Navajos+Code+Talkers

Aaseng, Nathan. __ Navajo Code Talkers __. Markham: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1992. >  -logical connection between the code words and what they stood for -had to be unusually creative/descriptive in order for easier memorization -had to relatively short to save time -needed to avoid words that were similar or easily confused with other words to prevent mistakes
 * Military leaders desperately needed a way to send important messages through a code
 * Many of their codes were broken
 * Used symbols and cryptograms at first
 * Military assigned some members to develop an unbreakable code
 * They understood stood that gaining an advantage in communicating secretly could make the difference between winning and losing the war
 * The war in the Pacific heavily depended on the quality of secret communications because the battles were spread out over thousands of miles in the pacific ocean
 * Their military intelligence was so good at tapping into American communications and cracking codes that it was hard to keep any secrets
 * So Japan often had the advantage of knowing where US troops are and where they are going and when they would get there
 * Neither side could keep secrets due to military intelligence so who won the war was based on the combat forces
 * Japan had the advantage of a stronger military, it armies were victorious and captured more than 12,000 American soldiers
 * By 1942, Japan ruled most of the Pacific ocean
 * Military leaders didn't know how to turn the communications battle in their favor
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Phillip Johnston a civil engineer had an answer, he was one of the few whites in the US who could speak Navajo Fluently, he had grown up with the Navajos
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Johnston knew that it was almost impossible for an adult to master
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">subtle differences in tone can change the entire meaning of a sentence
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Johnston knew the military need a secret communication, so he looked into to it further
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">He realized how ideal it was for sending secret messages, so he contacted officers at the US marines Camp Elliot in California
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Lieutenant Colonel James Jones, a signal officer met with Johnston in February, 1942
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">His notion was nothing knew to Jones, over the years many armies tried to send secret messages through obscure or ancient languages, including Native American languages
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">the Navajos were so isolated that in 1940 less than 30 people outside their tribe knew the language and it had never been reduced to a written form
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Johnston pointed out key differences between this plan and other attempts, he was talking about a simple translation, he wanted to develop a code using the Navajo language
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The Navajos could also provide many more translators than any other tribe, at the time there were about 55,000 Navajos living in the US
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">In March 1942, he allowed a demonstration to be presented to Major General Clayton and Colonel Wethered Woodward in Washington DC, Johnston was able to get four Navajos living in LA and one Navajo soldier, the Navajos were split into separate rooms. Messages were given to one of the Navajos who translated into the Navajo language, This message was sent to the second Navajo who then translated it back to English.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">General Vogel was very impressed with the speed and accuracy of the translations
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Johnston was asked to prepare a proposal for organizing and using the Navajo Code talkers
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Vogel's superiors, however, were not ready to turn over such a crucial part of their communication system to a civilian and hundreds of untested Navajos
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The marines cut back on Johnston's 200 man unit down to a 30 man starter program, in case of disaster
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Johnston knew that they would soon be impressed by the Navajos and expand the program so he accepted the challenge of organizing the 382nd platoon of the US Marines for the pilot program
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">in 1942 marine recruiters were sent to Navajo reservations to find their "first candidates"
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">the reservation was large enough to be a country in itself, it was 25,000 square miles of land
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Few Navajos had ever left the reservation, most strictly followed their religious rituals and governed themselves based according to the traditions of their clans
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Although they willingly fought for the US to protect the country, they didn't forget the lesson of the "Long Walk"
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They were given a poor education system by the US gov., most didn't want to send their children to these schools anyway, thus many Navajos never learned to speak English
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The military sent home the Navajos who couldn't speak or understand English
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Some were so eager that they lied about their age to get in
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Many didn't know much about the program that they were getting into other than that it was a special program run by the Marines
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Thirty candidates were selected
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They left for basic training camp near San Diego
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They had to adapt to American living from strange food and bunkhouses to mechanized equipment
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The most drastic part was the adjustment to the "mild-mannered, unaggressive Navajos was military discipline"
