Navajo Code Talkers
The Navajo Code Talkers were Indian Code Talkers that the Army had chosen to use as comate radio men. The group of Code Talkers was small but there was many different tribes that contributed to the radio. Some of the tribes were the Chippewa's and Oneidas as well as the sac and fox tribes (Townsend). These Indians were used to help the soldier on the field by using their language as a code.
This idea came from Philip Johnston who had approached major James E. Jones on February 1942 with a plan to use the Navajo language for battlefield radio transmitters. Johnston had lived among the Navajos for more than twenty years and spoke the native language fluently, this is where he had gotten his idea from (Townsend). He had explained to Jones that not many had studied that actual language of the Navajo so it would be the perfect code language. Only a week after Johnston had brought the idea up to Jones there were four Navajos arrived at Camp Elliott (Townsend).
Now that Johnston had to prove to jones that his idea would work. He only had forty-five minutes to give them six messages that are normally assembled in the military and instruct them. After those forty-five minutes were up them all headed to the head quarters, appeared in front of Jones and other important generals to show them what had been learned. It only took them a few seconds for six messages to come in, in Navajo then decode and correctly relay to Major Jones (Townsend). This really impressed all generals and started to be used.
There was two methods that was used with the Navajo Code Talkers. One of the Methods was used was "words for alphabet" system. this came about because There were certain terms or names that were had to put into the Navajo code. They used this method by using all twenty-six words of the English alphabet that represented a Indian term. An example would be that at island Tarawa would be transmited as "turkey-ant-rabbit-ant-weasel-ant" and that is said "Than-zie, wol-la-chee, gah, wol-lo-chee, gloe-ih, wol-la-chee." in Navajo (Townsend). The used this method the most and it worked well.
Sadly even though with all of the army's early efforts towards the Navajo Code talkers, the War Department never fully grasped the potential of this program. Just a few dozen Indians were actually fully trained for radio operations.
The Navajo Code Talkers were Indian Code Talkers that the Army had chosen to use as comate radio men. The group of Code Talkers was small but there was many different tribes that contributed to the radio. Some of the tribes were the Chippewa's and Oneidas as well as the sac and fox tribes (Townsend). These Indians were used to help the soldier on the field by using their language as a code.
This idea came from Philip Johnston who had approached major James E. Jones on February 1942 with a plan to use the Navajo language for battlefield radio transmitters. Johnston had lived among the Navajos for more than twenty years and spoke the native language fluently, this is where he had gotten his idea from (Townsend). He had explained to Jones that not many had studied that actual language of the Navajo so it would be the perfect code language. Only a week after Johnston had brought the idea up to Jones there were four Navajos arrived at Camp Elliott (Townsend).
Now that Johnston had to prove to jones that his idea would work. He only had forty-five minutes to give them six messages that are normally assembled in the military and instruct them. After those forty-five minutes were up them all headed to the head quarters, appeared in front of Jones and other important generals to show them what had been learned. It only took them a few seconds for six messages to come in, in Navajo then decode and correctly relay to Major Jones (Townsend). This really impressed all generals and started to be used.
There was two methods that was used with the Navajo Code Talkers. One of the Methods was used was "words for alphabet" system. this came about because There were certain terms or names that were had to put into the Navajo code. They used this method by using all twenty-six words of the English alphabet that represented a Indian term. An example would be that at island Tarawa would be transmited as "turkey-ant-rabbit-ant-weasel-ant" and that is said "Than-zie, wol-la-chee, gah, wol-lo-chee, gloe-ih, wol-la-chee." in Navajo (Townsend). The used this method the most and it worked well.
Sadly even though with all of the army's early efforts towards the Navajo Code talkers, the War Department never fully grasped the potential of this program. Just a few dozen Indians were actually fully trained for radio operations.