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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 12/21/2002 12:12:15 AM PST by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.
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The Code That Was Never Broken It is easy to forget what the world was like in the early 1940s. With the United States being slowly pulled into the escalating conflict in Europe, we suddenly found ourselves faced with a two-front war as the Japanese Empire attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, followed by the Axis Powers declaration of war just four days later. One of the intelligence weapons the Japanese possessed was an elite group of welltrained English speaking soldiers, used to intercept U.S. communications, then sabotage the message or issue false commands to ambush American troops. Military code became more and more complex – at Guadalcanal, military leaders complained that it took two and a half hours to send and decode a single message.  The "first twenty-nine," as they are sometimes referred to, are the first twenty-nine enlistees credited with the development of the original code, consisting of approximately 200 terms. It was designed to be short and concise and used or combined standard native words to create new terms for military hardware. But what proved to be most inventive, and confusing to the enemy, was the incorporation of an innovative alphabet to cover unforseen contingencies. Using this method, the Navajo Code Talker could use distinctly different words for the exact same message, making the code extremely complex, but at the same time improving the speed of vital military communications. Due to its very flexibility, development of the code continued under subsequent Navajo Code Talkers, growing to over 600 terms. By the end of the war the Navajo code, and the very technique by which it was developed, became the most innovative, successful, and closely guarded military secret code of its time.  First twenty-nine Navajo U.S. Marine Corps code-talker recruits being sworn in at Fort Wingate, NM. Between the creation and the code's evolution is a distinction worthy of note. While all Navajo Code Talkers deserve recognition for their contribution to the code's use and continuing development, the original twenty-nine members gave birth to the idea, setting the standard for this living code. To decipher a message coded by the Navajo Code Talkers, the recipient first translated the Navajo words into English, and then used the first letter of each English word to decipher the meaning. Because different Navajo words might be translated into different English words for the same letter, the code was especially difficult to decipher. For example, for the letter "A," the Code Talker could use "wol-la-chee" (ant), "be-la-sana," (apple), or "tse-nill" (ax). Some military terms that had no equivalent in Navajo were assigned their own code word. The word America, for example, was "Ne-he-mah" (Our mother). Submarine became "besh-lo" (iron fish).  Military commanders credited the Code with having saved the lives of countless American soldiers and with the successful engagements of the U.S. in the battles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. At Iwo Jima, Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division signal officer, had six Navajo Code Talkers working around the clock during the first forty-eight hours of the battle. Those six sent and received more than 800 messages, all without error. Major Connor declared, "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima."
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United States Army infantry, from the Fort Stewart, Georgia-based Alpha Company, 3-7 Infantry of Task Force 4-64 Armored, assault a mock enemy base during a live fire exercise in the north Kuwait desert December 21, 2002. There are some 12,000 U.S. troops in Kuwait for training, many within just five kilometers of the Iraqi border. REUTERS/Chris Helgren
United States Army soldier, from the Fort Stewart, Georgia-based Alpha Company, 3-7 Infantry of Task Force 4-64 Armored, gives a thumbs up after assaulting a mock enemy base during a live fire exercise in the north Kuwait desert December 21, 2002
United States Army Staff Sergeant Shane LeMaster, from the Fort Stewart, Georgia-based Alpha Company, 3-7 Infantry of Task Force 4-64 Armored, leads an assault on a mock enemy base during a brigade live fire exercise in the north Kuwait desert December 21, 2002
U.S. soldiers leave a Bradley fighting vehicle, south of the Iraqi border, in Kuwait Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002. The U.S. Army launched its biggest maneuver in the Kuwaiti desert since the Gulf War on Saturday, throwing thousands of soldiers and hundreds of armored vehicles into live-fire exercises to sharpen their skills ahead of a possible new war with Iraq. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers, right, is assisted by an unidentified American soldier during his visit Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002 at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Gen. Myers visited the troops involved in Operation Enduring Freedom for the coming holiday and called the death of a U.S. soldier last night a tragic incident but downplayed reports of a worsening security situation. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)
Comedian Drew Carey (right) cracks a joke with an American soldier after signing an autograph during his visit Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002 at BAgram Air Base in Afghanistan . Carey together with New York Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens were with the United Service Organizations to give entertainment to forces involved in Operation Enduring Freedom for the holiday season. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)
Televison comedian Drew Carey, left, talks with U.S. soldiers during his visit Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002 to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Carry and New York Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens were with the United Service Organizations to give entertainment to forces involved in Operation Enduring Freedom for the holiday season. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)
New York Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens throws a pitch during his visit to coalition forces Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002 at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Clemens and comedian Drew Carey were with the United Service Organizations to give entertainment to forces involved in Operation Enduring Freedom for the holiday season. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)
New York Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens, left, autographs the hat of an American soldier during his visit Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002 to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan
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 President Bush congratulating Code Talkers  At the reception, Mary Gorman presents Senator Bingaman with a Code Talker book, signed by Navajo family members.  Chester Nez accepts the medal from President Bush.  Prior to the ceremony, Senator Bingaman met with four of the "original twenty-nine" Code Talkers in his office (l-r), Chester Nez, Alan Dale June, Lloyd Oliver, John Brown, Jr.
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