Code Talker

Code Talker

Code talkers were United States soldiers during the world wars who used their knowledge of Native-American languages as a basis to transmit coded messages. In particular there were approximately 400-500 Native Americans in the United States Marine Corps whose primary job was the transmission of secret tactical messages. Code talkers transmitted these messages over military telephone or radio communications nets using formal or informally developed codes built upon their native languages. Their service improved communications in terms of speed of encryption at both ends in front line operations during World War II.

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.

Read more about Code Talker:  Use of Cherokee, Use of Choctaw, Use of Comanche, Use of Meskwaki, Use of Basque, Use of Navajo, Cryptographic Properties, Post-war Recognition, Popular Culture

Famous quotes containing the words code and/or talker:

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    In code corroborating Calvin’s creed
    And cynic tyrannies of honest kings;
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    Gives thanks devout; nor, being thankful, heeds
    The grimy slur on the Republic’s faith implied,
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    scourged.”
    —Herman Melville (1819–1891)

    “A new talker will often call her caregiver “mommy,” which makes parents worry that the child is confused about who is who. She isn’t. This is a case of limited vocabulary rather than mixed-up identities. When a child has only one word for the female person who takes care of her, calling both of them “mommy” is understandable.”
    —Amy Laura Dombro (20th century)