Editing Code talker (section)

==Languages==
==={{anchor|Assiniboine code talkers}}Assiniboine===
Native speakers of the [[Assiniboine language]] served as code talkers during World War II to encrypt communications.<ref name=gftribune>{{cite news |first=David |last=Murray |title=Decorated war hero, code talker Gilbert Horn Sr. dies |url=http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2016/03/29/decorated-war-hero-gilbert-horn-sr-dies/82402844/ |work=[[Great Falls Tribune]] |date=2016-03-29 |access-date=2016-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909072351/http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2016/03/29/decorated-war-hero-gilbert-horn-sr-dies/82402844/ |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> One of these code talkers was [[Gilbert Horn Sr.]], who grew up in the [[Fort Belknap Indian Reservation]] of Montana and became a tribal judge and politician.<ref name=gftribune />

==={{anchor|Basque code talkers (disputed)}}Basque===
In November 1952, ''[[Euzko Deya]]'' magazine<ref name="Euzko deya">''En Euzkera se dio la orden del desembarco de Guadalcanal'', [[Ramón de Arrieta]], ''Euzko Deya. La Voz de los Vascos en México'' 149 (November 1952), p. 22, México D.F.</ref> reported that sometime in May 1942, upon meeting a large number of US Marines of [[Basques|Basque]] ancestry in a San Francisco camp, Captain [[Frank D. Carranza]] had thought of using the [[Basque language]] for codes.<ref name="El País">{{cite news|url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/pais/vasco/Egon/arretaz/egunari/elpepuesppvs/20040801elpvas_12/Tes |title=Egon arretaz egunari |last=Argüello |first=Xabier G. |work=[[El País]] |date=August 1, 2004 |trans-title=Stay tuned for the day |language=Basque |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011101555/http://elpais.com/diario/2004/08/01/paisvasco/1091389210_850215.html |archive-date=October 11, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Diario Vasco">''La orden de desembarco en Guadalcanal se dió en vascuence para que no lo descubrieran los nipones'', Juan Hernani, ''[[El Diario Vasco]]'', December 26, 1952, it quotes ''Revista general de marina''.  Bibliographic reference in [http://www.euskomedia.org/cultura/20369 Euskomedia.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080505162232/http://www.euskomedia.org/cultura/20369 |date=May 5, 2008}}.
Based on ''Criptografía'', ''Revista General de Marina'', 143 (November 1952), pp. 551–552. [[Ministry of the Navy (Spain)|Ministerio de Marina]], Madrid</ref><ref name="Euskonews">{{cite web|url=https://www.euskonews.eus/0301zbk/gaia30104es.html |title=Los vascos y la II Guerra Mundial – La guerra aérea de los Aldecoa |trans-title=The Basques and World War II – The Aldecoa air war |last=Rodríguez |first=Mikel |date=May 2005 |language=Basque |website=euskonews.eus|access-date=December 14, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207163030/http://www.euskonews.com/0301zbk/gaia30104es.html |archive-date=February 7, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> His superiors were concerned about risk, as there were known settlements of Basque people in the Pacific region, including 35 Basque [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] in [[Hiroshima]], led by [[Pedro Arrupe]]; a colony of Basque [[jai alai]] players in China and the Philippines; and Basque supporters of [[FET y de las JONS|Falange]] in Asia. Consequently, the US Basque code talkers were not deployed in these theaters; instead, they were used initially in tests and in transmitting logistics information for Hawaii and Australia.

According to ''Euzko Deya'', on August 1, 1942, Lieutenants Nemesio Aguirre, Fernández Bakaicoa, and Juanana received a Basque-coded message from San Diego for Admiral [[Chester W. Nimitz|Chester Nimitz]]. The message warned Nimitz of [[Operation Apple]] to remove the Japanese from the [[Solomon Islands]]. They also translated the start date, August 7, for [[Guadalcanal Campaign|the attack on Guadalcanal]]. As the war extended over the Pacific, there was a shortage of Basque speakers, and the US military came to prefer the parallel program based on the use of Navajo speakers.

In 2017, Pedro Oiarzabal and Guillermo Tabernilla published a paper refuting ''Euzko Deya''{{'}}s article.<ref name="El Correo">{{cite web|url=http://www.elcorreo.com/bizkaia/sociedad/201706/25/estudio-desmiente-euskera-usara-20170625111022.html |title=Un estudio desmiente que el euskera se usara en código en la Segunda Guerra Mundial |trans-title=A study denies that Basque was used in code in the Second World War |language=Basque |date=June 25, 2017 |last=Hernández |first=Jesús J. |work=[[El Correo]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829182233/http://www.elcorreo.com/bizkaia/sociedad/201706/25/estudio-desmiente-euskera-usara-20170625111022.html |archive-date=August 29, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to Oiarzabal and Tabernilla, they could not find Carranza, Aguirre, Fernández Bakaicoa, or Juanana in the [[National Archives and Records Administration]] or US Army archives. They did find a small number of US Marines with [[Basque surname]]s, but none of them worked in transmissions. They suggest that Carranza's story was an [[Office of Strategic Services]] operation to raise sympathy for US intelligence among Basque nationalists.

