E
1
I
i
i
I
l
2
l
i
i
E
2
f
{
i
l•
Language as a Weapon:
Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
l
1
I
i
i
I
i"
l
l
i'
i•
i'
i
by Teresa Bruner Cox
i'
i
i
1
l
Introduction
Throughout history, codes have been an important tool of war.
Having an effective, unbreakable code by which to transmit information
about troop movements and battle plans can give one opponent a strong
advantage over the other. By the early days of World War II, the Japanese
and the Americans had both succeeded in breaking their enemy's codes.
Then, during the bitter fighting in the Pacific which was characterized by
"island hopping," the American Marines began to make use of a new
verbal code based on a relatively unknown and difficult Native American
language, Navajo.
Four hundred Navajo men who were bilingual in their native language
and English were trained to use this special Navajo-based verbal code to
relay information about enemy positions, troop movements, and battle
plans. The Japanese never broke this code, and historians believe that the
Navajo Code gave the American forces a decisive edge in the Pacific
Theater of war. However, the contribution of the code itself and of the
Navajo Marines, called "code talkers", who risked their lives encoding,
relaying, and decoding critical messages under extreme battle conditions,
remained unrecognized until decades after the war had ended due to
83
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
security considerations.
This paper will present a history of the Navajo Code and how it was
developed, an overview of its use in the Pacific War, and a look at the
Navajo code talkers themselves, men whose lives were forever changed by
their wartime experiences.
The Navajo Language
Navajo is an Athapascan language, related to the languages of other
Athapascan peoples of central Canada. The language group gets its name
from Lake Athapasca in the Northwest Territory of Canada. Athapascan
is a branch of the Nadene language family. Some researchers contend that
Nadene may be related to Sino-Tibetan.
Scholars estimate that Nadene speakers arrived in North America
about three thousand years ago. Then, about two thousand years ago,
Nadene split into Athapascan and Tlingit, the language of the coastal
peoples of the American Northwest. Although dialects of Athapascan
languages are spread over a wide area of North America, the Navajo lan-
guage is unrelated to that of their neighboring tribes, except for the
Apaches, who like the Navajos are thought to be latecomers to the
southwestern region of North America (including parts of the U.S. states
of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah). Navajo and several
Apache languages form the Southern Athapascan, or Apachean, subgroup
of Athapascan.
The graphemic system of Navajo with its 35 characters is summarized
in Chart 1. The Handboole ofNorth American Indians, (Ortiz, p. 489) lists
the graphemic units of Navajo (in bold type), and the corresponding
phonemes 1 1 as shown below. (The orthographic system is that used by
Young and Morgan, and differs slightly from that recommended by the
Albuquerque Conference on Navajo Orthography in 1969.)
8,v
Teresa Bruner Cox
•t
'
' '
, Chartl •
The Graphemic System of Navajo
Source Greyhills Academy 1997
'
8S
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
Voiceless stops and affricates:
b lb/, d ldl, dl IKI, da 131, j/31, glgl andlgw !, 1o 1
Aspirated stops and affricates:
t.lt/, tt IKI, t8 !cl, ch !61, k lkl,kvv •lk"1
Glottalized stops and affricates:
t' ltl, tt' /X/!, ts, 161,ch, 16 /, k, IR1
Voiceless Continuants:
t lll,s lsl, sh ISI, h (-x) lhl and lx/, hw lhwl and lxwl
Voiced Continuants:
1 lll,z lzl, th /il, y (or gh) lyl or /y/, w 1di1 and INwl
Nasals:
m lml, n ln/
Short Oral Vowels:
i lil, e lel, a!a 1, o lo/
Long Oral Vowels:
il li'1, ee le•1 , aa /a'1, oo lo'1
Short Nasal Vowels:
i 1 il, e1 el, a /41• g /gl
Long Nasal Vowels:
ij li'1, c}e le'1 , aa 14'1• gg lg'1
High Tone: V!V/ or IVVI
FallingTone: Vv IVI
RisingTone: vV IVI
Low tone: no mark IV!
'
Chart 2 shows a sample of contemporary Navajo text and an English
translation. Those wishing to hear how the Navajo language sounds when
spoken, and to see vocabulary samples, can consult the Greyhills Academy
Navajo Language Page accessible through their web site (w'ww. greyhills.cc.az.uslnavlang.html.).
zz
Teresa Bruner Cox
Linguists consider Navajo to be a very complex language. Because of
its syntax, tonal qualities, and a sound system vastly different from Indo-
European languages and English, it is an especially difficult language for
non-native speakers to master. Young and Morgan, authors of what the
Smithsonian Institution describes as ``the definitive study of Navajo
grammar and lexicon" make the following comments about the differences between Navajo and European langauges:
The pattern of Navajo thought and linguistic expression is totally un-
like that of the European languages with which we are most commonly
familiar. We learn such foreign languages as French, Spanish, Italian, and
German with a minimum of difficulty because there exist so many analogies, both with respect to grammar and to words, with our own native
English. Moreover, the pattern according to which we conceive and express our thoughts in English and these common European languages is
basically the same throughout. We translate readily from one to another,
often almost word for word. And lastly, similar or very closely related
sound systems prevailing throughout make the words easy to pronounce
and remember.
