Navajo Code Talkers Part Two

By Jennifer Rosenberg, About.com

The Code

The initial code consisted of translations for 211 English words most frequently used in military conversations. Included in the list were terms for officers, terms for airplanes, terms for months, and an extensive general vocabulary. Also included were Navajo equivalents for the English alphabet so that the code talkers could spell out names or specific places.

However, cryptographer Captain Stilwell suggested that the code be expanded. While monitoring several transmissions, he noticed that since so many words had to be spelled out, the repetition of the Navajo equivalents for each letter could possibly offer the Japanese an opportunity to decipher the code. Upon Captain Silwell's suggestion, an additional 200 words and additional Navajo equivalents for the 12 most often used letters (A, D, E, I, H, L, N, O, R, S, T, U) were added. The code, now complete, consisted of 411 terms1.

On the battlefield, the code was never written down, it was always spoken. In training, they had been repeatedly drilled with all 411 terms. The Navajo code talkers had to be able to send and receive the code as fast as possible. There was no time for hesitation. Trained and now fluent in the code, the Navajo code talkers were ready for battle.

On the Battlefield

Unfortunately, when the Navajo code was first introduced, military leaders in the field were skeptical. Many of the first recruits had to prove the codes' worth. However, with just a few examples, most commanders were grateful for the speed and accuracy in which messages could be communicated.

From 1942 until 1945, Navajo code talkers participated in numerous battles in the Pacific, including Guadalcanal2, Iwo Jima, Peleliu, and Tarawa. They not only worked in communications but also as regular soldiers, facing the same horrors of war as other soldiers.

However, Navajo code talkers met additional problems in the field. Too often, their own soldiers mistook them for Japanese soldiers. Many were nearly shot because of this. The danger and frequency of misidentification caused some commanders to order a bodyguard for each Navajo code talker.

* For three years, wherever the Marines landed, the Japanese got an earful of strange gurgling noises interspersed with other sounds resembling the call of a Tibetan monk and the sound of a hot water bottle being emptied.

Huddled over their radio sets in bobbing assault barges, in foxholes on the beach, in slit trenches, deep in the jungle, the Navajo Marines transmitted and received messages, orders, vital information. The Japanese ground their teeth and committed hari-kari.*

The Navajo code talkers played a large role in the Allied success in the Pacific. The Navajos had created a code the enemy was unable to decipher.

* Excerpt from the September 18, 1945 issues of the San Diego Union as quoted in Doris A. Paul, The Navajo Code Talkers (Pittsburgh: Dorrance Publishing Co., 1973) 99.

Bibliography

Bixler, Margaret T. Winds of Freedom: The Story of the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. Darien, CT: Two Bytes Publishing Company, 1992.
Kawano, Kenji. Warriors: Navajo Code Talkers. Flagstaff, AZ: Northland Publishing Company, 1990.
Paul, Doris A. The Navajo Code Talkers. Pittsburgh: Dorrance Publishing Co., 1973.
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