==={{anchor|Cherokee code talkers}}Cherokee===
The US military's first known use of code talkers was during World War I. [[Cherokee]] soldiers of the US [[30th Infantry Division (United States)|30th Infantry Division]] fluent in the [[Cherokee language]] were assigned to transmit messages while under fire during the [[Second Battle of the Somme (1918)|Second Battle of the Somme]].  According to the Division Signal Officer, this took place in September 1918 when their unit was under British command.<ref>Stanley, Captain John W. ''Personal Experience of a Battalion Commander and Brigade Signal Officer, 105th Field Signal Battalion in the Somme Offensive, September 29 – October 8, 1997.'' U.S. Army, 1932.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cherokee Code Talkers and Allied Success in WWI NC DNCR |url=https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2016/08/21/cherokee-code-talkers-and-allied-success-in-wwi |website=www.ncdcr.gov |date=August 21, 2016 |language=en |access-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721073212/https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2016/08/21/cherokee-code-talkers-and-allied-success-in-wwi |archive-date=July 21, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==={{anchor|Choctaw code talkers}}Choctaw===
{{Main|Choctaw code talkers}}
During [[World War I]], company commander Captain Lawrence of the US Army overheard Solomon Louis and Mitchell Bobb having a conversation in [[Choctaw language|Choctaw]]. Upon further investigation, he found eight [[Choctaw]] men served in the battalion. The Choctaw men in the Army's [[36th Infantry Division (United States)|36th Infantry Division]] were trained to use their language in code. They helped the [[American Expeditionary Forces]] in several battles of the [[Meuse-Argonne Offensive]]. On October 26, 1918, the code talkers were pressed into service and the "tide of battle turned within 24 hours ... and within 72 hours the Allies were on full attack."<ref name=choctaw_code>{{cite web |url=https://people.uwm.edu/michael/choctaw-homepage/choctaw-code-talkers/ |title= Choctaw Code Talkers of World War II |access-date=January 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509165525/http://www.uwm.edu/~michael/choctaw/code.htm |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/world-war-is-native-american-code-talkers|title=World War I's Native American Code Talkers|last=Greenspan|first=Jesse|website=History.com|date=May 29, 2014 |language=en|access-date=2019-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127035135/https://www.history.com/news/world-war-is-native-american-code-talkers|archive-date=January 27, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

==={{anchor|Comanche code talkers}}Comanche===
[[File:Comanche Code Talkers.jpg|thumb|right|Comanche code talkers of the 4th Signal Company|alt=A group of twelve uniformed US Army servicemen gathered around two Native American men dressed in traditional tribal clothing]]
German authorities knew about the use of code talkers during World War I. Germans sent a team of thirty [[anthropology|anthropologists]] to the United States to learn Native American languages before the outbreak of World War II.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://crimereads.com/the-american-indian-code-talkers-who-helped-revolutionize-cryptography-and-win-wwii/ | title=The American Indian Code Talkers Who Helped Revolutionize Cryptography and Win WWII | date=August 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nsa.gov/museum/museu00010.cfm |title=Code Talkers Exhibit |website=[[National Security Agency|NSA.gov]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114034424/https://www.nsa.gov/museum/museu00010.cfm |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> However, the task proved too difficult because of the large array of Indigenous languages and [[dialect]]s. Nonetheless, after learning of the Nazi effort, the US Army opted not to implement a large-scale code talker program in the [[European theatre of World War II|European theater]].

Initially, 17 code talkers were enlisted, but three could not make the trip across the Atlantic until the unit was finally deployed.<ref>Connole, Joseph. "A Nation Whose Language You Will Not Understand: The Comanche Code Talkers of WWII", ''Whispering Wind Magazine'', March 2012, Vol 40 #5, p. 24</ref> A total of 14 code talkers using the [[Comanche language]] took part in the [[Invasion of Normandy]] and served in the [[4th Infantry Division (United States)|4th Infantry Division]] in Europe.<ref name=comanche_code>{{Cite web|url=http://comanchelanguage.org/comanche-code-talkers.html|title=Comanche Code Talkers {{!}} Comanche Language & Cultural Preservation {{!}} Elgin, Oklahoma|website=Comanche Language & Cultural Preservation|language=en|access-date=2019-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190208141455/http://www.comanchelanguage.org/comanche-code-talkers.html|archive-date=February 8, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Comanche soldiers of the 4th Signal Company compiled a vocabulary of 250 code terms using words and phrases in their own language.<ref>Connole, Joseph. "A Nation Whose Language You Will Not Understand: The Comanche Code Talkers of WWII", ''Whispering Wind Magazine'', March 2012, Vol 40 #5, p. 23</ref> Using a substitution method similar to that of the [[#Navajo|Navajo]], the code talkers used descriptive words from the Comanche language for things that did not have translations. For example, the Comanche language code term for ''tank'' was ''turtle'', ''bomber'' was ''pregnant bird'', ''machine gun'' was ''sewing machine'', and ''Adolf Hitler'' was ''crazy white man''.<ref name=army_comanche>{{Cite web|url=https://armyhistory.org/124th-signal-battalion/|title=124th Signal Battalion|date=2015-01-28|last=Seelinger|first=Matthew J.|publisher=The Campaign for the National Museum of the United States Army|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127152522/https://armyhistory.org/124th-signal-battalion/|archive-date=January 27, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Rudi |title=Last WWII Comanche Code Talker Visits Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery |url=http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=42523 |publisher=American Forces Press Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930025142/http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=42523 |archive-date=30 September 2017 |date=8 November 2002}}</ref>

