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FReeper Canteen ~ National Navajo Code Talkers Day ~ 12 August 08
Serving The Best Troops And Veterans In The World | The Canteen Crew

Posted on 08/11/2008 6:00:39 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska

 

 
The FReeper Canteen Presents
National Navajo Code Talkers Day

Thank you to all of our Troops, Veterans, and their families for allowing us to entertain you!

 

 

The Navajo Code Talkers received no recognition until the declassification of the operation in 1968. In 1982, the code talkers were given a Certificate of Recognition by President Ronald Reagan, who also named August 14 "National Code Talkers Day."

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During World War II (1939-1945), the U.S. Marines trained Navajo soldiers as code talkers. During military campaigns in the Pacific, the Navajo soldiers relayed secret messages about troop movements and enemy locations in the Navajo language. Because of the complexity of the language, the Japanese were never able to decipher the code. In this photograph, two Navajo Indians, Corporal Henry Bake, Jr., left, and Private First Class George H. Kirk, operate a portable radio set in a clearing they created in the dense jungle close to the front lines.

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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.

Johnston, reared on the Navajo reservation, was a World War I veteran who knew of the military's search for a code that would withstand all attempts to decipher it. He also knew that Native American languages--notably Choctaw--had been used in World War I to encode messages.

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Johnston believed Navajo answered the military requirement for an undecipherable code because Navajo is an unwritten language of extreme complexity. Its syntax and tonal qualities, not to mention dialects, make it unintelligible to anyone without extensive exposure and training.

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It has no alphabet or symbols, and is spoken only on the Navajo lands of the American Southwest. One estimate indicates that less than 30 non-Navajos could understand the language at the outbreak of World War II.

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In May 1942, the first 29 Navajo recruits attended boot camp. Then, at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California, this first group created the Navajo code. They developed a dictionary and numerous words for military terms. The dictionary and all code words had to be memorized during training.

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Once a Navajo code talker completed his training, he was sent to a Marine unit deployed in the Pacific theater. The code talkers' primary job was to talk, transmitting information on tactics and troop movements, orders and other vital battlefield communications over telephones and radios. They also acted as messengers, and performed general Marine duties.

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Praise for their skill, speed and accuracy accrued throughout the war. At Iwo Jima, Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division signal officer, declared, "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima." Connor had six Navajo code talkers working around the clock during the first two days of the battle. Those six sent and received over 800 messages, all without error.

The Japanese, who were skilled code breakers, remained baffled by the Navajo language. The Japanese chief of intelligence, Lieutenant General Seizo Arisue, said that while they were able to decipher the codes used by the U.S. Army and Army Air Corps, they never cracked the code used by the Marines.

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The Navajo code talkers even stymied a Navajo soldier taken prisoner at Bataan. (About 20 Navajos served in the U.S. Army in the Philippines.) The Navajo soldier, forced to listen to the jumbled words of talker transmissions, said to a code talker after the war, "I never figured out what you guys who got me into all that trouble were saying."

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Long unrecognized because of the continued value of their language as a security classified code, the Navajo code talkers of World War II were honored for their contributions to defense on Sept. 17, 1992, at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

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Thirty-five code talkers, all veterans of the U.S. Marine Corps, attended the dedication of the Navajo code talker exhibit. The exhibit includes a display of photographs, equipment and the original code, along with an explanation of how the code worked.

Dedication ceremonies included speeches by the then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Donald Atwood, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona and Navajo President Peterson Zah. The Navajo veterans and their families traveled to the ceremony from their homes on the Navajo Reservation, which includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

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The Navajo code talker exhibit is a regular stop on the Pentagon tour.

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In a ceremony in the Capitol on July 26, 2001, the original twenty-nine Navajo "code talkers" received the Congressional Gold Medal, and subsequent code talkers received the Congressional Silver Medal.

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FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT~Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allies military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before. 

Please remember: The Canteen is a place to honor and entertain our troops. The Canteen is family friendly. Let's have fun!

We pray for your continued strength, to be strong in the face of adversity.

We pray for your safety, that you will return to your families and friends soon.

We pray that your hope, courage, and dignity remain unbroken, so that you may show others the way.

God Bless You All ~ Today, Tomorrow and Always

 

 

 


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Free Republic
KEYWORDS: canteen; freepercanteen; military; troopsupport
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To: Kathy in Alaska
Well, there you go, the whole group is here...


