Navajo code talkers world war 2 pictures

During World War II, about 400 Navajo Native Americans became a key weapon in the battle against the Japanese, by simply talking. By using the Navajo language they were able to devise a code that was impossible for the Japanese to decipher.

The potential value of the Navajo Code Talkers was recognized early in World War II by Maj. Gen. Clayton B. Vogel, the commanding general of Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet, after a demonstration on Feb. 28, 1942 at Camp Elliot, Calif.

In a letter Vogel wrote to the the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps seeking approval for the program he wrote, “It should also be noted the Navajo tribal dialect is completely unintelligible to all other tribes and all other people, with the possible exception of as many as 28 Americans who have made a study of the dialect.

This dialect is thus equivalent to a secret code to the enemy, and admirably suited for rapid, secure communication.” Navajo Code Talkers, who were U.S. Marines,