Code Talkers Speak On Veterans' Day

Yesterday Yahoo News posted an article about the Code Talkers of World War II.  This was a group of Navajo Indians whose role in the war was kept very quiet until recently.  Since there are only about 50 of these 400 men still alive, it is time to tell their story.

According to the article:

"... on Tuesday, 13 of the Code Talkers, some using canes, a few in wheelchairs, arrived in New York City to participate for the first time in the nation's largest Veterans Day parade, set for Wednesday.

"The young Navajo Marines, using secret Navajo language-encrypted military terms, helped the U.S. prevail at Iwo Jima and other World War II Pacific battles, serving in every Marine assault in the South Pacific between 1942 and 1945. Military commanders said the code, transmitted verbally by radio, helped save countless American lives and bring a speedier end to the war in the Pacific theater."

The Code Talkers, using a code based on the ancient Navajo language, changed the course of the war in the pacific.  The article reports:

"In the first 48 hours of the battle of Iwo Jima, six Code Talkers worked nonstop, transmitting and receiving more than 800 messages about troop movement and enemy fire -- none deciphered by the Japanese. What confounded the enemy most was that Code Talkers could use distinctly different words for exactly the same message."

Today is the day to honor all veterans.  We gratefully include the Code Talkers in the group that we honor today.