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I had previously posted a history of the Navajo Code Talkers. This article is a great addition. It is narrated by an actual Code Talker with his own unique point of view. This is a quote from the article:
"Yet the notion of changing to something new during the heat of conflict filled battle-weary minds with doubt. My group of code talkers was assigned to just such a doubter in the 1st Marine Division: Lieutenant Sanford B. Hunt, signal officer under General Alexander Vandergrift. When we Navajos assigned to him had arrived, Hunt just shook his head. He knew of our mission, but he had never worked with a group of Indians, and he had faith in the old code.
He had decided to test the new code immediately, and gave us a message to send out on our first night. But directly after the transmission began, panicked calls came in. Hunt’s other radio operators jammed our message, thinking the Japanese had broken into their frequency. By then it was dark, and Hunt postponed the test.
That next morning Hunt continued with the trial, ordering his radiomen not to jam the transmissions. Both the code talkers and the standard communications men were given the same message, one Hunt estimated would take four hours to transmit and receive using the old Shackle protocol.
While the men utilizing the Shackle code waited for the encoding machine to accomplish its work, one of our men transmitted the message to another code talker—in two and a half minutes. And the message was transmitted accurately, word for word. Lieutenant Hunt was impressed. But we Navajo code talkers already knew our code was good. With a code that could keep military plans and movements secret, our country would outmaneuver the Japanese. We were sure of it. "
"Yet the notion of changing to something new during the heat of conflict filled battle-weary minds with doubt. My group of code talkers was assigned to just such a doubter in the 1st Marine Division: Lieutenant Sanford B. Hunt, signal officer under General Alexander Vandergrift. When we Navajos assigned to him had arrived, Hunt just shook his head. He knew of our mission, but he had never worked with a group of Indians, and he had faith in the old code.
He had decided to test the new code immediately, and gave us a message to send out on our first night. But directly after the transmission began, panicked calls came in. Hunt’s other radio operators jammed our message, thinking the Japanese had broken into their frequency. By then it was dark, and Hunt postponed the test.
That next morning Hunt continued with the trial, ordering his radiomen not to jam the transmissions. Both the code talkers and the standard communications men were given the same message, one Hunt estimated would take four hours to transmit and receive using the old Shackle protocol.
While the men utilizing the Shackle code waited for the encoding machine to accomplish its work, one of our men transmitted the message to another code talker—in two and a half minutes. And the message was transmitted accurately, word for word. Lieutenant Hunt was impressed. But we Navajo code talkers already knew our code was good. With a code that could keep military plans and movements secret, our country would outmaneuver the Japanese. We were sure of it. "
Unbreakable: The Navajo Code | HistoryNet
Posted from historynet.com
Marines
Signal
Navajo Nation
Military History
Combat
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
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This was an awesome piece of history that is not covered in High School, I have a senior and a sophomore both took US History AP (Advanced Placement) and they did not hear about this. I would really like to publish a book on facts in history. The class covered Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the terrors associated and how america was the only country to use nuclear weapons (Really Atomic) and how bad the US was. My kids hear a bunch of BS about Korea and Vietnam, I wish schools were not so liberal. Sorry but it is a sore subject with me, Navajo Code Talkers all should receive a lifetime pension, people do not realize how crucial they were.
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SPC Woody Bullard
I did not learn of the Navajo code talkers in school. I watched the movie
"Windtalkers" which came out in 2002 about these WWII heroes. As for
the use of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and
the horrible death toll from the blast and following radiation fall out there
is another fact not taught in school. My father was one of the thousands of
Army and Marines on the captured Japanese islands near Japan waiting on the
order to invade Japan and defeat the Imperial Japanese military. Had those
two atomic bombs not been used and the invasion of Japan by Army and
Marines taken place the casualty count of dead an wounded would have
been even worse. My father and his brothers in arms waiting on those
captured Japanese islands for the order to commence the invasion of Japan
were glad the bombs were used to end the war. Never forget December 7, 1941
when Japanese war planes attacked the U.S. Navy fleet in Pearl Harbor killing
thousands of American service members. The school system forgets this fact.
"Windtalkers" which came out in 2002 about these WWII heroes. As for
the use of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and
the horrible death toll from the blast and following radiation fall out there
is another fact not taught in school. My father was one of the thousands of
Army and Marines on the captured Japanese islands near Japan waiting on the
order to invade Japan and defeat the Imperial Japanese military. Had those
two atomic bombs not been used and the invasion of Japan by Army and
Marines taken place the casualty count of dead an wounded would have
been even worse. My father and his brothers in arms waiting on those
captured Japanese islands for the order to commence the invasion of Japan
were glad the bombs were used to end the war. Never forget December 7, 1941
when Japanese war planes attacked the U.S. Navy fleet in Pearl Harbor killing
thousands of American service members. The school system forgets this fact.
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LTC (Join to see)
I know what you mean. I had a coach at Cypress College in Cypress California who was a marine who served from Guadalcanal all the way to the signing of surrender on the Missouri. Coach Schiller said that when his troop ship came into Tokyo Harbor a Harbormaster came on board to escort the ship around the minefields. I know this man would not have survived he got into operation Olympic or whatever the other one was called in the invasion of Southern Japan. And probably would have survived until 1947. I'm sure you would have lost hundreds of thousands of men. The Japanese had Kamikaze planes and tunnels. They had suicide boats they had all kinds of gear that would have made our Invasion very costly. Thank you for your dad serving in the war.
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Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen
I also like to point out to the people complaining about the horrors of using atomic bombs that both Hiroshima and Nagasaki are thriving cities today. Yes horrific things happen during war but those bombs saved millions of lives on both sides and really produced no lasting effects upon those cities.
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A brave group of men who ignored racism and prejudice to help a country that had not helped them too much in the past. These gentlemen are heroes and saints. Thank you gentlemen for your patriotism.
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You can’t decipher an unwritten message... especially when “code words” are in the message as well
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SGT (Join to see)
I liked the part where they had a code if they were captured. True Marines, thinking of mission first!
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