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">It was basically boot camp
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">For the most part, they took the abuse in "easy stride" they showed no fear, surprise or anxiety
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They were extremely diligent workers who were used to going for days without food
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">After boot camp the Navajos were sent to Camp Pendleton, also near San Diego to learn how to communicate messages
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They studied Morse Code, semaphore signals, techniques of military message writing, wire laying, pole climbing, and communication procedures, they were also trained in the operation of radios that would be in combat zones
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The most important task for them was to develop their code
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">First they learned about military terminology from all branches of service, then they were given 211 terms most likely to be used, their mission was to create a Navajo equivalent to these words, the code words had to be chosen with extreme care, the Marines didn't allow any written version of the code in the battle zones, everything had to be memorized
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">There were four basic rules in creating code words

>  <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Navajo Code Talkers (Nathan Aaseng) Chapter 2 - Life in War Zone > -the medical doctor > -the diagnostician, a person who discovered how the patient's mind and body were in disharmony with the world > -the singer, who performed rituals to restore health <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Navajo Code Talkers (Nathan Aaseng) Chapter 3 - Japanese Codes <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Navajo Code Talkers (Nathan Aaseng) Chapter 4 - Island Hopping >  >   >   <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Navajo Code Talkers (Nathan Aaseng) Chapter 5 - The Navajos' Shining Moment <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Navajo Code Talkers (Nathan Aaseng) Chapter 6 Back Home <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Paul, Doris. __The Navajo Code Talkers.__ Pittsburgh: Dorrance Publishing Co,. INC, 1973 Navajo Code from Book: code > code ** ALPHABET        NAVAJO WORD                TRANSLATION ** code > code A                              WOL-LA-CHEE                  ANT code > code A                              BE-LA-SANA                     APPLE code > code A                              TSE-NILL                           AXE code > code B                              HASH-CHID                      BADGER code > code B                              SHUSH                               BEAR code > code B                              TOISH-JEH                        BARREL code > code C                              MOASI                               CAT code > code C                              TLA-GIN                            COAL code > code C                              BA-GOSHI                         COW code > code D                             BE                                        DEER code > code D                            CHINDI                                DEVIL code > code D                            LHA-CHA-EH                     DOG code > code E                            AH-JAH                                EAR code > code E                            DZEH                                   ELK code > code E                           AH-NAH                               EYE code > code F                           CHUO                                    FIR code > code F                            TSA-E-DONIN-EE              FLY code > code F                            MA-E                                    FOX code > code G                           AH-TAD                              GIRL code > code G                           KLIZZIE                             GOAT code > code G                           JEHA                                  GUM code > code H                          TSE-GAH                            HAIR code > code H                          CHA                                     HAT code > code H                          LIN                                       HORSE code > code I                            TKIN                                    ICE code > code I                           YEH-HES                             ITCH code > code I                           A-CHI                                  INTESTINE code > code J                           TKELE-CHO-G                  JACKASS code > code J                          AH-YA-TSINNE                JAW code > code J                          YIL-DOI                             JERK code > code K                         JAD-HO-LONI                   KETTLE code > code K                         BA-AH-NE-DI-TININ      KEY code > code K                        KLIZZIE-YAZZIE             KID code > code L                        DIBEH-YAZZIE                 LAMB code > code L                        AH-JAD                              LEG code > code L                        NASH-DOIE-TSO              LION code > code M                      TSIN-TLITI                         MATCH code > code M                      BE-TAS-TNI                       MIRROR code > code M                      NA-AS-TSO-SI                   MOUSE code > code N                       TSAH                                  NEEDLE code > code N                       A-CHIN                              NOSE code > code O                      A-KHA                                OIL code > code O                      TLO-CHIN                        ONION code > code O                      NE-AHS-JAH                   OWL code > code P                      CLA-GI-AIH                      PANT code > code P                 BI-SO-DIH                             PIG code > code P                 NE-ZHONI                            PRETTY code > code Q                CA-YEILTH                          QUIVER code > code R               GAH                                       RABBIT code > code R                DAH-NES-TSA                   RAM code > code R               AH-LOSZ                             RICE code > code S               DIBEH                                  SHEEP