Navajo Code Talkers Day
During WWI, the Choctaw language had been used to transmit U.S. military messages. With this thought in mind, Philip Johnston, the son of a missionary grew up on a Navajo reservation and spoke the Diné tongue fluently, brought the suggestion of a similar code to General Clayton Vogel early in 1942. The Diné language has no alphabet, uses no symbols and one sound may hold an entire concept. The idea was tested and proved to be faster and more reliable than the mechanized methods. The language has more verbs than nouns, that helps to move the sentences along and makes it far more difficult for outsiders to learn – making it the most ingenious and successful code in military history.
The original class, the 382d Platoon, Navajo Communication Specialists, USMC, developed their code at Camp Pendleton. Once a unit of code talkers were trained, they were put on Marine rosters around the Pacific Theater. Even under severe combat conditions, they remained the living codes, since nothing was ever written down. During the first 48 hours of Iwo Jima, 800 transmissions were coded. These few men became warriors in their own right during some of the worst battles of the war.
Some examples of the English word/ Navajo sound/ literal translation:
Alaska………. Beh-hga……….. with winter
America……….Ne-he-mah……… our mother
Britain……….Toh-ta………… between waters
Australia……..Cha-yes-desi…….rolled hat
China…………Ceh-yehs-besi……braided hair
France………..Da-gha-hi……….beard
The existence of the code talkers and their accomplishments would remain top secret according to the U.S. government and use their expertise in the Korean War. Unfortunately, this resulted in many of the men not receiving the recognition they deserved. I was very lucky to have grown up knowing their story thanks to Smitty, my father.
President Ronald Reagan designated 14 August as National Code Talkers Day in 1982.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Farewell Salutes –
Rocco Addeo Sr. – Brooklyn, NY; US Navy, WWII, 7th Fleet
Daniel Bolinski – Shamokin, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Korea/POW
Philip Cooke – Brisbane, AUS; RA Air Force & RAF, WWII
Edward Flora – South Bend, IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
John Guardino Sr. – Boca Raton, FL; USMC, Korea
Delbert Latta – Bowling Green, OH; US Army/USMC, WWII, (US Congressman)
Charles McCaughan – Darfield, NZ; RNZ Army # 40553, WWII
Merle Sargent – Springville, UT; US Army, WWII, PTO
James Sinclair – Bosman, CAN; RC Army, WWII, ETO, 17th Firld Reg/Royal Reg. of Canadian Artillery
Donald Weaver – Wayne City, IL; US Navy, WWII, PTO
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Posted on August 14, 2016, in Current News, Home Front, Uncategorized, WWII and tagged 1940's, Code Talkers, History, Military, Military History, Navajo, Pacific, USMC, veterans, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 99 Comments.
Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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Thank you, Ned.
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Great article, and thought provoking
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Thank you. I’m glad you found the article interesting.
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Thanks; I Re-posted this on Profiles. Saw Gene Wilder listed among the farewell salutes… (sigh)
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Thank you for retelling the story of these men. I like to think Mr. Wilder is finally back with his beloved Gilda.
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Excellent post on this little known facet of WWII!
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That’s why I continue to bring them up, also the Nisei MISers, New Zealand & Australian Maori & Aborigines, etc, etc. Everyone of them served a vital part in the big picture.
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This is truly an informative read. Thanks 🙂
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I appreciate you coming by to read it.
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Great post about men we should not forget and how the simplest ideas are often the best.
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Good point, Hilary. Thank you for for reading here.
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I’ve always loved this story of ingenuity. My dad told us this story when we were young and later I read about it in Simon Singh’s book ‘The Codebreakers’.
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Good for you, Peggy! So many others knew nothing about them. Thanks for dropping by!
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https://talesalongtheway.com/2016/08/15/meet-ww-ii-veterans-registered-for-d-day-reenactment-2016/ Thought you might like this!
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You were right, Anne! I hope they have a terrific time while they teach history.
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Fascinating GP. I remember seeing a movie about the Cod Talkers years and years ago. It aways stuck with me.
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Glad to hear you remembered! So few even knew of them.
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Reblogged this on O LADO ESCURO DA LUA.
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I appreciate you taking an interest, sir.
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Excellent article. As a teacher, there’s a great tie-in for coding with students. I’m working on making that connection in an article.
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Fantastic. Let me know how it turns out!
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Reblogged this on USNA or Bust! and commented:
Great post on the mysteries of the Code Talkers, well-suited to August 12th, the day we honor these folks.
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Thank you, Jacqui, you’re a good friend!
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Reblogged this on Random Ramblings; Myriad Musings and commented:
This is fascinating history, for those who have never heard of the Navajo Code-Talkers.
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Thank you for helping me to get them recognition!
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Absolutely fascinating and a such a worthy story to share. A pity they didn’t get the recognition they deserved at the time. Interesting to learn about the differences in the language that made is so useful for code. I wonder, how did your father know about these code-makers?
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Despite rivalries, soldiers, sailors and Marines do talk. Dad probably informed them of the existence of the Nisei and visa versa.I’m glad to be informing so many people of their service and thank you for coming.
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Reblogged this on PenneyVanderbilt.
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Thank you, Penny, for including me with the other sites you visit. The bravery and work these men went unrecognized for far too long!
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After reading this post gp, I had to check out the Choctaw language, what a magnificent language, at odds with most languages in its construction and meanings, definitely an excellent choice for Code, thanks for sharing gp.
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You know it is MY pleasure!!
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Just heard people talking about all the emails that were sent with classified information. Someone remarked that they would now be sending them encrypted, much like those during the war, just to confuse people.
