The Navajo Code Talkers played a crucial role in the outcome of World War II. Their code couldn’t be deciphered by anyone, not even by Japanese code breakers. They were stationed at various places throughout the war. Not only was the code significant to how battles were fought, the messages determined how many lives could be lost during battle. Navajo Code Talkers started getting recruited in 1941-1942 by the Marine Corps. There were originally thirty Code Talkers recruited but one dropped out, leaving twenty-nine Navajos to develop a code. The code was developed only two weeks after recruitment and thus, the Code Talking school was formed. As the war continued, more than four hundred Navajos were recruited. Many people enlisted, but a lot …show more content…
One was called Type Two Code. This type of code was made up of messages that were translated into the Native language. The other code was called a Type One Code. This code was based on Navajo, Comanche, Hopi, and Meskwaki languages. Since the code was based primarily off of the Navajo language, the code had a Navajo word for every letter of the English alphabet. The words were typically animals or things found in nature (moasi, which means cat, was the word used for the letter “c”) Special code words were also developed. They had words to describe a type of plane, ships, and even weapons. Astá, the Navajo word for eagle, was used to describe transport …show more content…
They were awarded medals and patches during and shortly after the war for their service. Some of the awards included Purple Hearts, Silver Stars, and Combat Infantry Badges. It wasn’t until 1968 when they finally declassified the program. In 2000, the United States honored the Code Talkers with Congressional Medals. Gold Congressional Medals were given to the original 29 Code Talkers and silver medals were given to those who served later in the war. The medals included a message on the back written in the Navajo language that translates to “With the Navajo language they defeated the