code > code S               KLESH                                  SNAKE code > code T               D-AH                                     TEA code > code T               A-WOH                               TOOTH code > code T               THAN-ZIE                          TURKEY code > code U               SHI-DA                              UNCLE code > code U               NO-DA-IH                         UTE code > code V               A-KEH-DI-GLINI              VICTOR code > code W               GLOE -IH                            WEASEL code > code X               AL-NA-AS-DZOH          CROSS code > code Y               TSAH-AS-ZIH                  YUCCA code > code Z               BESH-DO-TLIZ                ZINC code > code code > code AFRICA         ZHIN-NI                             BLACKIES code > code ALASKA         BEH-HGA                       WITH WINTER code > code AMERICA        NE-HE-MAH                 OUR MOTHER code > code AUSTRALIA      CHA-YES-DESI          ROLLED HAT code > code BRITAIN        TOH-TA                            BETWEEN WATERS code > code CHINA          CEH-YEHS-BESI               BRAIDED HAIR code > code FRANCE         DA-GHA-HI                     BEARD code > code GERMANY        BESH-BE-CHA-HE      IRON HAT code > code ICELAND        TKIN-KE-YAH               ICE LAND code > code INDIA          AH-LE-GAI                        WHITE CLOTHES code > code ITALY          DOH-HA-CHI-YALI-TCHI        STUTTER code > code JAPAN          BEH-NA-ALI-TSOSIE             SLANT EYE code Kawano, Kenji, Carl Gorman, and Benis Frank. __Warriors Navajo Code Talkers.__ 1st ed. Flagstaf, Arizona: Northland Publishing, 1991.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> in order to include more words in their operations that just 211, the assigned terms, they added an alphabet code, they took the English letters, thought of something that started with that letter in English and used the Navajo word for that object.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They were trained in a 4 week course, they were put into battle simulations that went very well, according to one experienced code breaker, "It sounded like gibberish. We couldn't even transcribe it, much less crack it."
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Even Navajos couldn't make sense of the codes
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Disappointing news came, officers high up in the Marines had overridden the orders of promotion, the Navajos would NOT be moved up in rank as they had been promised
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The upset Navajos still went on without complaint
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Of the thirty who started the program, 29 completed it.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Johnston's program had proven to be a success, and he was put in charge of the code-talker training program
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Two of the trainees were sent back to the reservation to recruit more Navajos
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">By the end of the war, 450 Navajos had been recruited for code-talking training and only 30 failed to complete the course
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Most of the original code-talkers were sent to the South Pacific for their first assignment, while the rest stayed behind to become instructors
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">We were still losing the war, the Japanese were on the verge of gaining control over the entire Pacific area
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">the target was now a small chain of islands, called the Solomons. The US wanted to put an end to the expansion of the Japanese forces on these islands
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">American commanders decided that action had to take place immediately, the plan was put together, the success depended on the surprise of it, the code talkers were going to join this battle
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The Japanese were in complete control during this battle
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">IN a panic, the Navajos placed in this battle started to send important messages but since the American soldiers didn't know what this special code program was, they heard a different language over the radio and assumed it was Japanese. This sent them into a panic, they thought the Japanese had gained control over the other Marines' positions, they were ordered to stop sending messages to prevent further confusion
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">These confusions weren't uncommon, the American Marines had trouble determining the differences between the Navajos and the Japanese
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They also faced the problem that the Japanese were more likely to fight until death then to surrender
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The American Marines were informed about the Navajos acting as code talkers, most incidents after that were merely an inconvenience.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Navajo code talkers were also mistaken for spies, they would be transported back to headquarters until another Navajo could identify him and he was finally set free, after many close calls, the Marine Units were assigned a bodyguard to protect their code talkers from confused American soldiers
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">There were a lot of skeptical soldiers, they argued that the code talkers were more trouble than they are worth and a few Marine officers refused to use code talkers at all, while many kept an open mind.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The 211 code was no longer adequate, new tactics, strategies and terms came into use, their vocabulary shortly double in size
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> We were slowly gaining control in Guadalcanal in 1942
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Many officers still didn't believe in the code talkers and didn't use them as often as they should have
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The efforts of the code talkers was noticed by General Alexander Vandegrift, the leader of the American expedition in Guadalcanal
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> When his forces gained control of Guadalcanal, he requested 83 more code talkers
