Navajo Code Talkers Research Paper
Navajo, the Code Talkers The Navajo code talkers took part in every assault the U.S. Marines conducted in the Pacific on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleiu, and Iwo Jima from 1942 to 1945. They served in all six Marine divisions, Marine parachute units and Marine Raider battalions, transmitting important messages by radio and telephone in their native language—a code that the Japanese never broke during the war. Philip Johnston, a former missionary’s son who once lived on the Navajo Reservation was responsible for recruiting the Navajos. Knowing the complex phases and intricate tonal qualities of the native language. His plan was to devise a code utilizing the complex unwritten language of the Navajo; he convinced the Marines it would baffle the best of the cryptographers. Johnston knew that the Native American languages-notably Choctaw-had been used in World War I to encode messages. He said the language could be used as the basis for a code to transmit battle plans and vital messages. The idea to use the Navajo language to secure communities also came from Johnston; back on the Navajo reservation where Johnston once
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Then, at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California, this first group created the Navajo code basis. They developed a dictionary and numerous words for military terms. The dictionary and all of the codes had to be memorized during training; once the code talker completed his training, he was sent to a Marine unit for deployment in the Pacific. The primary job of the Navajo code talkers was talking, and transmitting information on troop movement, tactics, supply movement, orders, and other vital battlefield commutations over telephones and radios. They also performed general duties as a Marine. In 1942 there were about 50,000 Navajo tribe members. By 1945, about five hundred and forty Navajos served as Marines. From 375 to 420 of those were trained as code talkers; the serve in other
Then, at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California, this first group created the Navajo code basis. They developed a dictionary and numerous words for military terms. The dictionary and all of the codes had to be memorized during training; once the code talker completed his training, he was sent to a Marine unit for deployment in the Pacific. The primary job of the Navajo code talkers was talking, and transmitting information on troop movement, tactics, supply movement, orders, and other vital battlefield commutations over telephones and radios. They also performed general duties as a Marine. In 1942 there were about 50,000 Navajo tribe members. By 1945, about five hundred and forty Navajos served as Marines. From 375 to 420 of those were trained as code talkers; the serve in other