Navajo Code Talkers

During World War 2, using secret code to transmit messages was essential to every country. With just about all messages being tapped, it was crucial that the enemy couldn’t understand what you were telling the army. All countries developed some sort of code so that they could communicate freely. The Germans were known for having a very good code, but Britain eventually figured it out. However, America had one of the best codes that no other nation could seem to crack. They did this with the help of the Navajo Code Talkers. In 1941 and 1942, the Marine Corps started recruiting Navajo Code Talkers. The recruitment came after an Indian WW1 veteran suggested that the Navajo language could be used to keep communications secret. After an initial trial, the Marine Corps were so impressed they hired 29 Navajos in two weeks. Once there was a basic code down, they created a Code Talking school to train the Navajos in the ways of communication. Many Navajos were drafted or recruited, and some had to lie about their age to become a code talker. The size of the Navajos grew so much that the Army, Marine Corps, and the Navy all had access to a code talker who could translate messages for them. The code was set up in a way that required lots of translation for the Code Talkers. Each word in the Navajo language corresponded to an English word, and they would then take the first letter of that word as part of their code. Here’s an example of some words that were used.

Letter	Navajo word	English word
C	MOASI	Cat
D	LHA-CHA-EH	DOG
E	DZEH	Elk
I	TKIN	Ice
O	NE-AHS-JAH	Owl
R	GAH	Rabbit
V	A-KEH-DI-GLINI	Victor

To tell somebody CODE RECEIVED, the Navajo would have to say, MOASI, NE-AHS-JAH, LHA-CHA-EH, DZEH, GAH, DZEH, MOASI, DZEH, TKIN, A-KEH-DI-GLINI, DZEH, LHA-CHA-EH. It would take a long time to tell others a single sentence, but it was worth it for the army because nobody could figure it out. The Navajo also had to create specific words for the army that they didn’t have in their language.

Native word	Literal meaning	Code Meaning
tushka chipota (Choctaw)	warrior soldier	soldier
atsá (Navajo)	eagle	transport plane
paaki (Hopi)	houses on water	ships
wakaree´e (Comanche)	turtle	tank

The code was used all over the world during the war. It was used in the Pacific while fighting Japan, in Africa, on D-Day, and in Germany. The Navajo Code Talkers were credited with saving the lives of thousands of American and Allies’ men. The Code Talkers were extremely useful in the battle of Iwo Jima, where they sent over 800 messages without flaw, which was crucial to the victory according to Major Howard Connor. Sources: https://americanindian.si.edu/education/codetalkers/html/chapter4.html https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2008-featured-story-archive/navajo-code-talkers/