Navajo Code Talkers
Honoring Navajo code talkers, Indian Summer Festival, Milwaukee. September 1997.
Donald S. Abrams, photographer, Milwaukee
In parades and during special functions the Navajo Code Talker's
uniform consists of a turquoise-colored cap, a gold Navajo shirt, well-pressed
khaki colored pants, shiny black shoes, a turquoise necklace, and medal decorations.
During World War II, the Navajo language was one of the world's
"hidden languages", it had no written form and no alphabet or other
symbols.
In May 1942, the United States Marine Corps approved a plan for
enlisting 30 Navajos. Each recruit had to be 18 but several enthusiastic recruits
were under age and gave false birth dates. Each recruit was in good physical
condition and fluent in both English and Navajo. By August 1943, 191 Navajo men
had joined the Marine Corps for assignment to the code talker program. Some
Navajo Code Talkers enlisted and others were drafted.
All Navajo recruits underwent basic boot camp training at San
Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Then they were sent to the Field Signal
Battalion Training Center at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California.
The first group of recruits devised Navajo words for military
terms which were not part of their language. Navajo Clan names were given
to the different Marine Corps units, names of birds such as "chicken
hawk" denoted airplanes, the commanding general was "war
chief," and a major general was a "two star." Each
letter of the alphabet was given three different forms, "ant,"
"ax," and "apple" were the forms for the letter
"A." For the letter "B," the words were "badger,"
"bear," and "barrel." The Code Talkers had to
memorize both primary and alternative code terms.
The primary duty of the Navajo Marines was to be "talkers,"
transmitting messages over telephone and radio circuits. Their secondary
duty was to act as message-center personnel (messengers).
Setting up their radio equipment on the front lines of the war
zone was dangerous enough for the Navajo Code Talkers, but occasionally they
faced danger from their own side. The oriental-looking Navajo was often mistaken
for Japanese and many recalled being captured by their own country. Many Navajo
Code Talkers were injured or killed while participating and operating radio
communications on the front lines. Some recalled humorous events in foxholes as
well as bad memories of bloody battles.
One of the Navajo Code Talkers, David E. Patterson said,
"When I was inducted into the service, one of my commitments I made was
that I was willing to die for my country-- the U. S., the Navajo Nation, and my
family. My (native) language was my weapon."
Photographer, Kenji Kawana, a native born Japanese searched for
Navajo Code Talkers on the vast Navajo reservation to interview and took pictures of
them.
The Navajo Generating Station Salutes The Navajo Code Talkers
World War 11 erupted in the Pacific Ocean with the bombing of Pearl
Harbor by the Japanese. During the early months in the Pacific,
Japanese intelligence experts broke every code the United States devised for combat
messages.
In any war situation, the rapid and accurate transmission of
combat messages is essential. Japan was learning in advance, the time, place and
direction the American attack forces would be deployed. Something
had to be done to enable the American forces to communicate freely and secretly in
the Pacific.
Shortly after Pearl Harbor, a group of twenty-nine volunteers
left the tranquil canyons and mesas of their Navajo homeland. Little did
they know of the crucial role they were about to play in the U.S. War.
These twenty-nine volunteers were the direct result of an idea
presented to the Marines by Philip Johnston. His idea, born from his childhood
days as a missionary's son living on the Navajo Reservation, was ingenious.
The idea was to devise a code utilizing the complex unwritten
language of the Navajo. Knowing the complex syntax and intricate tonal qualities
of the language, he convinced the Marines it would baffle the best of
cryptographers. Johnston said the language could be used as the basis for a code
to transmit vital information and battle plans.
With the help of the twenty-nine Navajo volunteers the task of
creating code terms was underway. Words from their native tongue were selected to
describe complex military equipment and operations. Where possible, Navajo words
that had a logical association with the desired military term were selected. Thus
the Navajo word for frog, "cha'al", became the code word for amphibious
and "ch'ahligia (white hats) became sailors. Similarly potatoes became
grenades, eggs were bombs and America became "nihima" (our mother).
At full strength there were about 400 Navajos who were "Code
Talkers". These men were considered so valuable each had been assigned a
personal bodyguard. The Navajo Code Talkers were so effective the Japanese were
completely baffled and their master cryptographers never broke the code. In the
words of Major Howard Conner, signal officer of the Fifth Marine Division at Iwo
Jima, "During the first 48 hours, while we were landing and consolidating our
shore positions, It had six Navajo radio networks operating around the clock. In
that period alone, they sent and received over 800 messages without an error".
Conner went on to say that "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would
never have taken Iwo Jima".
The First formal recognition of the Navajo Code Talkers and their
vital contribution to the war effort came twenty-five years after the war was over,
on June 28, 1969. The Fourth Marine Division honored the Navajo Code Talkers with
medallions commemorating their efforts. This began a string of recognition which
has included proclamations from the States of Arizona and New Mexico. On July 28,
1982 the President of the United States signed a measure proclaiming August 14th
as "National NAVAJO Code Talkers Day".
More Information
• Navajo Code Talker Dictionary
• Navajo Code Talker Fact Sheet
• Navajo Code Talkers in World
War II: A Bibliography
• Navajo Nation Veterans
Medal
• Navajo Nation Veterans
Memorial
Kawano, Kenji, Warriors Navajo Code Talkers, Northland
Publishing Co., 1990.
Paul, Doris A., The Navajo Code Talkers, Dorrance Publishing
Co., 1998.
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