Two Comanche code talkers were assigned to each regiment, and the remainder were assigned to the 4th Infantry Division headquarters. The Comanche began transmitting messages shortly after landing on [[Utah Beach]] on June 6, 1944. Some were wounded but none killed.<ref name=army_comanche />

In 1989, the French government awarded the Comanche code talkers the ''Chevalier'' of the [[Ordre national du Mérite|National Order of Merit]]. On November 30, 1999, the [[United States Department of Defense]] presented [[Charles Chibitty]] with the [[Thomas Knowlton#Knowlton Award|Knowlton Award]], in recognition of his outstanding intelligence work.<ref name=army_comanche/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/25/AR2005072501542.html |title=Comanche Code Talker Charles Chibitty Dies |work=Washingtonpost.com |access-date=2014-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108201418/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/25/AR2005072501542.html |archive-date=November 8, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==={{anchor|Cree code talkers}}Cree===
In [[World War II]], the [[Canadian Armed Forces]] employed First Nations soldiers who spoke the [[Cree language]] as code talkers. Owing to oaths of secrecy and official classification through 1963, the role of Cree code talkers was less well-known than their US counterparts and went unacknowledged by the Canadian government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/cree-code-talkers-documentary-explores-role-of-canada-s-unsung-wwii-heroes-PPbNyhPV6UuTB_zuwWHP1Q/|title=Cree Code Talkers: Documentary Explores Role of Canada's Unsung WWII Heroes|website=IndianCountryMediaNetwork.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127094356/https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/cree-code-talkers-documentary-explores-role-of-canada-s-unsung-wwii-heroes-PPbNyhPV6UuTB_zuwWHP1Q/|archive-date=January 27, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2016 documentary, ''Cree Code Talkers'', tells the story of one such [[Métis in Canada|Métis]] individual, [[Checker Tomkins|Charles "Checker" Tomkins]]. Tomkins died in 2003 but was interviewed shortly before his death by the Smithsonian [[National Museum of the American Indian]]. While he identified other Cree code talkers, "Tomkins may have been the last of his comrades to know anything of this secret operation."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.creecodetalker.com/about/|title=About|website=Cree Code Talker|language=en-US|access-date=2017-11-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107020655/http://www.creecodetalker.com/about/|archive-date=November 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/cree-code-talkers|last=Scott|first=Peter|title=Cree Code Talkers|website=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2019-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127094359/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/cree-code-talkers|archive-date=January 27, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

==={{anchor|Hungarian code talkers}}Hungarian===
In 2022 during the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]], the [[Hungarian language]] is reported to be used by the [[Armed Forces of Ukraine|Ukrainian army]] to relay operational military information and orders to circumvent being understood by the invading [[Russian Armed Forces|Russian army]] without the need to encrypt and decipher the messages.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kárpátaljai navajók: úgy használja az ukrán hadsereg a magyarul beszélő katonáinak szuperképességét, mint az amerikaiak a legendás kódbeszélők nyelvtudását (Subcarpathian Navajos: the Ukrainian army uses the superpowers of its Hungarian-speaking soldiers in the same way that the Americans use the language skills of the legendary code talkers) |url=https://444.hu/2022/08/10/karpataljai-navajok-ugy-hasznalja-az-ukran-hadsereg-a-magyarul-beszelo-katonainak-szuperkepesseget-mint-az-amerikaiak-a-legendas-kodbeszelok-nyelvtudasat |website=444.hu |language=hu |access-date=August 8, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Угорська мова - найкраща для шифрування на війні (Hungarian is the best for encryption in war) |url=https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=769163944273042 |website=www.facebook.com |language=hu |access-date=August 8, 2022}}</ref>
Ukraine has a sizeable [[Hungarians in Ukraine|Hungarian population]] of over 150,000 people who live mainly in the [[Zakarpattia Oblast|Kárpátalja (in Hungarian) or Zakarpatska Oblast (in Ukrainian) division]] of Ukraine, adjacent to [[Hungary]]. As Ukrainian nationals, men of enlistment age are also subject to military service, hence the [[Ukrainian Ground Forces|Ukrainian army]] has a Hungarian-speaking capability. It is one of the most spoken and official languages of this [[Administrative divisions of Ukraine|region in present-day Ukraine]]. The [[Hungarian language]] is not an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] like the [[Slavic language|Slavic]] [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] or [[Russian language|Russian]], but a [[Uralic languages|Uralic language]]. For this reason, it is distinct and incomprehensible for Russian speakers.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