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Certain people who use their own servers don’t feel it necessary to encrypt. Besides, they are as good at de-coding as we are – if not better. A very sad state of affairs today, Bev.
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I imagine the same could be re-invoked at any time in the future, to the same effect? (Can’t be all that many Navajo-speaking Chinese, Koreans, Russians … Islamics … floating around unemployed?)
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I’ve thought the same thing, but you never know if they began learning it once word got out?
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A possibility, but at least it would tie up more of their resources and talents. (Every little helps, sometimes.)
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You betcha.
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Now to see them getting some recognition. The film certainly helped as they were completely unknown to me before that.
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To you and so many others. That’s why I am always trying to get them and the Nisei MISers in the public eye when I can. They went far too long without recognition. Thank you for visiting.
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GP, a most interesting post! New information for me! Now that I’m researching WWII & WWI, & the Nazi party history for a book related to my ancestors, I have more appreciation for you & your posts. Thank you! The History is complex with many articles and interpretations. Hours of reading! 💛 Christine
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Thank you very much. I hope these posts will be of assistance to you.
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They are a help. What I look for is the humanistic element. How war effects the people & families! And of course the timelines! I need to get the dates correct! 💛 CE
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Oh the dates are rough, it seems so many resources are off a bit. I can understand one day because of the date line, but more than that and I get testy!! 🙂
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Sharing this on FB. Thank you.
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Thank you for helping me to keep these men and contributions in the public eye, Colleen.
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You’re welcome, thank you for all you do, all of the time.
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A great story. Thanks for sharing it with us.
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My pleasure, they deserve all the recognition we can give them.
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Thank you for posting about them, G.P.! This was a fascinating and ingenious project.
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They did a lot for us, this post is the least I can do! I’m very glad you liked it, Lavinia.
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Great post and and glad that you recognized them!
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Thank you very much.
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My friend Laurie Buchwald shared your post at Facebook. Really interesting fact, thanks for sharing. It’s sad they never were recognized officially. We were in Maui this winter and asked a young driver if many young indigenous kids were able to study their native language and sadly, only in private schools. I wonder if many still now this language?
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Welcome! I do know that the Navajo Nation makes the native Dine language mandatory in their schools, but beyond that, I am ignorant on the subject I’m afraid. I’ve heard the Hawaiian language was getting some attention a while back, but then nothing – at least it’s taught somewhere – no culture should be lost forever.
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Oh thank you for this. Sharing on my FB page. We need to remember these men!
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And I thank you for your helping me to keep their success in the spotlight!!
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It’s ironic and sad that their contribution was so great that they could not be recognized for it. I knew of them, but only very few bits and pieces, from my dad and other WWII vets, long before reading anything official.
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Same as me. Dad was only too glad to speak the praises of the Code Talkers and the Nisei MISers!!
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A most interesting post on the code talkers, whose existence and the important role they played during WW2 I was unknown to me. Thanks, GP!
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And I appreciate both your interest and your time in reading this post. Thank you, Peter.
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You know even though Windtalkers is not one of my favorite WW2 movies, (not because of the subject matter, which is awesome, but because the acting and just overall feel of the movie is cheap) I still made my kids watch it so they could learn about these brave men.
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Good for you, Steven!! I appreciated hearing their story from my father, I’m certain your children will also remember as years go by.
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Reblogged and posted on Facebook. Thanks for the reminder. As we get further and further from the time of the war, people become forgetful. So many of our transmissions were being intercepted and translated with disastrous results. The Code Talkers were a game changer and without them many more lives would have been lost…and who knows how it might have effected the outcome.
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Exactly, yet unappreciated and unrecognized – they went on. Thank you for helping me to make this more in the public eye.
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Fascinating!
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Men we should all remember and thank.
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Reblogged this on itkindofgotawayfromyou.
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Thank you, Dan. These men went long enough with no recognition.
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It was a great idea, and something the Japanese could never figure out. As poorly as we’ve treated our Native Americans, I’m amazed at how patriotic and willing they are to fight for our country during a time of war.
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Isn’t THAT the truth!! A very courageous group of men!
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Great piece my friend…KUDOS!
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Thank you very much.
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Have a good weekend my friend….chuq
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And you as well, what’s left of it anyway! 🙂
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I only learned of these men a few years ago. It’s a good reminder that mechanization (and now, digitization) doesn’t always provide the best solution to a problem. The human factor’s important, too.
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Excellent point to make, Linda! Thank you.
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That is very genius idea!
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Glad you liked it.
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fascinating
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Brave men!
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Reblogged this on Dak's Bays.
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Thank you for honoring these men.
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I didn’t know much about these code-talkers until I saw the film ‘Windtalkers.’ (2002)
What a great idea! These brave men provided such a valuable service too.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank you for reading it, Pete. These men, as well as the Nisei, went so long without recognition.
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good one!!! whats your opinion on my blogs ???
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I check into other blogs as well for food and health advice and compare what seems to work for me. I like your site. I’ll get back there as soon as I can.
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keep visiting here!!! you will enjoy !!!
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I’m sure I will.
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you can follow me https://wordpress.com/stats/day/raheemjan760.wordpress.com here is the link
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I don’t usually follow someone the first time I read a read a post. Let’s see how things go. I have many site I follow, research I’m always doing any answering comments, sending email, etc, etc, – the list goes on. I need 48 hours for one day. Your site will get there, be patient.
Go on the Reader page, type in to add Tags with interests similar to yourself.
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thats great
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Thank you, Mrs P. We should all remember these men.
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Thank you for helping to keep their story in the public eye.
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A very interesting and brave group of men! Thank you.
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