On the other hand, the Navajo language presents a number of strange
sounds which are difficult to imitate...Secondly the pattern of thought varies so greatly from our English pattern...
(Kluckhohn and Leighton, p. 255)
According to anthropologost Raymond Friday Locke, "Navajo is a
highly complex language that is full of movement, of subtle meaning, of
verbs of action which may be modified by a wide variety of prefixes. Like
Chinese, Navajo is a tonal language and the meaning of a word is distinguished by the pitch of the voice." (Locke p. 27). Kluckhohn agrees that
not only does Navajo contain "unfamiliar and difficult sounds, but also...Navajos are accustomed to respond to small variations which in Eng-
lish are either ignored or used merely for expressive emphasis.''
(Kluckhohn and Leighton, p. 257) . For example, presence or lack of a glottal
ij
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
closure may differentiate words; tsin means log, stick, or tree; ts 'in means
bone. Biid means between, whereas bit`a' means "its wing". Long, intermediate or short vowels can also distinguish word meanings in Navajo:
bito' means "his water"; bitoo' means "its juice." The use of four separate
tones for vowels further distinguishes words: `azee' means medicine, but
a2e`e' with a high pitch to the final long vowel means mouth; `anaa' means
war but `an'a`a' means eye.
These linguistic factors combine to create a "bewildering set of
variations." Kluckhohn gives further examples where up to five words
have similar pronunciations "which are almost imperceptible to the untrained white ear...The language...is the most delicate known for phonetic
dynamics." (Kluckhohn and Leighton, p. 258) For example:
naash`d
I go around with the round object.
nuash`aah
I am in the act of lowering the round object.
ndsh `da'h
Iam in the act of turning the round object upside down.
naash `dah
I am accustomed to lowering the round object.
na' sh `a
I am skinning it.
Structurally, Navajo grammar depends heavily on intricate constructions based on verbs. Syntax is confined within the verb, and conjugating the verb involves altering the prefixes correctly, while the verb
stem conveys a constant image. However, the stem of the verb many vary
depending on whether one, two, three or more people perform the action,
thus further bewildering non-native speakers. The verb may clearly
specify agency, and stems can also vary depending on the type of object
acted upon. Thus "the Navajo verb has been compared to a tiny Imagist
poem which expresses much in a few syllables. One Navajo "word" often
translates into a full English sentence.
Navajo may be said to lack tense, instead relying on aspect, which
88
Teresa Bruner Cox
"defines the geometrical character of an event...with regard to line and
point rather than its position in an absolute time scale..." (Kluckhohn and
Leighton, p. 267). Future, past, or present may be unstated.
Many Navajo words which may first appear to be nouns are actually
nominalized verbs, and some nouns can be conjugated like neutral verbs.
Navajo nouns have no gender and for the most part no singular or plural.
"Adjectives'' are usually third person forms of neuter verbs. Pronouns in
Navajo may be used independently, absorbed in verbs, or prefixed to
nouns and postpositions. Postpositions in Navajo resemble English
prepositions but they come after their objects.
There are many panicles in Navajo, including numerals, adverbs and
conjunctions. Particles are often used to differentiate space into zones in
relation to the speakers, much as with the Japanese "koko", "soko",
"asoko", "kore" "sore" "are;" "kono", "sono", and "ano":
rilad'hdi
"at a point away from me and you"
rilaabjt'
"at a point distant from both you and me"
rileidi
"way over there where he is"
nanjt'
"away from where we are"
The fact that Navajo has very few loan words increases its impenetrability to non-native speakers. The Navajo language is well suited to
the coining of new words from existing vocabulary, as is commonly done
in German or in Japanese, rather than borrowing words from other languages. For example, tomato in Navajo is "red plant"; gasoline is "car's
water", and an elephant is "one that lassoes with its nose" (Kluckhohn and
Leighton, p. 259).
For a more detailed linguistic description of Navajo, see "The Tongue
of the People," in Kluckhohn and Leighton, pp. 253-293.