==={{anchor|Meskwaki code talkers}}Meskwaki===
A group of 27 [[Meskwaki]] enlisted in the US Army together in January 1941; they comprised 16 percent of Iowa's Meskwaki population. During World War II, the US Army trained eight Meskwaki men to use their native [[Fox language]] as code talkers. They were assigned to North Africa. The eight were posthumously awarded the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] in 2013; the government gave the awards to representatives of the Meskwaki community.<ref name=Meskwaki_code>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/07/06/codetalkers.htm |title=Last Meskwaki code talker remembers |access-date=February 13, 2008 |date=July 4, 2002 |work=USA Today |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080505201050/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/07/06/codetalkers.htm |archive-date=May 5, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.com/2013/11/20/meskwaki-code-talkers-receive-congressional-gold-medal|title=Meskwaki 'code talkers' receive Congressional Gold Medal|last=Lynch|first=James Q.|website=The Gazette |date=November 20, 2013 |access-date=2019-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127094548/https://www.thegazette.com/2013/11/20/meskwaki-code-talkers-receive-congressional-gold-medal|archive-date=January 27, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Mohawk===
[[Mohawk language]] code talkers were used during [[World War II]] by the [[United States Army]] in the Pacific theater. [[Levi Oakes]], a Mohawk code talker born in Canada, was deployed to protect messages sent by Allied Forces using ''Kanien'kéha'', a Mohawk sub-set language. Oakes died in May 2019; he was the last of the Mohawk code talkers.<ref name="Oakes">{{cite news |last1=Deer |first1=Jessica |title=Louis Levi Oakes, last WW II Mohawk code talker, dies at 94 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/louis-levi-oakes-code-talker-obituary-1.5153816 |access-date=8 June 2019 |publisher=CBC News |date=29 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530184243/https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/louis-levi-oakes-code-talker-obituary-1.5153816 |archive-date=May 30, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==={{anchor|Seminole code talkers}}Muscogee (Seminole and Creek)===
The [[Muscogee language]] was used as a type two code (informal) during World War II by enlisted [[Seminole people|Seminole]] and [[Creek people]] in the US Army.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CO013|title=Code Talkers |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |access-date=2019-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127094336/https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CO013|archive-date=January 27, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Tony Palmer, Leslie Richard, [[Edmond Harjo|Edmund Harjo]], and Thomas MacIntosh from the [[Seminole Nation of Oklahoma]] and [[Muscogee (Creek) Nation]] were recognized under the [[Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309616895|title=An Honor Long Overdue: The 2013 Congressional Gold and Silver Medal Ceremonies in Honor of Native American Code Talkers|language=en|access-date=2019-01-27}}</ref> The last survivor of these code talkers, Edmond Harjo of the [[Seminole Nation of Oklahoma]], died on March 31, 2014, at the age of 96. His biography was recounted at the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] ceremony honoring Harjo and other code talkers at the US Capitol on November 20, 2013.<ref name="natimes">{{cite news |first=Dana |last=Attocknie |title=Last living Seminole Code Talker walks on, loved ones pay respects, honor hero |url=http://www.nativetimes.com/index.php/life/people/9747-last-living-seminole-code-talker-walks-on-loved-ones-pay-respects-honor-hero |work=[[Native American Times]] |date=April 7, 2014 |access-date=April 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427204844/http://www.nativetimes.com/index.php/life/people/9747-last-living-seminole-code-talker-walks-on-loved-ones-pay-respects-honor-hero |archive-date=April 27, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=tworld>{{cite news |title=Seminole code talker Edmond Harjo dies at 96 |url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/seminole-code-talker-edmond-harjo-dies-at/article_6d65c407-10e8-56ae-ab96-aaa1b3b3a29f.html |work=[[Tulsa World]] |date=2014-04-13 |access-date=2014-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311183910/http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/seminole-code-talker-edmond-harjo-dies-at/article_6d65c407-10e8-56ae-ab96-aaa1b3b3a29f.html |archive-date=March 11, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=ustreasury>{{cite news |first=Dick |last=Peterson |title=Treasury and Mint Join Congress to Honor Native American Code Talkers |url=http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/Treasury-and-Mint-Join-Congress-to-Honor-Native-American-Code-Talkers-.aspx |publisher=[[United States Department of the Treasury]] |date=2013-11-21 |access-date=2014-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427212327/http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/Treasury-and-Mint-Join-Congress-to-Honor-Native-American-Code-Talkers-.aspx |archive-date=April 27, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==={{anchor|Navajo code talkers}}Navajo===
[[File:Navajo Indian communication men with the Marines on Saipan landed with the first assault waves to his the beach. - NARA - 532526.tif|thumb|upright=1.2|Navajo code talkers, Saipan, June 1944|alt=Navajo code talkers]]
[[Philip Johnston (code talker)|Philip Johnston]], a civil engineer for the city of Los Angeles,<ref>{{cite book|last=Holm|first=Tom|title=Code Talkers and Warriors|publisher=Chelsea House Pub|year=2007|access-date=November 28, 2012|author-link=Tom Holm|url=https://archive.org/details/codetalkerswarri00holm_0|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0791093405}}</ref> proposed the use of the [[Navajo language]] to the United States Marine Corps at the beginning of World War II. Johnston, a World War I veteran, was raised on the [[Navajo Nation|Navajo reservation]] as the son of missionaries to the Navajo. He was able to converse in what is called "Trader's Navajo," a [[Pidgin|pidgin language]]. He was among a few non-Navajo who had enough exposure to it to understand some of its nuances. Many Navajo men enlisted shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor and eagerly contributed to the war effort.