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> One of the code talkers best defeats was in Rabaul, the key port in a cluster of islands northeast of Papua New Guinea
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Japanese had gained control, and American and Allied forces wanted to force them out of this stronghold, but the harbor was very well protected, they knew American forces were coming because they could very easily crack the codes of the navy, still.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> To stop the enemy from gaining any more info, 11 Navajo code talkers were sent to take charge of the Navy's communications
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Instantly the Japanese were uncertain of future US attacks
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> American planes caught the Japanese off guard, in a sequence of bombs, the Americans hit Japanese planes, ships, and storage facilities
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The Japanese fled
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Navajos also played key parts between ground forces and naval and air support as the US kept their control over the Solomons.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> By mid 1944, they had secured all of the Solomons
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> With this victory, the US forces broke the momentum of the Japanese
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> They had to give up most of their customs in the war zone
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> They were taught to accept the behavior of others so they were east to get along with and many reported to have made friends with American Soldiers
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The Marines, for the most part, were more accepting of minorities than regular society was
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The Navajo Trait that posed most difficult was their fear of Death, this means that they didn't want to have anything to do with anything that died, they weren't unusually afraid of death, they believed that the evil part of a creature was the only part that stayed on earth, once someone was dead, their name wouldn't be mentioned again
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> In the Pacific war they were surrounded by death, more than in their worst fear, this however, didn't stop them from carrying out their job in the war
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> They showed great ability to accept what was beyond their control
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> They were able to stay so calm mostly due to their religious beliefs, they believed that their health depended on three people: <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The enemy way was also important to the Navajos, the ceremony usually included a sand painting that would take about fifteen men an entire day to complete, this was meant to protect the soldiers from "Ghost sickness" caused by spirits of the enemies who they killed
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Even though the Navajos were recruited for communications, they were also involved in regular marine duties and the enemy way helped them through the battles
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Soldiers in the Pacific had the WORST living conditions, they hacked their way through dense jungles, with slippery and rotting vegetation, their were several bogs that came up to their waists, they were attacked by malaria-carrying mosquitoes and many other dangerous insects, it was awfully hot and they had to walk through tall grasses up to their eyes, they trudged up steep terrain while carrying 100 lbs of supplies each
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The Navajos were almost acclimated to harsh conditions with meager supplies, they knew how to endure hard situations
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They were better suited for the conditions than there American counterparts
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Many times, they had to go without eating, which was a lot harder for the Americans since they were always able to get food, unlike the Navajos
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Japanese forces didn't give any mercy to anyone, they didn't believe in surrendering, they were relentless, they fight until the death
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The Japaneses' most disastrous code failure was the breaking of their top-secret purple code, this code was created by a cipher machine, it contained a series of wheels, bars, and rotors
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Incredibly, the navy was able to break the system within a short time
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They were able to build a replica of the Japanese Purple code machine, the Japanese were so confident in their system that they refused to believe the US had cracked the code even when evidence should have made them very suspicious, so they continued to use the Purple code
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The success of the American Intelligence units in breaking Japanese codes allowed the US military to eavesdrop
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">It came so easily that the US wondered if they were sending false info in order to set a trap
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">In the Summer of 1942, the US intercepted a message from the Japanese that explained that the Japanese fleet was planning for major action, the only problem was that the US didn't know where it was going to happen, we only knew that the locations code name was "AF", but they couldn't figure out what AF meant
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They finally figured out that it was Midway Island, a small island northwest of Hawaii
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They were unaware that the Americans were now fully prepared to fight them, the Japanese lost more than 300 airplanes around Midway Island on June 5-6 1942, compared to fewer than 150 American losses
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Four of the Japanese Navy's 9 aircraft carriers were sunk in the fighting, the Japanese no longer had an advantage on the sea, the Japanese were unable to rebuild the navy in time to fight
