Chester Nez one of the original 29 Code Talkers
In the early months of World War II, Japanese intelligence personnel broke every code the U.S. military produced. They were able to anticipate U.S. attacks, which cost countless American lives. The U.S. forces needed a better way to communicate — and fast.
The Navajo language, which was spoken almost exclusively by natives, had no written alphabet. This provided a possible solution to America’s dilemma. A Marine recruiter showed up at a Navajo boys boarding school and he and 28 other Navajos became the first Code Talkers.
“We first 29 Code Talkers designed a doubly-encrypted secret language using Navajo and English,” Nez said. “It became the only unbroken spoken code in modern warfare. Not even other Navajos could crack our code. Finally the Marines could plan strategic maneuvers without the enemy knowing every move.”
The code was so successful that the Corps recruited 400 more Navajo men to join as Code Talkers. During the war, The Code Talkers’ primary mission was to receive and send encrypted messages. Even if they were being shot at, their focus was on sending the message, not firing back at the enemy.
The Navajo language, which was spoken almost exclusively by natives, had no written alphabet. This provided a possible solution to America’s dilemma. A Marine recruiter showed up at a Navajo boys boarding school and he and 28 other Navajos became the first Code Talkers.
“We first 29 Code Talkers designed a doubly-encrypted secret language using Navajo and English,” Nez said. “It became the only unbroken spoken code in modern warfare. Not even other Navajos could crack our code. Finally the Marines could plan strategic maneuvers without the enemy knowing every move.”
The code was so successful that the Corps recruited 400 more Navajo men to join as Code Talkers. During the war, The Code Talkers’ primary mission was to receive and send encrypted messages. Even if they were being shot at, their focus was on sending the message, not firing back at the enemy.