Because Navajo has a complex [[Navajo grammar|grammar]], it is not [[mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]] with even its closest relatives within the [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dene family]] to provide meaningful information. It was still an unwritten language at the time, and Johnston believed Navajo could satisfy the military requirement for an undecipherable code. Its complex syntax, phonology, and numerous dialects made it unintelligible to anyone without extensive exposure and training. One estimate indicates that fewer than 30 non-Navajo could understand the language during World War II.<ref>{{cite web|last=Vogel|first=Clayton|title=Letter to Commandant, USMC|url=http://archive.library.nau.edu/u?/cpa,44718|work=Demonstration in California, 1942|publisher=[[Northern Arizona University]], Cline Library|access-date=July 20, 2011|author2=Johnston, Philip|author-link2=Philip Johnston (code talker)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705092953/http://archive.library.nau.edu/cdm/ref/collection/cpa/id/44718|archive-date=July 5, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

In early 1942, Johnston met with the commanding general of the Amphibious Corps, Major General [[Clayton B. Vogel]], and his staff. Johnston staged simulated combat conditions, demonstrating that Navajo men could transmit and decode a three-line message in 20 seconds, compared to the 30 minutes it took the machines of the time.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Native Words, Native Warriors|url=https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/code-talkers|access-date=2021-03-09|website=americanindian.si.edu|language=en}}</ref> The idea of using Navajo speakers as code talkers was accepted; Vogel recommended that the Marines recruit 200 Navajo. However, that recommendation was cut to one platoon to use as a pilot project to develop and test the feasibility of a code. On May 4, 1942, twenty-nine Navajo men were sworn into service at [[Fort Wingate]], an old US Army fort converted into a [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]] boarding school. They were organized as Platoon 382. The first 29 Navajo recruits attended boot camp in May 1942. This first group created the Navajo code at [[Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton|Camp Pendleton]].<ref name="ww2fact">{{cite web |date=1992-09-17 |title=Navajo Code Talkers: World War II Fact Sheet |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/code-talkers.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104121421/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/code-talkers.html |archive-date=November 4, 2017 |access-date=March 12, 2014 |publisher=[[Naval Historical Center]]}}</ref>

====The First Twenty-Nine and the creation of the code====
One of the key features of the Navajo Code Talkers is that they employed a coded version of their language. Other Navajos not trained in the Navajo Code could not decipher the messages being sent.