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Early the next year, a message was intercepted from the Japanese that devastated their chances at winning the war even more
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">America decoded a top-secret message from Japan's naval commander-in-chief, admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. he planned a one day stop at the Solomon Islandsto boost the spirits of the troops that were locked in combat with the US Marines
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The US then went after Yamamoto, on April 18, 1943, his plane came in towards the runway, Suddenly an American plane flew over head and shot down Yamamoto's plane, he was killed
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The US also gained knowledge of where the Japanese were getting there supplies from, American submarines went along the shipping routes, they attacked ships and sunk them, Nearly 1,200 Japanese cargo-carrying ships ended up at the bottom of the ocean
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">At this point, the hopes of the Japanese military deteriorated
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">By cutting off their raw materials, the US severely hurt Japan's ability to produce military goods and equipment
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The US finally were on offense in 1944, the US continued to listen to Japanese messages, they were able to predict how the battle was going to go and what condition the enemy was in
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Experts say that the US code-cracking shortened the war in the Pacific by a whole year, some even say that we might have lost the war without the US intelligence contributions
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The Navajo, however, proved to be too difficult for the Japanese to crack, military secrets were able to remain a secret
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The solution to finishing off the Japanese was island-hopping, ground troops supported by air and sea power would take down the Japanese
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">This type of attack required quick communication between commanders on ships and frontline soldiers on the beaches
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Navajo code talkers would be ideal for this operation, but the code at this time was still considered an experiment, there were doubts that we could trust them with such an important operation and if we could afford to take a chance with them
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">There could be new situations not covered in simulations, radio operators occasionally had to think of new terms to fit usual situations, those on the receiving line had to be able to interpret these messages in seconds
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Their previous performances led the officers to believe that they were able to handle it
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> In 1943, over a year after the US first moved to Guadalcanal, the American forces moved into action, their first target were the Gilbert Islands. which consisted of 12 small islands that were widely spread apart
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Men were being killed easily on the island of Tarawa, the Marines suffered heavy losses before gaining control of the island, 1,000 of the 16,000 were killed
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The Marines learned that a successful amphibious attack required proper planning and equipment from this battle, good communication was also essential,
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> After securing the Gilbert Islands, the Marines moved North, their next target were the Marshall Islands, it was a similar challenge to the Gilbert Islands, having learned from their experience in the Gilbert Island battle, they easily overran Japanese defenses.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The Mariana Islands were the next target
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> They expected far more Japanese troops there, since they were moving closer and closer to Japan
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> On June 15, 1944, the Marines landed on the island of Saipan, the second largest of the Marianas
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> About the same time, the Japanese suffered a defeat in the Battle of the Philippine Sea
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> At Saipan, the code talkers underwent relentless fire, after weeks of fighting, the remaining Japanese soldiers planned a final attack, they were defeated after 3 weeks and the US was victorious
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Thus, Tinian was an easy victory
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The third attack was to capture the island of Guam, south of Saipan
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The code talkers efforts during this battle earned them their highest praise, the Japanese were oblivious to the fact that the code talkers were planning the marines' attack
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> they warned commanding officers who was low on ammunition and who needed medical help
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> they also reported on enemy positions and artillery placements
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Early in the war, artillery shells landed short of the enemy and there wasn't a way for the US would know, and now the Navajos could help to redirect inaccuracies like this
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> the Navajos believed that their most important job was to warn what units were in danger so reinforcements could be brought in
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Navajos were equally important in communicating secret info from the central command to the front lines
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Their speed allowed commanders to recall troops that were entering a targeted area for an artillery attack
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> Code talkers became the Marines' primary source of communication, commanders were so impressed by the Navajos, they began to trust them so thoroughly that they wouldn't use anyone else but a code talker to transmit messages by radio
