Navajo Code Talkers
During World War II, US Marines from the Navajo Nation transmitted top secret messages using a code based on their language. The code was never broken.
The idea of using Navajo for military communication was proposed by Philip Johnston, a non-Navajo World War I veteran who had grown up on a Navajo reservation as the son of missionaries, and who recognised the complexity and uniqueness of the language. Navajo was an unwritten language with no alphabet or written script, making it difficult for outsiders to learn or even understand.
Johnston met with the Amphibious Corps commander, Major General Clayton B. Vogel, and his staff. He staged simulated combat conditions, demonstrating that Navajo men could transmit and decode a three-line message in 20 seconds, compared to the 30 minutes it took the machines of the time.
In 1942, thanks to Johnston and his successful pitch, 29 Navajo men were recruited by the US Marines to develop the code. They created a system that used Navajo words to represent military terms. For example, the Navajo word for turtle represented a tank, and chicken hawk represented a dive-bomber. They also created an alphabet system using Navajo words for letters, with the added complexity whereby three different Navajo words corresponded to each letter, e.g. the letter P could either be represented by Pcla-Gi-Aih meaning pant or Bi-So-Dih meaning pig or Ne-Zhoni meaning pretty. [Ed: I still don’t get it.]
The Navajo code was so secure that it was never broken by enemy forces, including the Japanese, who were skilled at cryptography.
Navajo Code Talkers served in numerous key battles, including the Battle of Iwo Jima [Ed: You know the photograph, the one with the American flag.] where their work contributed significantly to the success of US forces. Their quick and accurate communication helped save lives and ensure tactical advantages in combat situations.
Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division signal officer, had six Navajo code talkers working around the clock during the first two days of the battle. These six sent and received over 800 messages, all without error. Connor later said:
“Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.”
Ironically, the US military was deriving benefit from languages that the US government had long been working to eradicate. As part of a broader campaign of forced assimilation, Native American children had for decades been pushed into boarding schools that forbade – and punished – them for speaking their home languages. Now, on the field of battle, those same languages were saving lives.
Despite their vital contributions, the Code Talkers’ efforts were classified for many years after the war. It wasn’t until 1968 that their role was declassified, and only later did they receive formal recognition. In 2001, surviving Navajo Code Talkers were awarded Congressional Gold and Silver Medals for their service. The last of the original 29 Navajo code talkers, Chester Nez, died on 4 June 2014.
Postscript
In March 2025 the Pentagon thankfully restored web pages highlighting the crucial wartime contributions of Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans days after tribes condemned a removal that was part of a sweep of any military content that promoted diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). [Ed: Dumbness reversed.]
Story Idea: Eileen Gittins
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