Platoon 382 was the Marine Corps's first "all-Indian, all-Navajo" Platoon. The members of this platoon would become known as ''The First Twenty-Nine''. Most were recruited from near the Fort Wingate, NM, area. The youngest was William Dean Yazzie (aka Dean Wilson), who was only 15 when he was recruited. The oldest was [[Carl Nelson Gorman|Carl N. Gorman]]—who with his son, R. C. Gorman, would become an artist of great acclaim and design the Code Talkers' logo—at age 35. 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Names of the First Twenty-Nine and areas of birth<ref>{{Cite book |title=Our Fathers, Our Grandfathers, Our Heroes The Navajo Code Talkers of World War II A Photographic Exhibit |publisher=Circle of Light, Navajo Educational Project |year=2004 |location=Gallup, New Mexico}}</ref>
!Code talker's name
!Area of birth
!Other notes to service
|-
|Samuel Begay
|Toadlena, AZ
|
|-
|John Brown, Jr
|Chinle, AZ
|
|-
|Lowell Damon
|Fort Defiance, AZ
|
|-
|James Dixon
|Shiprock, NM
|
|-
|Carl Gorman
|Chinle, AZ
|
|-
|Alfred Leonard
|Lukachukai, AZ
|
|-
|Johnny Manuelito
|Sheep Springs, NM
|
|-
|William McCabe
|Ganado, AZ
|Purple Heart
|-
|Balmer Slowtalker (aka Joe Palmer)
|Leupp, AZ
|
|-
|Nelson Thompson
|Leupp, AZ
|Purple Heart
|-
|Benjamin Cleveland
|Fort Defiance, AZ
|Purple Heart
|-
|Jack Nez
|Canyon del Muerto, AZ
|
|-
|Oscar Ilthma
|Lupton, AZ
|Purple Heart
|-
|George Dennison
|Fort Defiance, AZ
|
|-
|Chester Nez
|Two Wells, AZ
|
|-
|Roy Begay
|Black Mountain, AZ
|
|-
|Cozy Brown
|Chinle, AZ
|
|-
|Eugene Crawford
|Tohatchi, NM
|
|-
|John Benally
|Fort Defiance, AZ
|
|-
|Lloyd Oliver
|Fruitland, NM
|
|-
|John Willie
|Shonto, AZ
|
|-
|Charlie Begay
|Tocito, NM
|Purple Heart
|-
|Wilsie Bitsie
|Rehoboth, NM
|
|-
|Frank Denny Pete
|Fruitland, NM
|Purple Heart
|-
|John Chee
|Tocito, NM
|
|-
|Allen Dale June
|Kaibito, AZ
|
|-
|Harry Tsosie
|Rough Rock, AZ
|Purple Heart, KIA
|-
|David Curley
|Phoenix, AZ
|
|-
|Bill Yazzie (aka Dean Wilson)
|TeecNosPos, AZ
|
|}
The Navajo code was formally developed and modeled on the [[Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet]] that [[spelling alphabet|uses agreed-upon English words to represent letters]]. Since it was determined that phonetically spelling out all military terms letter by letter into words while in combat would be too time-consuming, some [[Glossary of military abbreviations|terms]], [[List of established military terms|concepts]], [[List of military tactics|tactics]], and instruments of modern warfare were given uniquely formal descriptive nomenclatures in Navajo. For example, the word for ''shark'' referred to a destroyer, while ''silver oak leaf'' indicated the rank of lieutenant colonel.<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|last1=Fox|first1=Margalit|title=Chester Nez, 93, Dies; Navajo Words Washed From Mouth Helped Win War|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/06/us/chester-nez-dies-at-93-his-native-tongue-helped-to-win-a-war-of-words.html|access-date=August 4, 2014|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805010224/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/06/us/chester-nez-dies-at-93-his-native-tongue-helped-to-win-a-war-of-words.html|archive-date=August 5, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Deployment and evolution of the code and post-war code talkers====
A [[codebook]] was developed to teach new initiates the many relevant words and concepts. The text was for classroom purposes only and was never to be taken into the field. The code talkers memorized all these variations and practiced their rapid use under stressful conditions during training. Navajo speakers who had not been trained in the code work would have no idea what the code talkers' messages meant; they would hear only truncated and disjointed strings of individual, unrelated nouns and verbs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Durrett |first1=Deanne |title=Unsung Heroes of World War II: The Story of the Navajo Code Talkers |date=2009 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0803224568 |page=78 |quote=The code was designed so that even a person who spoke Navajo as his native language would not understand the coded messages.  Only those who has received Code Talker training could decode the messages.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Holiday |first1=Samuel |last2=McPherson |first2=Robert S. |title=Under the Eagle: Samuel Holiday, Navajo Code Talker |date=2013 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0806151014 |pages=120–122}}</ref>

[[File:Code Talkers Monument in Ocala, Florida Memorial Park.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Code Talkers Monument Ocala, Florida Memorial Park|alt=Code talker memorial with etched words: "Navajo Indian Code Talkers USMC. They used their native language skills to direct the US Marine Corps Artillery fire during WWII in the Pacific area. Japanese could not break the code. Thus, these early Americans exemplified the spirit of America's fighting men. Sponsored by: Disabled Veterans South Marion DAV#85 serving veterans and dependents." The memorial also includes the United States Marine Corps emblem.]]
The Navajo code talkers were commended for the skill, speed, and accuracy they demonstrated throughout the war. At the [[Battle of Iwo Jima]], Major Howard Connor, [[5th Marine Division]] signal officer, had six Navajo code talkers working around the clock during the first two days of the battle. These six sent and received over 800 messages, all without error. Connor later said, "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima."<ref name="ww2fact" />

After incidents where Navajo code talkers were mistaken for ethnic Japanese and were captured by other American soldiers, several were assigned a personal bodyguard whose principal duty was to protect them from their side. According to Bill Toledo, one of the second groups after the original 29, they had a secret secondary duty: if their charge was at risk of being captured, they were to shoot him to protect the code. Fortunately, none was ever called upon to do so.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-code-talkers-29-05-2002/ |title=The Code Talkers |date=May 29, 2002 |first=Mary-Jayne |last=McKay |publisher=[[CBS News]] |access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.math.ucsd.edu/~crypto/Projects/MichaelMay/Navajo%20Code%20Site/Procon.html |title=Navajo Code Talkers |publisher=[[UCSD]] |access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref>

