizeauniquemilitarycodeusingtheirmostlyunwrittenlanguage,andwereplacedinaguardedroomuntilthistaskwascompleted. The firsttypeofcodetheycreated,Type1code,consistedof26NavajotermsthatstoodforindividualEnglishlettersthatcouldbeusedtospelloutaword.Forinstance,theNavajowordfor“ant,”wo-la-chee,wasusedtorepresenttheletter“a”inEnglish. Type2codecontainedwordsthatcouldbedirectlytranslatedfromEnglishintoNavajo,andthecodetalkersalsodevelopedadictionaryof211terms(laterexpandedto411)formilitarywordsandnamesthatdidn’toriginallyexistintheNavajolanguage.Forexample,sincetherewasnoexistingNavajowordfor“submarine,”thecodetalkersagreedtousethetermbesh-lo,whichtranslatesto“ironfish.” TheWarinthePacific ExploreTheNationalWWIIMuseum'scurriculumforitsSummerTeacherInstitute. Readmore Mostcodetalkerswereassignedinpairstoamilitaryunit.Duringbattle,onepersonwouldoperatetheportableradiowhilethesecondpersonwouldrelayandreceivemessagesintheNativelanguageandtranslatethemintoEnglish.TheirworkwashighlydangerousespeciallyinthePacific,becauseJapanesesoldierswoulddeliberatelytargetofficers,medics,andradiomen,andcodetalkershadtokeepmovingastheytransmittedtheirmessages.TheworkofhundredsofcodetalkerswasessentialtoAlliedvictoryinWorldWarII,andtheywerepresentatmanyimportantbattles,includingatUtahBeachduringtheD-DayinvasioninFrance,andatIwoJimainthePacific.Infact,5thMarineDivisionsignalofficerMajorHowardConnorstated,“WereitnotfortheNavajos,theMarineswouldneverhavetakenIwoJima.” Despitetheirheroiccontributionsduringthewar,AmericanIndiancodetalkersweretoldthattheyhadtokeeptheirworksecret.Theycouldn’teventelltheirfamilymembersabouttheircommunicationswork.Sincethecodesthattheydevelopedremainedunbroken,theUSmilitarywantedtokeeptheprogramclassifiedincasethecodetalkerswereneededagaininfuturewars.EvenwhentheWWIIcodetalkerprogramwasdeclassifiedin1968,nationalrecognitionofcodetalkerswasslow.Whiletherewassomerecognitioninthe1970sand1980s,itwasn’tuntil2001thatCongressionalGoldMedalsweregiventotheNavajoandothercodetalkers. Topics PacificTheaterofOperations FromtheCollectiontotheClassroom NativeAmericansinWorldWarII ArticleType Article ThePacificStrategy,1941-1944 OnDecember7,1941,JapanstagedasurpriseattackonPearlHarbor,severelydamagingtheUSPacificFleet.WhenGermanyandItalydeclaredwarontheUnitedStatesdayslater,Americafounditselfinaglobalwar. EventRecap WWIISummerTeacherInstituteTeamPacific:DayOneDispatch StudyingthewarinthePacificwithTheNationalWWIIMuseum. ArticleType Article “FromSt.PaultotheSonsofSatan–CaptainRichardFleming’sMedalofHonor” RichardEugeneFlemingnotonlyembodiedtheconceptofa“gentlemanandascholar”-heexpandedittoincludewarheroforhisfearlessnessinthefaceofseriousriskintheBattleofMidway. ArticleType Article TheBattleofCoralSea:ARetrospective OftenovershadowedbytheBattleofMidway,thehard-foughtcarriernavalbattleinMay1942inthewatersoftheCoralSeanorthofAustraliamarkedtheendofthephaseofJapanesetriumphsinthePacificWarandprovedtobeofstrategicsignificance. ArticleType Article AgainstNature’sOdds:FightingWeatherandNaturalDisastersduringWWII TheUSmilitarywasanearlyunstoppableforceduringWWII,butthechallengesofweatherandnaturaldisastersmeantthatthepowerofAmericanbombsandbulletscouldpaleincomparisontothepowerofnature. ArticleType Article “IPaidMyDuestoBeCalledanAmerican:”SergeantFrank“Foo”Fujita’sPOWExperienceinthePacific FrankFujita’sAmericancitizenshipandJapaneseheritagemadehistimeasaprisoneroftheJapaneseparticularlytorturous. ArticleType Article HonoringaHero:TheDeathandMemorializationofErniePyle TheshockingandunexpecteddeathofbelovedwarcorrespondentErniePylespawnedmanyeffortstomemorializehisstoriedlife. ArticleType Article ExposingAtrocity:TheDavaoDozenandtheBataanDeathMarch Thankstotheescapeofthe“DavaoDozen”fromJapanesecaptivityinApril1943,AmericanslearnedoftheBataanDeathMarch. ArticleType Article TensioninaPeacetimeSociety TheexperiencesofthoselefttosupportthewareffortontheHomeFront,combinedwiththoseofreturningveterans,helpedfurtherrevealunderlyingtensionsandledtosignificantchangesinthesocialhistoryoftheUnitedStates. ArticleType Profile TheLegacyofCourageousB-17PilotColinKelly CollinKelly’sstoryofbraveryduringthefirstbombingmissionsinthePacificflourishedatatimewhennearlyallwarnewswasgrim.