Native American Indian Code Talkers

"A Navajo message could never be faked, and could always be trusted." - Simon Singh.

WWI

Even before World War II during World War I the U.S. sought the benefits of secure communications using Native American Indians. Roughly 14 members of the Choctaw tribe who served in the 36th Division of the U.S. Army, thwarted German cryptanalysts by writing field commands in their native language. In one specific instance of the war, the Choctaw members ardently translated field orders that saved many U.S. military units during a German advance in the Meuse-Argonne blitz.

WWII

Members of the Comanche tribe helped the U.S. 4th Infantry Division during the invasion of Normandy. Various other Native Americans consisted of Seminoles, Hopis, Cherokees, Winnebegoes, Navajos and Ojibways. However, the U.S. Marines advanced the security logistics of the U.S. Army and was very successful in the Pacific campaign.

The U.S. Marine Corps used the unwritten Navajo language. No one without solid training could interpret it because of its various tonal pitches. There were actually less than 30 people in the entire world who weren't Navajo that could understand it. Roughly 540 Navajo members were recruited by the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. The speed of encipherment of English from a Navajo member was roughly on the order of 90 times faster than a machine during that time.

Finally, the Navajo code talkers were involved in every U.S. attack in the Pacific theater. The Japanese were able to crack the U.S. Army and Air Corps codes but they never cracked the Navajo language. Because of its continued value as a secure code, it wasn't until several years after the war that the Native American code talkers were recognized. By 1968, the Navajo code reached a state of declassification. In 1982, the U.S. Government finally honored them with a "National Navajo Code Talkers Day" for every August 14.