To ensure consistent use of code terminologies throughout the Pacific theater, representative code talkers of each of the US Marine [[Division (military)|divisions]] met in Hawaii to discuss shortcomings in the code, incorporate new terms into the system, and update their codebooks. These representatives, in turn, trained other code talkers who could not attend the meeting. As the war progressed, additional code words were added and incorporated program-wide. In other instances, informal shortcuts [[Code word (communication)|code word]]s were devised for a particular [[military campaign|campaign]] and not disseminated beyond the area of operation. Examples of code words include the Navajo word for ''buzzard'', {{spell-nv|jeeshóóʼ}}, which was used for ''bomber'', while the code word used for ''submarine'', {{spell-nv|béésh łóóʼ}}, meant ''iron fish'' in Navajo.<ref name="latimes">{{cite news |first=Dennis |last=McLellan |title=Joe Morris Sr. dies at 85; Navajo code talker during World War II |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-joe-morris-20110722,0,3839149,full.story |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=July 24, 2011 |access-date=July 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221095650/http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-joe-morris-20110722,0,3839149,full.story |archive-date=December 21, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The last of the original 29 Navajo code talkers who developed the code, [[Chester Nez]], died on June 4, 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-newmexico-navajo-idUSKBN0EF1Z920140604 |title=Last of Navajo 'code talkers' dies in New Mexico |publisher=reuters.com |date=2014-06-04 |first=Joseph |last=Kolb |access-date=June 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604211125/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/04/us-usa-newmexico-navajo-idUSKBN0EF1Z920140604 |archive-date=June 4, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Four of the last nine Navajo code talkers used in the military died in 2019: [[Alfred K. Newman]] died on January 13, 2019, at the age of 94.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/us/navajo-code-talker-alfred-newman-death-trnd/index.html|title=Alfred Newman, one of the last remaining Navajo Code Talkers, dies at 94|first=Eric|last=Levenson|date=January 16, 2019|publisher=CNN|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121121901/https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/us/navajo-code-talker-alfred-newman-death-trnd/index.html|archive-date=January 21, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> On May 10, 2019, [[Fleming Begaye Sr.]] died at the age of 97.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/obituaries/fleming-begaye-sr-dead.html|title=Fleming Begaye, Navajo Code Talker Honored at White House, Dies at 97|last=Zaveri|first=Mihir|date=2019-05-11|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-05-13|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513160747/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/obituaries/fleming-begaye-sr-dead.html|archive-date=May 13, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> New Mexico State Senator [[John Pinto]], elected in 1977, died in office on May 24, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nmpoliticalreport.com/2019/05/24/nm-mourns-long-time-state-senator-john-pinto/ |title=NM mourns long-time state senator, John Pinto |last=Lyman |first=Andy |date=May 24, 2019 |access-date=May 25, 2019 |work=NM Political Report |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525003928/https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2019/05/24/nm-mourns-long-time-state-senator-john-pinto/ |archive-date=May 25, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> William Tully Brown died in June 2019 aged 96.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://wset.com/news/nation-world/navajo-code-talker-william-tully-brown-dies-at-96-3rd-death-from-group-in-past-month|title=Navajo Code Talker William Tully Brown dies at 96; 3rd death from group in past month|agency=Associated Press|date=June 4, 2019|website=WSET|access-date=June 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606055850/https://wset.com/news/nation-world/navajo-code-talker-william-tully-brown-dies-at-96-3rd-death-from-group-in-past-month|archive-date=June 6, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Joe Vandever Sr. died at 96 on January 31, 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Colbert |first1=Claire |title=Joe Vandever Sr., Navajo Code Talker, dies at 96 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/02/us/navajo-code-talker-dies-trnd/index.html |access-date=2 February 2020 |publisher=CNN |date=February 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202231307/https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/02/us/navajo-code-talker-dies-trnd/index.html |archive-date=February 2, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Samuel Sandoval]] died on 29 July 2022, at the age of 98.<ref>{{cite news |title=Navajo Code Talker Samuel Sandoval dies; 3 left from group |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/navajo-code-talker-samuel-sandoval-dies-left-group-87684393 |access-date=31 July 2022 |publisher=ABC News |date=31 July 2022}}</ref><ref>[https://people.com/human-interest/wwii-navajo-code-talker-samuel-sandoval-dead-at-98/ WWII Navajo Code Talker Samuel Sandoval Dead at 98: 'a Loving and Courageous Person'] (July 31, 2022) ''[[People (magazine)|People]]''</ref> [[John Kinsel Sr.]] died on 18 October 2024, at the age of 107.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quintero |first=Donovan |date=2024-10-19 |title=Navajo Code Talker John Kinsel Sr. passes away at 107 |url=https://navajotimes.com/reznews/navajo-code-talker-john-kinsel-sr-passes-away-at-107/ |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=Navajo Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Becenti |first=Arlyssa D. |title=Navajo Nation Code Talker John Kinsel dies at 107 in Arizona |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2024/10/19/one-of-the-last-remaining-navajo-code-talkers-john-kinsel-dies-at-107-in-arizona/75757722007/ |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US}}</ref> Only two remaining members are still living as of 2024, Thomas H. Begay and former Navajo chairman [[Peter MacDonald (Navajo leader)|Peter MacDonald]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-20 |title=One of the last Navajo Code Talkers from World War II dies at 107 |url=https://apnews.com/article/navajo-code-talkers-word-war-ii-5f527f43eebaede11eb86f7bdad27a39 |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