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> The Navajos ran a very high risk of being shot
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"> But the worst was yet to come, the fight for Iwo Jima
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Battle for Sulfur Island:
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Iwo Jima-harsh terrain, was defended by 22,000 Japanese Soldiers
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">American planes bombed Iwo Jima for 74 consecutive days, but aerial photographs showed that the Japanese defenses grew stronger than before the bombing started
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">IN February, 1945, "the largest force of marines ever committed to action" were sent to Iwo Jima
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Several commanders expected to be in control within a week
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">On February 19, the US navy relentlessly attacked, the next morning 1,400 marines were ready to invade
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">once the beach was cleared of the enemy, the code talkers moved in with the next group of soldiers
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The first group easily over powered the Japanese on the beaches, but then as the code talkers entered supposedly safe ground, something was wrong, the Japanese had held back their troops, they allowed the Americans on land, now that the Americans were crowded on the beaches, the Japanese open fired
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">There was no where to run and no where to hide
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">the enemy was firing very accurately and heavily
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">newly arriving marines were also caught in the heavy fire
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">bodies lay everywhere on the beach along with wrecked equipment
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">During this battle the code talkers set up their radios and began to report, they directed the gun fire from the ships and airplanes toward hidden mortar and artillery pockets that they had found
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They also warned Marines about where the artillery fire from ships was being aimed
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The Navajos managed to hear and process the messages while the fighting was going on, they showed bravery and efficiency in this battle
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">After fighting their way off the beach, they looked to gain Mt. Suribachi, a volcano, the Marines slowly forced their way towards in, the fighting at that point was extremely gruesome, many died
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">it took the Marines until March 16 to gain control over Iwo Jima
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">More than 6,800 US soldiers died trying to take Sulfur Island
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">20,000 were wounded
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Major Howard Conner, "Were it not for the Navajo Code Talkers, the Marines never would have taken Iwo Jima"
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The final battle was in Okinawa, a large island
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The Japanese fought as hard and relentlessly as they could in order to hold onto Okinawa
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">This battle went on for 2 months, the US suffered more losses than in Iwo Jima
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Once again, the code talkers worked to protect and warn the marines, they still handled the bulk of US communications
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Okinawa was gained by the US after a bloody battle, the next invasion would be the one of the main Japanese Islands
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The US soldiers grew wary because of the losses i Okinawa and Iwo Jima
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">As the US soldiers waited to hear what was to happen next, a Navajo communicating with the commanders received a message and instantly jumped to his feet and began to dance
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Japan had surrendered!
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The Navajos came home, some were okay to move on with their lives, some were not
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Some Navajos were scared by the experience, they couldn't bear to think of it, their spirit was forever wounded
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Some Navajos spoke openly about their experience, even finding humor in their experiences
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Some saw the benefits of education and wanted to bring it to other Navajos
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">It had not altered how they were treated by American society, Navajos who fought as equals to the Americans were suddenly at the bottom again
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Many couldn't vote in certain states
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">Their land was poor, their people were hungry and still without an education
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They were only treated with respect from their own people
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">People listened to them and their concerns about the education of the young Navajos
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">The sacrifices by the code talkers were going unrecognized by American Society
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They were asked to keep their job in the military a secret in case the US needed to use their code in future battles
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They did as they were asked, very modest about their role in the war
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">They were first nationally recognized in 1969 in a reunion of the Fourth Marine Division Association
 * "Sometimes we had to crawl, had to run, had to lie partly submerged in a swamp or in a lagoon, or in the dead heat, pinned under fire. But there was no problem. We transmitted our messages under any and all conditions.”