341 posted on 08/12/2008 11:49:26 AM PDT by unique
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To: Kathy in Alaska
Remembering the Navajo Code Talkers with respect and gratitude.
342 posted on 08/12/2008 12:53:14 PM PDT by Ciexyz
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To: PROCON
I enjoyed the Nicholas Cage film on the code talkers (from several years ago) even tho' it wasn't a big hit financially.
343 posted on 08/12/2008 12:59:30 PM PDT by Ciexyz
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To: Ciexyz

Good afternoon, Cie...thanks for helping honor the Navajo Code Talkers.


344 posted on 08/12/2008 1:55:49 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: NanaJ; HiJinx

345 posted on 08/12/2008 2:00:28 PM PDT by MeekMom (Come on Cubbies!)
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To: beachn4fun
HI, sweetie,

"out of state" again, taking care of "sick old folks".

came into town to get stuff for the farm & to check my mail.(NO computer there.)

free dixie SMOOCH,sw

346 posted on 08/12/2008 2:00:35 PM PDT by stand watie (Resistance to TYRANTS is OBEDIENCE to God. T. Jefferson, 1804)
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To: GodBlessUSA

ROFLOL Hysterical kitty pic!


347 posted on 08/12/2008 2:01:08 PM PDT by MeekMom (Come on Cubbies!)
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To: Kathy in Alaska
I saved one more code talker picture for today!!!!!!.....

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348 posted on 08/12/2008 2:16:03 PM PDT by GitmoSailor (AZ Cold War Veteran==Keep FR free donate today==NOBAMA==FairnessDoctrine on FR????)
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To: GitmoSailor

Thank you for your service . . . salute!!!


349 posted on 08/12/2008 2:17:34 PM PDT by HopeandGlory (Hey, Liberals . . . PC died on 9/11 . . . GET USED TO IT!!!)
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To: HopeandGlory

mine?


350 posted on 08/12/2008 2:17:58 PM PDT by HopeandGlory (Hey, Liberals . . . PC died on 9/11 . . . GET USED TO IT!!!)
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To: Kathy in Alaska
Like WOW!!WOW!!!!!!.......My son just came by and asked if I would like to go to SanDiego on Friday this week and visit the Kitty Hawk!!!!!.....Last time I seen her was in 1962.

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I did the maiden voyage around the Horn........Thank You Lord.........

351 posted on 08/12/2008 2:32:35 PM PDT by GitmoSailor (AZ Cold War Veteran==Keep FR free donate today==NOBAMA==FairnessDoctrine on FR????)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

Day is done, eeeeEE-YUCK! Network went down at 1200 and still hadn’t come back by quiting time.

How’s your day going?


352 posted on 08/12/2008 4:01:18 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: SandRat

Network down.....never a good thing. Entries and checking just completed....edits are just starting to be run. Not going too badly.

Just heard on the news of a pit bull attacking a young girl, bit her in the neck, Dad shot the dog, maybe hunting for it, just a couple streets over from my folks. Called them to stay inside until everyone knows if the dog is located and unable to hurt anyone else. New caller...dog found. Don’t know about the young girl yet.


353 posted on 08/12/2008 4:17:28 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: E.G.C.

Good evening, E...((HUGS))...hope you had a great day.


354 posted on 08/12/2008 4:18:45 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

Prayers for the young girl.


355 posted on 08/12/2008 4:19:20 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: GitmoSailor

WOW!!! What an exciting “adventure” for you. The stories you and any sailors aboard can share. Have a wonderful time, and please report back if you can.

Your picture is stunning!!!


356 posted on 08/12/2008 4:24:55 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: GodBlessUSA
Good evening, Ladies...((HUGS))...hope you had a terrific day!


357 posted on 08/12/2008 4:35:21 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: SandRat

Thanks.....the radio guy called police (?) and “extremely critical in emergency room”.


358 posted on 08/12/2008 4:37:02 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

Praying hard, sweat rolling off the forehead now for the little angel.


359 posted on 08/12/2008 4:40:13 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

Praying too, for the little girl who was bit by the dog. God bless her entire body.


360 posted on 08/12/2008 5:24:45 PM PDT by MeekMom (Come on Cubbies!)
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