Navajo has no indigenous written form or script, and at the time of
89
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
World War II, no standardized orthography or alphabetic transcription
system for Navajo was in use. The Smithsonian Institution cites various
attempts at orthographication of Navajo going back to Washington Matthews' ethnological research in the 1880's, followed by later attempts by
missionaries to produce translations of the Bible and other religious texts
in the Navajo language (Oniz, p.399). Several sources refer to a Navajo
dictionary compiled in 1910 for use by the Franciscan Fathers, and St.
Michael's School on the reservation produced materials for learning
Navajo in 1941 and 1942.
With the exception of these ethnological materials, religious texts,
and a few Navajo readers produced in the 1930's and 1940's, there were
essentially no written texts in Navajo before the Rough Rock School and
other tribal schools began developing a Navajo literacy program in the
1960's. Before World War II, the majority of Navajos had never attended
school, and those who did were taught in an English-only curriculum and
were usually punished for speaking their native language. Therefore, in
the early 1940's Navajo remained for all practical purposes an unwritten
language. This fact, added to the rarity and innate complexity of Navajo,
made it an ideal language to form the basis of a wartime code.
po
Teresa Bruner Cox
Chart 2
A Sample of Navajo Text in
Modern Orthography
Sacred Mountains
by Tab44hi Ts'6shf
Dii' Dzil ah66nfnih'gii k'ad nihits44'atfdeiil'i.
Yii' nida'ageed j6 akg.
Yee hadadit'6hee b44h dajinizh,
Nahasdzian Shimaa dii'ni.
Ako dii nihimti atel'i.
Yadilhil Nihitaa'le'nfzin.
Kodi asdzini bits'44' atel'figo.
B66sh da nidabiizOgsgo biniinaa.
Dii asdzani ya' dt6ehgo bil naash'aash doo jinfzin leh.
Nihitaa' t'aa akwfinfzin, aaji haidi 1'Uh.
Niltsa AadCC' koji' k6yiiliih.
Ch'il bilitah h6zh66n altah ait'eelii haajah.
Kod66 yidinfnaad66 yits4 a'al'iih.
Nihitaa'le' nfzini'gff
Biniinaa doo hazh6'6 nahaltin da.
Ts'fih niid66h t'ai naaghA.
Sacred Mountains (English Translation)
by George Blueeyes
Now our Sacred Mountains are being abused.
People dig in them and dri11 in them.
They strip away the ornaments and jewels.
We say Nahasdzaan Shimi:
Earth, My Mother.
So it is in fact our Mother who is hurt.
Our Father Sky is jealous
Because the diggers and drillers rape her with cold steel.
As a man gives his wife beautiful things to wear,
So our Father Slry does the same..
He sends down rain on Mother Earth,
And because of the rain, plants grow.
Flowers appear of many colors.
9I
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
She in turn gives him food.
But because our Father Sky is jealous,
The rain falls short.
Sickness surrounds us.
-From Between Sacred Motcntains: Navojo Ston'es and Lessons from the Land as-
sembled by the Rock Point Community School, 1982, Rock Point Community
School. www.
Developing an Unbreakable Code
We have established that Navajo is a very complex language. One
linguist claims that no one can learn to speak Navajo without an accent
unless they have learned the language and been sensitized to its minute
variations from early childhood (Kluckhohn and Leighton, p. 258-9) . Also we
have seen that, at the start of World War II, Navajo was essentially an
unwritten language.
An additional merit of Navajo as a possible wartime code language
was that, unlike other Native American languages, Navajo had not been
studied by German or Japanese scholars and was not widely known even
in the U.S. by non-Navajos. In fact, the U.S .Marine Corps estimates that
at the start of World War II, the Navajo language was understood by fewer
than thirty non-Navajos (Kukral, p, 1).
My own minimal exposure to Navajo during a visit to the reservation
in August 1993 gave me the impression that this language is not readily
transparent to non-native speakers, and that it would take many years of
study and exposure to the language to obtain even basic competence. I
would agree that "Few whites have the time or the skill to learn to speak
Navajo so well that they can dispense with an interpreter." (Kluckhohn and
Leighton, p. 256)
The sound system of Navajo is also very different from that of
Japanese, using many sounds unknown in Japanese, as well as tonality. I
92
Teresa Bruner Cox
was unable to find any studies contrasting the Navajo language with
Japanese, but Japanese photographer Kenji Kawano, who has lived on the
Navajo reservation since 1974, and who has studied Navajo and is married
to a Navajo, says that Navajo is a very difficult language for Japanese, as
well as English speakers, to learn. Japanese soldiers who heard the code
on intercepted radio messages in the Pacific said it sounded like a lot of
gurgling noises.
