Navajo Code Talker’s Day
August 14
In working as an ASVAB tutor, I value recognizing the wide variety of military holidays, observances, and anniversaries that exist in the United States. Today, August 14, is Navajo Code Talkers’ Day. This day recognizes the contributions of Navajo marines during World War II. At that time, Navajo marines encoded and transmitted messages using a complex Navajo language-based code. This was done at a time when secret communication was essential to win a war. The Japanese were left unable to crack the code. This was very helpful to the United States Marines Corps. The Navajo language was recognized by the C.I.A. (Central Intelligence Agency) as a near perfect language that was used to create military codes. For this reason, it has been recorded in history. The use of the Navajo language in the war started in 1942 when the United States was fighting World War II in the Pacific. At this time, they needed an unbreakable code to make sure military operations would be successful. A man named Philip Johnston was the son of a missionary. He grew up in the Navajo Nation, and he came up with the idea of using the Navajo language as a code. As a result of his idea, the United States government recruited over 400 Navajo men to serve in the war. Over 800 messages were successfully transmitted with this method and in turn the Navajo Code Talkers contributed to the United States’ victory in the war. President Ronald Reagan established Navajo Code Talker Day in 1982. In 2014, Arizona passed a law declaring every August 14 Navajo Code Talkers Day in Arizona.
