Honoring WWII’s Marine Code Talkers for Veterans Day

Flopping Aces ^ | 11-11-09 | Mataharley

[Starman417]

Veterans Day becomes somewhat of a quandary if one seeks to highlight only one particular group amongst the magnitude of those deserving of focus. For indeed, while some may appear to shine more brightly, their luster and magnificent illumination is merely a reflection of a cast of more than a million military members who served, and continue serving our nation.... of which our FA "founding father", Curt is one. (hat doff to you, guy....)

As the wife of a Navy enlistee during the Vietnam War, I can say that my military life still remains a strong and humbling memory in my life. The comraderie is unlike any bond I've seen... from soldiers and shipmates to their families. Their unquestioned loyalty to freedom, liberty and this country is uncomprehendable to most civilians. During decades of wars conducted on foreign soils - indeed even the strategic and import of these missions being even more foreign to the layman's understanding - the sense of ultimate sacrifice of self for fellow Americans and country has suffered from lack of respect. Nay... has even been demeaned by some with words and spittal.

With this diminished view of our nation's warriors in mind, I settled on honoring that less heralded and honored Marine crew of WWII, the Code Talkers.

I have no intention of deliberately slighting any of the 18 tribes that contributed Code Talkers to the great battlefield. For all Code Talkers returned to their reservation homes as heroes without a heroes' welcome. Very little was revealed of their role in order to reserve this uniquely Native American communication system for future conflicts. But little by little over the decades, more has come out of their importance in the war, and the untold many lives they saved.

So with both an honored bow to not only the Native American tribes, and our remaining veterans and currently serving military personnel, I devote this post to the story of the more well known Navajo Code Talkers of the USMC.

AP's Ula Ilnytkzy had a story today that also acknowledges the Code Talkers... but touches on their fear that their legacy will die with them. Out of the 400 Code Talkers, only 50 are believed to be alive. Thirteen of them came to NYC - many using canes - to walk in the Veterans Day parade today.

The young Navajo Marines, using secret Navajo language-encrypted military terms, helped the U.S. prevail at Iwo Jima and other World War II Pacific battles, serving in every Marine assault in the South Pacific between 1942 and 1945. Military commanders said the code, transmitted verbally by radio, helped save countless American lives and bring a speedier end to the war in the Pacific theater.

They were sworn to secrecy about their code, so complex that even other Navajo Marines couldn't decipher it. Used to transmit secret tactical messages via radio or telephone, the code remained unbroken and classified for decades because of its potential postwar use.

"We were never told that our code was never decoded" or given identities of the original 29 Navajos who created it, said Keith Little, 85, who joined the Marines at 17 and remembers crouching in a bomb crater amid heavy fire on Iwo Jima.

"It was all covered by secrecy. We were constantly told not to talk about it," Little said. The Code Talkers felt compelled to honor their secrecy orders, even after the code was declassified in 1968.

[Muddy168]

Great post. Many thanks to those who served, and set the standards, for us to follow. This story is truly remarkable, and was given a fairly good showing in the movie. Thanks for your husband’s service...and for yours. The family is often the forgotten factor in our service. God Bless...

[No Longer Free State]

Great Americans - in every sense!

[IYAS9YAS]

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Chester Nez and Joe Vandever, both Code Talkers from WWII. Mr. Nez was one of the original 29 Talkers, and Mr. Vandever was not only a Code Talker, but he was a Marine Raider, as well. These folks truly were essential to our winning in the Pacific.

One of my co-worker's grandfather was a Code Talker. She never met him, as he passed away before she was born, but she has talked with other Code Talkers who knew him in the war.