Other Native American languages had been used previously as wartime codes. Choctaw was used by the U.S. Army in France at the end of
World War I, and some Native American languages were being considered
for use during World War II. Eventually a small number of Choctaw
soldiers were again used in World War II communications in Europe and
North Africa, in addition to twelve or more Commanches, and soldiers
from other Native American tribes including the Kiowa, Winnebago,
Creek, and Seminole (Benham, p.4). However, one problem with using
these Native Arnerican languages for military codes was that no equivalent
words existed for modern military terms.
The idea of creating a secret code based on the Navajo language
originated with a man named Philip Johnston. Philip Johnston was one of
the few non-Navajos of that era who was fluent in the Navajo language.
The son of missionaries, Johnston was raised on the Navajo reservation
and he attended school with Navajo children, played with them, and spoke
their language from childhood. At the age of nine, Johnston had accompanied his father and two Navajo leaders to Washington DC and acted as
the Navajos' translator in discussions with President Theodore Roosevelt.
Johnston, an engineer, had served in World War I, and is said to have
been aware of the use of the Choctaw language as a code in that war. After
World War I he worked for the city of Los Angeles. After the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor and war broke out in the Pacific, he heard that the
U.S. military was looking into the possibility of using Native American
93
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
recruits as signal men. Johnston realized that Navajo was a perfect language for a code, not only for the reasons already stated above, but also
because there was a large pool of male Navajo speakers of military age to
recruit from (the Navajo tribe was at that time, and still is, the largest
tribe of Native Americans in the U.S.A.). Also Navajo had a great range
of dialects depending on the area or clan of the speaker, making it easier
to confuse the enemy, stymie decoding, and detect any interloper who
might try to penetrate lines or send bogus messages.
To get around the problem of lack of modern military vocabulary in
Navajo, and to make the new code unbreakable, Johnston came up with
the idea of a "code within a code", where a Navajo word would stand not
for its English equivalent, but for an entirely different military term, or for
a letter of the alphabet.
In early 1942, in the darkest hours of the war for the American side
(Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippines, and Singapore had already fallen to
the Japanese), Philip Johnston approached Major General Clayton B.
Vogel, commander of the Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet, to explain the
suitability of the Navajo language for a code. ' In February Johnston met
with Colonel James E. Jones, Area Signal Officer of the Pacific Fleet, at
Camp Elliott near San Diego, California and explained his idea of using
Navajo as a secure voice code for radio and wire transmissions.
On February 28, 1942, Johnston got four Navajo friends living in the
area (plus one Navajo who was assigned to the Navy in San Diego) to take
part in a demonstration for General Vogel to simulate how a Navajo code
might be used in battle, The Navajos were successfully able to encode,
transmit, and decode a three line message in 20 seconds, as compared to
thirty seconds using conventional codes (most of which were already
known to the enemy) . Colonel Weatherford Woodward, of the Division of
Plans and Policies of the U.S. Marine Corps, was also present at this
demonstration. According to USMC historian Benis Frank, this is how the
94
Teresa Bruner Cox
demonstration was conducted:
Marine staff officers composed simulated field messages, which were
handed to a Navajo man who then translated them into his native language
and transmitted to another Navajo on the other side of the line. The second
Navajo translated them into English, in the same form in which they had
originally been transmitted. Later, tests in the Pacific under combat conditions proved that classified messages could be translated into Navajo,
transmitted, received, and translated back into English more quickly than
messages which were encoded, transmitted, and decoded employing conventional cryptographic facilities and techniques. (Kawano, p. 3)
After this test, on March 5, General Vogel recommended the
recruitment of 200 Navajos into the Marine Corps as Communications
Specialists for a secret program to develop a Navajo code and make use of
it in the field. Colonel Woodward supported the "code talker" program
when the decision to implement it was made back in Washington.
However, the Commandant of the Marine Corps decided to limit the initial
code talker program to a pilot project of thirty Navajo recruits. Philip
Johnston, although beyond the official age of military service, volunteered
to enlist in the Marines as a supervisor for the training of the Navajo code
talkers. In October 1942 he was assigned to Camp Pendleton as a staff
sergeant in charge of the "Top Secret" Code Talker program.
In May 1942, U.S. Marine Corps recruiters selected thirty bilingual
Navajos from the reservation. (One of the thirty dropped out, leaving 29 in
the original group.) A number of those who volunteered for the secret
program now admit 1ying about their ages in order to enlist and help the
United States in the war effort. This support for the U.S. may seem ironic,
considering the way Navajos and other Native Americans had been treated
by the US govemment. As Teddy Draper Sr. points out, "When I was
going to boarding school, the U.S. government told us not to speak
9S
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
Navajo, but during the war they wanted us to speak it!" (Kawano, p. xvi.)
