National Code Talkers Day

NATIONAL CODE TALKERS DAY

Each year on August 14th, National Code Talkers Day honors the contributions of the Native Americans who brought their unique abilities to the World War II effort. This day also highlights their impact on U.S. code and the Native American language that made it possible.

What is a code talker? A code talker is the name given to American Indians who used their tribal language to send secret communications on the battlefield. Most people have heard of the famous Navajo (or Diné) code talkers who used their traditional language to transmit secret Allied messages in the Pacific theater of combat during World War II. But did you know that there were at least 14 other Native nations that served as code talkers in both the Pacific and Europe during the war? The idea of using American Indians who were fluent in both their traditional tribal language and in English to send secret messages in battle was first put to the test in World War I with the Choctaw Telephone Squad and other Native communications experts and messengers. However, it wasn’t until World War II that the US military developed a specific policy to recruit and train American Indian speakers to become code talkers.

The US Army was the first branch of the military that began recruiting code talkers from places like Oklahoma in 1940. Other branches, such as the US Marines and Navy, followed a few years later, and the first class of 29 Navajo code talker US Marine recruits completed its training in 1942.

One member integral in creating the military code was Philip Johnston. While he was not Navajo, Johnston did speak the language fluently. He also recruited the native speakers necessary to the Code Talker’s success. Initially, there were 29 Code Talkers, however, that number would grow to between 350-420. Until 1968, the program remained classified. Only three of the original 29 are still alive.

?In 2001, President George W. Bush presented the 29 original Code Talkers with the Congressional Gold Medal, and in 2002, their story was the focus of the action movie "Windtalkers." Additionally, the remaining Navajo Code Talkers were presented with Congressional Silver Medals.