Navajo Code Talkers (Encore)

WWI Beginnings

The concept of using Native American languages as military code began in World War I with the Choctaw speakers. Gary Arndt explains that an American officer, Colonel Alfred Wainwright Blore, realized the potential of the Choctaw language when he overheard soldiers speaking it. This led to the development of a code that the Germans couldn't decipher, marking the first successful use of Native American languages in military communication 1.

The Germans during World War one had no problem understanding English, and they had managed to break every American code. An American army officer named Colonel Alfred Wainwright Blore of the 142nd infantry, had several members of the Choctaw nation in his unit. One day, he overheard them talking to each other in the Choctaw language. He realized he couldn't understand what they were saying, and if he couldn't understand, then the Germans probably couldn't understand either.

--- Gary Arndt

Despite its success, the program was limited due to its late implementation in the war, but it laid the groundwork for future efforts 2.

   

Navajo Code

The idea of using Native American languages resurfaced in World War II, spearheaded by Philip Johnston. Johnston, who grew up on the Navajo Nation, recognized the potential of the Navajo language for creating an unbreakable code. He pitched the idea to the US Marine Corps, demonstrating that Navajo speakers could transmit messages much faster than traditional code machines 2.

Johnston realized that Navajo might make a great basis for a military code. Navajo had a lot going for it. For starters, it's a fairly complex language. It had a very complex grammar and sentence structure. Second, Navajo can't be understood by any other Native American groups.

--- Gary Arndt

The Marine Corps approved the program, leading to the creation of a specialized code based on Navajo, which proved to be highly effective in the field 2.