Navajo Code Talker John Kinsel Sr. passes away at 107

Navajo Times ^ | 10/19/2024 | Donovan Quintero

[.30Carbine]

Thank You, Lord Jesus Christ, for this man’s life, and for his service to our nation. May his family be comforted in the gospel of salvation.

[Honorary Serb]

Memory Eternal!

[SuperLuminal]

RIP to a hero...

[Iceclimber58]

I would have thought the Cherokee language would be useless, as it is a written language. They even have an alphabet.

[ansel12]

Here is more on this from an old post of mine.

Here is some information that illustrates a huge difference between the Army and the Marine Corps in managing public relations and publicity. The Army used code talkers in WWI and WWII and the Pacific and in Europe and North Africa.

U.S Army Choctaw Codetalkers.
“” The name code talkers is strongly associated with bilingual Navajo speakers specially recruited during World War II by the Marines to serve in their standard communications units in the Pacific Theater. Code talking, however, was pioneered by Choctaw Indians serving in the U.S. Army during World War I. These soldiers are referred to as Choctaw code talkers.

Other Native American code talkers were deployed by the United States Army during World War II, including Cherokee, Choctaw, Lakota Meskwaki, and Comanche soldiers. Soldiers of Basque ancestry were used for code talking by the U.S. Marines during World War II in areas where other Basque speakers were not expected to be operating.””

World War I

In France during World War I, the 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, had a company of Indians who spoke 26 languages and dialects. Two Indian officers were selected to supervise a communications system staffed by 18 Choctaw. The team transmitted messages relating to troop movements and their own tactical plans in their native tongue. Soldiers from other tribes, including the Cheyenne, Comanche, Cherokee, Osage and Yankton Sioux also were enlisted to communicate as code talkers. Previous to their arrival in France, the Germans had broken every American code used, resulting in the deaths of many Soldiers. However, the Germans never broke the Indians’ “code,” and these Soldiers became affectionately known as “code talkers.”

World War II

During World War II, the Army used Indians in its signal communications operations in both the European and Pacific theaters of operations. Student code talkers were instructed in basic military communications techniques. The code talkers then developed their own words for military terms that never existed in their own native tongue. For instance, the world for “colonel” was translated to “silver eagle,” “fighter plane” became “hummingbird,” “minesweeper” became “beaver,” “half-track” became “race track,” and “pyrotechnic” became “fancy fire.”

The Army and Marine Corps used a group of 24 Navajo code talkers in the Pacific Theater, who fought in the many bloody island campaigns. In North Africa, eight Soldiers from the Meskwaki tribe in Iowa served as code talkers in the 168th Infantry Regiment, 34th Division. In Europe, the 4th Signal Company, 4th Infantry Division, was assigned 17 Comanche code talkers. From the D-Day landings at Normandy in June 1944, to the liberation of Paris and the Battle of the Bulge, they kept the lines of communications secure.

Soldiers from other tribes, including the Kiowa, Winnebago, Chippewa, Creek, Seminole, Hopi, Lakota, Dakota, Menominee, Oneida, Pawnee, Sac, Fox and Choctaw served during the war. Some were killed and wounded and at least one was taken prisoner. As a testament to their professionalism, the enemy was never able to break the code talkers’ communications.

Many of the code talkers continued in their military careers, serving during the Korean and Vietnam wars.” At some point, I may look into their use in Korea and Vietnam. The Chicago Tribune has an article of their use in Vietnam.

[Retain Mike]

Great link.

[GOPJ]

Kinsel served as a Navajo Code Talker, using his knowledge of the Navajo language to create an unbreakable code that played a crucial role in securing victory for U.S. forces in the Pacific Theater during World War II. His courage and dedication helped save countless lives and contributed significantly to the military’s efforts during one of history’s darkest periods.

God Bless this good man and his family for helping to save the United States and it's people during World War II. And most likely much of the rest of the world...

[AppyPappy]

A friend’s father served in the Germany Army in WW2 and the US Army in Korea. He was assigned to an artillery unit. When he communicated with the spotters or other units with people who spoke German, they would switch in sentences between German and English which confused the Hell out of the enemy.

[Night Hides Not]

Thank you for rekindling a memory for me. We stopped at Four Corners 10-12 years ago. My then 12YO son was talking to a Navajo silversmith. His name was Joe Begay. He served in Vietnam as a Green Beret. My son was mesmerized by two old soldiers comparing notes, as we both went through Jump School at Fort Benning. He also showed us several pictures of him in movies. It was one of those rare moments where a son was proud of his father…lol. Thank you, Joe.

[Bigg Red]

mark

[Paal Gulli]

"The idea to use Navajo for secure communications came from Philip Johnston, the son of a missionary to the Navajos and one of the few non-Navajos who spoke their language fluently...."

There also were Indian Code Talkers in WWI, from a number of different tribes.

One reason the Allies of WWI had such a hard time maintaining operational security was that during all the back-and-forth actions with the Germans, during each of the Huns' advances, they had been tapping the telephone lines and running a connection back to their lines. And with all the mud in the trenches, the phone lines all became a tangled and muddy mess, which made it impossible to tell the lines legitimately laid by the Allies from those patched in by the Germans.

Using the code talkers was one major reason the Allies' offensive operations became progressively more effective in the final months of the war.

World War I Code Talkers https://www.thenmusa.org/articles/world-war-i-code-talkers/

[radu]

Rest in peace, John.
Thank you for your service and a job well done.

[radu]

I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Thomas Begay several years ago and will never forget it.
I check fairly regularly and am always happy to see he’s still alive. I know that one day, my heart will break. Such a nice man.

[no-to-illegals]

Thank You for your Service, Sir. May You Rest in God’s House forevermore.