Navajo “Code Talkers” Assemble Again...

The story of the Navajo “code talkers” in World War II is one that struck me from the first time I heard it – it was such a clever solution to a tough problem.  The challenge our military faced was this: they badly wanted to be able to communicate between front-line troops (the “grunts”) and the air and artillery support for them.  This communication needed to be near real-time if it was to be effective, and it had to be practical in the chaos of combat.  And, of course, it had to be secure – if the Japanese could intercept the communications, then the communications might be more harmful than useful to our troops.  Back then, in the days of vacuum tubes, there was no such thing as a hand-held encrypted radio.

Someone came up with the idea of using a combination of a uniquely American language (the Navajo Indian language) and a verbal code (“eagle” might mean “airplane”, for example).  The Japanese were unlikely to find a native Navajo speaker amongst their population, and to anyone else the language was completely unintelligible, as it was unrelated to any other language.

So a group of Navajos was formed, and trained both in radio operation and in a self-developed second layer of coding.  Soon these soldiers could talk reliably to each other over a radio – and anyone else listening would have no idea what they were saying.  Perfect!  Members of the group were then assigned to front-line troop squadrons and to air and artillery units, and for the first time ever front-line troops had secure, real-time communications with their support units.  The Navajo code talkers played a key role in the Pacific war, and there are many heroic stories about them.

Some of the Navajo code talkers are still alive, and they're assembling in (of all places!) New York City:

The famed Navajo Code Talkers, the elite Marine unit whose unbreakable code stymied the Japanese in World War II, fear their legacy will die with them.

Only about 50 of the 400 Code Talkers are thought to be still alive, most living in the Navajo Nation reservation that spans Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Many are frail or ill, with little time left to tell the world about their wartime contribution.

But on Tuesday, 13 of the Code Talkers, some using canes, a few in wheelchairs, arrived in New York City to participate for the first time in the nation's largest Veterans Day parade.

The young Navajo Marines, using secret Navajo language-encrypted military terms, helped the United States prevail at Iwo Jima and other World War II Pacific battles, serving in every Marine assault in the South Pacific between 1942 and 1945. Military commanders said the code, transmitted verbally by radio, helped save countless American lives and bring a speedier end to the war in the Pacific theater.

I wish I could be there to meet them.  Anyone interested in American history will find their story well worth exploring...