Honor Was Their Code

World War II is a passion I have. That passion started when I first read Anne Frank's Diary when I was 12. When I entered high school, we did a whole year on the study of WWII. I have read numerous books, watched numerous movies, and studied the time about WWII.
Another reason I have a passion for it is because I had the opportunity to make a Service album for my great grandfather a couple years ago. It was so neat to see his experiences and learn about WWII from him.

World War II and the Holocaust happened. It is something that needs to be taught and remembered and shared to all the generations now and in the future! That is my real passion: to share the lost stories of WWII and the Holocaust! So many of the men that served our country during that time are old and dying. We must get their stories and preserve them for the future generations. They need to know what happened in the past that is influencing the time they are living in.

August 14th is the day we have named and remember as National Navajo Code Talker Day. If you don't know what a Navajo Code Talker is, then come with me as we remember and learn.
At the beginning of WWII, Philip Johnston proposed the use of the Navajos to the US Marine Corps. The idea was accepted and the Navajo language was developed into code, and modeled on the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet that uses agreed upon English words to represent letters. Since it was easier to say words than letters--while in combat--some terms, concepts, tactics, and instruments of modern warfare ere given uniquely formal descriptions in Navajo. They used the word "potato" in reference to a hand grenade, and the word "tortoise" for tank.
The Navajo Codetalkers were born.

Code talker is a term that is used to describe people who talk using coded language... kinda easy, right? Well the Navajo Codetalkers job was anything but easy.
The Codetalkers had the job of transmitting secret tactical messages. The Codetalkers sent these messages over military telephones and radio communications using formal or informal codes that were built using their native language. This was very valuable since codes and ciphers can be broken, but languages must be studied for a long time before being understood.
The name Codetalkers is the Navajos that were recruited during WWII by the Marines, but other Native American codetalkers were used in the US Army in WWI and WWII. After first, the Marines didn't think the Navajo code would work. But the Japanese had broken every other code that the Marines had used.
The Navajo Codetalkers were the Marines secret weapon. The enemy could not decipher their code because it was a language. It sounded like they were talking underwater. The Navajo Codetalkers could do in 2min what used to take an 2 hours to do because it was simply based on their language.
The Navajo were not welcomed by some in the Marines because of prejudice. Some of the soldiers were mean and cruel to them because they were Indians. But when the Marines saw what the Navajo did and how many lives were saved because of them, they had respect for them.

The Navajo were a big part in the battles in the Pacific, especially in capturing the island of Saipan. They were able to radio the Navy and Flyboys to target specific Japanese hideouts that were shelling the Marines on the ground.
The Navajo Code and Codetalkers were vital in the victory at Saipan and every major battle in the Pacific. The Code was never broken. It was then used in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, in addition to WWI and WWII.
On July 26, 2001, President George W. Bush presented the Navajo Codetalkers golden medal to honor the Navajo Codetalkers of World War II. In a separate ceremony that fall, each Navajo who trained and qualified as a Codetalker, or a surviving family member, have been presented a silver medal.


The Navajo helped us win against Japan and we should be grateful to them! Honor was their Code!