 * Navajo reservations were extremely isolated
 * Many children didn’t attend school, they didn’t receive any type of education
 * The few educated and intelligent children would later become a large part in the victory over the Japanese
 * Economy of the tribe was suffering
 * Devastation of their land
 * Infamous “Long Walk” of 1864, Navajos were seized and were forced to walk 300 miles by the relentless Americans, many died
 * They were recruited but many were turned away because they couldn’t speak English
 * They believed that they were going to be serving as soldiers, they had no idea of what was actually planned for them
 * Commanders in Pacific knew that their codes were easily deciphered by the Japanese
 * A new swift code was desperately needed
 * English became a last resort, many of the Japanese spoke fluent English though
 * Japanese were also very skilled at wire tapping
 * Eventually a complex code was created by the Americans, but there was still disappointment in the lack of speed
 * Tokyo was also looking into more efficient ways to communicate
 * Phillip Johnston first presented to the Marines that a code in the Navajo language could be an excellent way to communicate
 * He was one of the few non-Navajos to speak fluently in Navajo
 * He spent most of his time as a child on a Navajo reservation with his parents and Navajo friends
 * He also learned their ceremonies and traditions from being around them so much
 * As he grew older, he served as a translator for his father, other missionaries, and several government agents on the reservation
 * He presented his idea to Colonel James E. Jones, Jones was convinced because of the complexity of the language
 * Hard because of the verb forms of the language and the different ways of emphasizing can change the whole sentence
 * Organized as the 382 nd platoon, 29 Navajos were excepted into the Marines
 * Went to a training camp in San Diego, everything about American culture was new to them
 * It was very difficult for the American officers to instruct them and train them
 * They had never been under any discipline before boot camp, they were used to the free life on the reservation
 * The Navajos took the harsh discipline very well, though, they worked with precision and kept their bunks meticulously clean
 * An American officer described them as hard working, uncomplaining, neat, orderly, they quickly learn and adapt easily, and very quiet.
 * The American Marines were extremely impressed by the Navajos and excepted them as equals
 * The Navajos were physically and mentally stronger
 * They were used to going without food for days and bathing in the snow
 * code
 * NAMES OF COUNTRIES **


 * used their language as a secret code in WW2

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/07/26/code.talkers/
 * 400 served in South Pacific
 * responsible for many victories because the Japanese couldn't break their code
 * Japanese intercepted American transmissions-but they heard a "strange language, gurgling"
 * one of the most important things in a war is communication
 * Americans were able to break Japanese communications
 * Navajo was one of the world's most secretive languages at the time
 * They had no written form, no alphabet, or other symbols
 * only a handful of non-Navajos, usually anthropologists or missionaries could speak the language
 * Phillip Johnston was one who could, he lived on a Navajo reservation and had Navajo friends most of his life
 * When he was 9, he went to Washington DC with his dad to talk to Theodore Roosevelt. He acted as a translator
 * He served in WW1, then had a job in LA, he also gave lectures on Navajos on the side
 * He suggested to Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jones that they make a code using the Navajo language
 * They did many simulations and found that the code was very adequate
 * With the approval of the Navajo Tribal Council, they began to recruit the Navajos
 * Each recruit was fit and fluent in Navajo and English
 * By August 1943, 191 Navajo men had joined the Marines, plus many others(undetermined) who served as soldiers in the Marines
 * After signing up, the Navajo recruits underwent boot camp in the San Diego Marine corps Recruit Depot
 * After boot camp they were sent to the field Signal Battalion Training Center at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California
 * Boot Camp was extremely traumatic for the average recruit
 * Had to memorize over 211 code words, the meaning in Navajo, and translate that into English
 * Once they were done at Camp Pendleton, they were sent to the South Pacific for assignment to Marine units
 * The Marines were very pleased with their effort and they American marines accepted them as equals
 * They transmitted messages over telephone and radio
 * By the end of the war, they had been assigned to all 6 Marine Divisions