Navajo Code Talkers - Research Paper Example

 Navajo Code Talkers They were a small band of warriors who created an unbreakable code from the ancient language of their people and changed the course of modern history. Known as Navajo Code Talkers, they were young Navajo men who transmitted secret communications on the battlefields of WWII. At a time when America's best cryptographers were falling short, these modest sheepherders and farmers were able to fashion the most ingenious and successful code in military history. They drew upon their proud warrior tradition to brave the dense jungles of Guadalcanal and the exposed beachheads of Iwo Jima. Serving with distinction in every major engagement of the Pacific theater from 1942-1945, their unbreakable code played a pivotal role in saving countless lives and hastening the war's end1 In American history, the Native Americans or the Navajos suffered a lot even though they contributed heavily to the defense of their country when it was most needed. Settlers intruded into their territories and killed thousands of Navajos for taking control of their territories. However, when America was badly in need of Navajo services in some of the strongly fought wars, Navajos were ready to forget all the sufferings they suffered from the hands of the white dominant American government and helped America to protect its sovereignty. “They had fought the Spanish, Mexicans, Americans, as well as the other tribes in their defence of their homeland and would do so again if they were threatened”2 Even now, the Navajos are ready to extend their services for the rescue of their country even though the Code talkers were too old to take up arms in America’s defence. However the Navajo code talker association issued a proclamation declaring their readiness and desire to support American in its antiterrorism activities after the 9/11 incident3. Proper communication is vital in ensuring success in any wars. Lots of secret messages were transmitted between different parties involved in the war. The success of the war lies primarily in keeping the content of the messages transmitted as secret. Because of the huge advancements in science and technology, the secrets encoded with the help of languages can be easily intercepted and decoded by the enemies. World War II made evident the prominent role Navajo Code Talkers played on the battlefield, and the vital resource their language was to the United States Marine Corps, United States Navy and the war effort in the South Pacific. This paper briefly analyses the important role played by the Navajo Code Talkers in the battle field especially in the Second World War which helped America immensely. Navajo Code Talkers and their services during war time On February 19, 1945, US marines attacked the Pacific island of Iwo Jima. “During the first 48 hours the Navajo Code Talkers coded and decoded 800 messages without error. After three days of bloody battle, when the American flag was raised on Suribachi, the news was transmitted through out Pacific in Navajo Code”4. Most of the war messages and strategies were communicated with the help of secret codes during the war time. Attacking the enemy at an unexpected time will always give extra advantages to the attackers. If the enemy is underprepared for an attack, it would be easy for the attackers to achieve their military goals. Secret terms and codes were used while transmitting messages during war time by the militaries. “For example, the term for "machine gun" became "rapid-fire gun," the term for "battleship" became "whale," and the term for "fighter plane" became "hummingbird"”5. However the science and technology has developed a lot and even extremely secret encoded messages were decoded with the help of computers and software at present. The failure in decoding the intercepted messages properly, often results in unexpected attacks. The Pearl Harbor Attack by the Japanese troops in 1941 can be cited as the best example for the intelligence failure. Messages had been intercepted and read in plenty dealing with Japanese interests in warship movements into and out of Pearl harbour. But Japan never sent any message saying anything like ‘We will attack Pearl Harbour” which prevented the Americans from knowing in advance about the Pearl harbour attack”6 Navajo secret codes are still difficult to decode by the enemies because of the peculiarities in developing such codes. Navajos or the Native American languages are different from other languages both in vocabulary, accent and structure. “Navajos have so many sounds in their language which helped them in making secret codes using sounds”7. Even though the secrets encoded using languages are easy to decode, same thing cannot be said about the codes encoded using sounds. “For three years, wherever the Marines landed, the Japanese got an earful of strange gurgling noises interspersed with other sounds resembling the call of a Tibetan monk and the sound of a hot water bottle being emptied”8. It was difficult for the Japanese military to interpret or decode such Navajo messages encoded with the help of sounds. Even the military leaders differed in their opinions about the utility of Navajo codes when it was first introduced in the military. However, with just a few examples like the Second World War, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Peleliu, and Tarawa, Navajo codes proved its worth. In these encounters, Navajo codes not only worked as a communication channel but also in helping soldiers, facing the horrors of war. “Sometimes we had to crawl, had to run, had to lie partly submerged in a swamp or lagoon or in the dead heat, pinned under fire. But there was no problem. We transmitted our messages under any and all conditions says a Navajo”9 Navajos had no hesitation in using any tactics in transmitting their messages. The thought about the safety of the country, motivated them greatly while undertaking painful missions of safe transmission of the messages. Navajo Code Talkers never got the recognition they deserved. American military used their services extensively in most of the wars they fought. Even in the First World War, America used Navajo Code for defeating the Germans. Before the introduction of the Navajo Codes in military, the Germans were able to break every American codes and tap the American phone lines during First World War. However the utility of the Navajo Codes were recognized by a captain called Lawrence during the latter periods of WW1. During the closing days of World War One captain Lawrence stumbled across two men in his company speaking a language that was totally foreign to him. These men were Native Americans and the language he overheard was their native Choctaw tongue. He stood there listening for a few moments then was hit by inspiration which enabled him to devise a plan that within 72 hours would turn the tide of the war and have the Germans in retreat (Navajo code talkers of WWII)10 Germans had no clue at all about the codes used by the Navajo code talkers and the American troops succeeded in grabbing the victory easily from the hands of Germany. However, the contributions of Navajo code talkers in the World War 1 and World War 2 were neglected by the administrators and military officials. Even though many of the American soldiers who participated in these wars got recognitions, rewards and complements, nobody gave any kind of complements or recognition to the contributions of Navajo code talkers. Even though the utility of Navajo code is proved beyond doubt during war time, the Navajo code talkers met some problems also in the battle field. One of the major problems cited against Navajo codes is the fact that their own soldiers mistook them for Japanese soldiers and a lot many mishaps were happened. In some cases, the military commanders forced to use an additional body guard for the protection of the Navajo code talker. Conclusions Navajo code talkers or the Native Americans contributed heavily to the success of American military during many of the wars. They are ready to extend their services even now for the fight against terrorism. Even though the historians and the war strategic experts do not have any doubt about the values of the contributions of the Navajo code talkers in wars fought by American military, the administration is still reluctant in recognizing or accepting the contributions of this suppressed community for making America successful in most of the wars it fought. Bibliography 1. Durrett, Deanne, Unsung Heroes of World War II: The Story of the Navajo Code Talkers, Bison Books, 2009.  2. Kahn, David, The Code breakers, Publisher: Scribner; Rev Sub edition (December 5, 1996) 3. Kawano, Kenji, Warriors: Navajo Code Talkers, Northland, 2002.  4. McClain, Sally, Navajo Weapon, Publisher: Rio Nuevo Publishers (April 2002) 5. Navajo Code Talker Association. 2010. Accessed on 22 December 2010 from http://navajocodetalkers.org/ 6. Perry, Tenna. 2002. Navajo code talkers of WWII. Accessed on 22 December 2010 from http://www.essortment.com/all/navajocodetalk_rjxq.htm 7. Paul, Doris A., The Navajo Code Talkers, Dorrance Publishing Co., 1998.  8. Rosenberg, Jennifer, Navajo Code talkers. 2010. Accessed on 22 December 2010 from http://history1900s.about.com/od/worldwarii/a/navajacode.htm Read More