Navajo+Code+Talkers

=The Navajo Code Talkers and Who They Were= The Navajo Indians are a group of Native Americans in the middle states of America. Their tribe is the biggest in the nation with over 300,000 natives. Throughout their history, they have been bullied to say the least. Spanish travelers slaughtered many for their religion and about a century later, in the 18th century, Mexicans stole their children as their servants. Even the Americans badgered them. In the early 20th century, they were thrown into concentration camp like areas. They were punished if they spoke their own language of Navajo (which thankfully for the Americans, the Navajo never forgot) and weren't allowed to practice their own rituals. Now it is in the 1940's. As you know, World War II was breaking out and codes were needed desperately by both the Axis and Allied forces. You see, talking about plans over the radio is risky. There is always somebody from the other side "reading your mail". So what do you do? You make a code. Whole teams of people on either side were put into the task of breaking the enemy codes and the hunt for the one unbreakable code was always on. Now one day a young man who had been living with the Navajo people all his life and happened to know the language and how insanely complicated it was. He knew that about only 30 people outside of the Navajo tribe knew the language well enough to speak it fluently and since the language was not written, it couldn't be studied from say, the Japanese.

The Navajo Language
People were skeptical of this "unbreakable language", but this language was so complex that it simply could not be broken. Every syllable means a different thing, and not only that, but tones play a role too. The words for "Mouth" and "Medicines" sound the same but are said with a different tone. Either high, low, rising, or falling. Not only that, but the Navajo language is not derived from any other language. When the Spanish brought horses to their lands, they came up with their very own word for it. When they saw their first airplane, guns, televisions, radios and other technologies, they had their own word for it.

Navajo in the Forefront
Eventually, the army was convinced that this just may be the one unbreakable code and so they enlisted 30 Navajo soldiers who were more than happy to fight for their country despite the harsh things people have done to them. The Navajo were sent to multiple Pacific islands that were strategic places in war. On one island, a group of American infantry (including a Navajo code talker) advanced forward through the island and then came under tank shell fire. Apparently, this tank fire was from friendly American tanks who were instructed to fire at that point. The tanks were radioed and pleaded to stop but some Japanese soldiers, who were fluent in English were known to pretend to be American soldiers to call off an attack. Because of this, the plea for the tank shells to stop was ignored. The Navajo in the group then stepped up to the radio and stated, in Navajo language, that this was not an impersonation. The message was translated on the other side and the attack was stopped immediately. Many cases like this occurred during the war and without the Navajo, how was one to know if a transmission could be trusted or not. These men did a great service.

The Pay Off
Navajos signed up for this job for multiple reasons. They wanted to protect the country they lived in and wanted to, through their service and bravery, gain more rights as Americans. Choosing their own beliefs and passing their culture down to younger generations so that what they believe can live on. Sadly, it took about a two decades until their acts were noticed. Due to the Navajo's part in the war being kept secret in case the army needed them again, their contributions were left unnoticed. In 1968, the information about the Code Talkers was released and many of the Navajo's wants were met. Later in 1982 the code talkers were given their very own certificate of recognition by President Reagan. Later that year, August 14th was named National Code Talkers Day.