Some code talkers such as Chester Nez and William Dean Yazzie (aka Dean Wilson) continued to serve in the Marine Corps through the Korean War. Rumors of the deployment of the Navajo code into the [[Korean War]] and after have never been proven. The code remained classified until 1968. The Navajo code is the only spoken military code never to have been deciphered.<ref name=NYT />

==={{anchor|Nubian code talkers}}Nubian===
In the [[1973 Arab–Israeli War]], Egypt employed [[Nubian language|Nubian]]-speaking [[Nubian people]] as code talkers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140131-egypt-nubia-dams-nile-constitution-culture/ |title=Changing Egypt Offers Hope to Long-Marginalized Nubians |publisher=News.nationalgeographic.com |date=2013-12-17 |access-date=2015-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203232723/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140131-egypt-nubia-dams-nile-constitution-culture/ |archive-date=February 3, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/39595/Egypt/Politics-/Remembering-Nubia-the-Land-of-Gold.aspx |title=Remembering Nubia: the Land of Gold |work=Al-Ahram Weekly |date=2012-04-18 |access-date=2015-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203122544/http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/39595/Egypt/Politics-/Remembering-Nubia-the-Land-of-Gold.aspx |archive-date=February 3, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=El Nuba |url=http://www.cairowestmag.com/el-nuba/ |title=El Nuba &#124; Cairo West Magazine |publisher=Cairowestmag.com |date=2014-04-02 |access-date=2015-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203095911/http://www.cairowestmag.com/el-nuba/ |archive-date=February 3, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peacefulsocieties.org/NAR14/140213nubi.html |title=Peaceful Societies |publisher=Peaceful Societies |date=2014-02-13 |access-date=2015-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017015632/http://www.peacefulsocieties.org/NAR14/140213nubi.html |archive-date=October 17, 2014 |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://alphaomegatranslations.com/2015/06/17/code-talkers-native-american-languages-in-the-military/ |title=Code Talkers: Native American Languages in the Military |publisher=Alpha Omega Translations |date=2015-06-17 |access-date=2015-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122215445/http://alphaomegatranslations.com/2015/06/17/code-talkers-native-american-languages-in-the-military/ |archive-date=January 22, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==={{anchor|Tlingit code talkers}}Tlingit===
During World War II, American soldiers used their native [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]] as a code against Japanese forces. Their actions remained unknown, even after the declassification of code talkers and the publication of the Navajo code talkers. The memory of five deceased Tlingit code talkers was honored by the Alaska legislature in March 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.apnews.com/36bf9881f08442028facc02f2fcbaa81 |title=Alaska Native servicemen finally honored as Code Talkers |last=D'Oro |first=Rachel |website=[[Associated Press]] |date=March 28, 2019 |agency=[[Associated Press|AP News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525063016/https://www.apnews.com/36bf9881f08442028facc02f2fcbaa81 |archive-date=May 25, 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.juneauempire.com/news/silent-in-life-tlingit-code-talkers-finally-getting-recognition/ |title=Silent in life, Tlingit code talkers finally getting recognition |last=McCarthy |first=Alex |date=March 20, 2019 |work=[[Juneau Empire]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525063023/https://www.juneauempire.com/news/silent-in-life-tlingit-code-talkers-finally-getting-recognition/ |archive-date=May 25, 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2019}}</ref>

==={{anchor|Welsh code talkers}}Welsh===
A system employing the [[Welsh language]] was used by British forces during World War II, but not to any great extent. In 1942, the Royal Air Force developed a plan to use Welsh for secret communications, but it was never implemented.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Chapman|first=H. S.|title=Welsh as a Secret Language|journal=Transactions of the Caernarvonshire Historical Society|volume=48|year=1987|pages=113–117}}</ref> Welsh was used more recently in the [[Yugoslav Wars]] for non-vital messages.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Heath |first=Tony |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/welsh-speak-up-for-their-ancient-tongue-1311562.html |title=Welsh speak up for their ancient tongue |work=[[The Independent]] |page=6 |date=1996-08-26 |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102194821/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/welsh-speak-up-for-their-ancient-tongue-1311562.html |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==={{anchor|Wenzhou code talkers}}Wenzhounese===
China used [[Wenzhounese]]-speaking people as code talkers during the 1979 [[Sino-Vietnamese War]].<ref name="Cao2010">{{cite book|author=Nanlai Cao|title=Constructing China's Jerusalem: Christians, Power, and Place in Contemporary Wenzhou|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2VAqln3UBxYC&pg=PT195 |year=2010|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0804773607|pages=195–}}</ref><ref name="Zhixiong2015">{{cite book|author=Zhang Zhixiong|title=Chinese Education in Singapore: An untold story of conflict and change|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y9nACQAAQBAJ&pg=PT38 |year=2015|publisher=Zhixiong Zhang|isbn=978-9810939526|pages=38–}}</ref>