Editing Code talker (section)

====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 />