What was the main significance of the Navajo code talkers?

The Navajo Code Talkers were successful because they provided a fast, secure and error-free line of communication by telephone and radio during World War II in the Pacific. The 29 initial recruits developed an unbreakable code, and they were successfully trained to transmit the code under intense conditions.

What was the Navajo Code Talkers code?

The code primarily used word association by assigning a Navajo word to key phrases and military tactics. This system enabled the Code Talkers to translate three lines of English in 20 seconds, not 30 minutes as was common with existing code-breaking machines.

Why was the Navajo language used for coded messages?

The Navajo Code Talkers. Military communications have to be coded to keep them secret from the enemy. The idea of using Amerindian languages for military communications went back to World War I when Company D of the 141st Infantry Division utilized eight Choctaws to convey military orders by telephone.

How were the Navajo code talkers recognized?

Finally, in 2000, the United States Congress passed legislation to honor the Navajo Code Talkers and provided them with special gold and silver Congressional Medals. The gold medals were for the original twenty-nine Navajos that developed the code, and the silver medals for those that served later in the program.

What is the Navajo code?

The Code. Word Association. The Navajo recruits began developing the code by taking words from their language and applying to them to implements of war. For example, the names of different birds were used to stand for different kinds of planes. The initial code consisted of 211 vocabulary terms, which expanded to 411 over the course of the war.

Is Navajo code still used?

The deployment of the Navajo code talkers continued through the Korean War and after, until it was ended early in the Vietnam War. The Navajo code is the only spoken military code never to have been deciphered. William Tully Brown died in June 2019 aged 96; after his death only five remained alive.

Who are the code talkers?

A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to utilize a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is now usually associated with United States service members during the world wars who used their knowledge of Native American languages as a basis to transmit coded messages.

Are there any Navajo code talkers left?

There is no official count of how many of the Navajo Code Talkers are left who served during World War II, but most agree there are 8. According to Zonnie Gorman, the daughter of the late Navajo Code Talker Howard Gorman, eight code talkers remain.