But the Navajos had a tradition of fighting for the U.S. going back to
World War I.
Some volunteers were underage, as young as fifteen, and Carl Gorman, like Philip Johnston, was at 35 technically overage for military
service. Most Navajos born on the reservation in pre-W.W. II times were
not born in hospitals, and many did not have birth certificates, to it was
easy to fabricate an acceptable age for military enlistment if the person
were enthusiastic to join up.
These Navajo code talker recruits first went to boot camp near San
Diego for basic training, and then had training in military communications
techniques and equipment. Then, at Camp Pendleton near San Diego,
California, they got together to create the Navajo Code. Carl Gorman,
whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Gallup and Window Rock in August
1993, describes his experience as one of the original group of Navajo Code
Talkers who devised the code: "...the Japanese, they bombed Pearl Harbor...and this friend of mine, ...Johnny Benally... walked in and he said,
`You know, Marine Corps wants thirty Navajos.' I said, `Good, let's you and
I join.' After we got through with boot camp, rifle range, they brought us
back to the camp.. They had officers there from Washington. They had
Army officers, a communication officer, they had Navy, and Coast
Guards...They told us how the codes were made, and we caught on to it
right away. And after they got through with us, `Now it's your turn, we
want you to code your language. It's got to be coded, If you can't code it,
we just let you go, you just have to fight like the rest of the Marines,' they
told us.
So we sat down and start coding. Well, the first thing that you should
code is the alphabet. Well we coded the alphabet in no time. Of course
Navajos didn't have any alphabet; we coded the English alphabet into
Navajo... Then we started coding war ships, and airplanes, and officers,
different ranks, and we got through in no time, and they were really surprised.
96
Teresa Bruner Cox
So they put us on a truck that carried all the communications, and some
of them went up in an airplane, and we then start sending them a message,
the one that we make with the code. And there would be officers with the
Navajo... he'd write that note in military fashion, and then the Navajo would
code that into Navajo and sent that code to another way up in the airplane
and the Navajo would get that and he would decode the Navajo code back
into English and give that to the officer that was waiting for it
And it just came out good. He said, `This is good, fast, and it looks
foolproof.'
(This interview is documented in "Navajo In Site".)
The resulting code devised by the original "First Twenty-Nine" code
talkers in June 1942 and further expanded during the course of the war can
be found in the Appendix. The original code had 211 special code words
plus 26 words representing each letter of the English alphabet. The final
version of the code eventually employed 411 special code words in addition
to three Navajo words which could be used alternatively for each letter of
the alphabet.
The code made use of words from nature or from Navajo culture
which had logical associations with military terms, names of places, and so
forth. Since the code words had to be memorized during initial training in
the US, and could not be written down later, logical associations and
colorfu1 word choices were important. For example, an observation plane
was an "owl" in Navajo and a fighter plane was a "hummingbird" (duhe-tih-hia). "Chicken hawk'' (gt'ni) was a dive bomber, a "buzzard" was
a bomber ir'ay-sho) and a torpedo bomber was a "swallow"(tas-chi2zie).
Bombs were "eggs" (a-ye-shi). A submarine was an "iron fish''; the
Navajo word for "whale" (lo-tso) meant a battleship, and a cruiser was a
"small whale"; an aircraft carrier was a newly created compound, "bird
carrier" (tsidi-ney-he-hl) , and a destroyer was a shark (ca-lo). A grenade
was a potato. America was "our mother".
97
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
Military units were identified by the names of the Navajo clans, for
example Bitter Water People (to dich ii), and Feather People (atsosi).
Ranks were given rough Navajo equivalents such as "war chief" for
general and "two star" for major general.
After the initial success in developing the Navajo Code, Marine Corps
recruiters opened an office at Fort Wingate, New Mexico, near the Navajo
reservation, and by August 1943 they had recruited 191 Navajo men for the
code talker program. The recruiting efforts were supported by the Navajo
Nation chairman, Chee Dodge, and two of the "First Twenty-Nine" went
back to help recruit the next 200 men. By the end of the war, from 375 to
420 Navajos were involved in the Code Talker program, in addition to
those Navajos who served in the U.S. military in other, non-code talker
roles.
In his initial proposal to General Vogel (see Bixler, pp. 145-149), Philip
Johnston recommended recruiting code talkers from among Navajos attending both reservation schools and non-reservation government schools
(such as those in Phoenix and Albuquerque), educated Navajos employed
in government schools or other government jobs, educated Navajos employed off the reservation in nearby cities, and Navajos who were already
in the armed forces. Obviousily the key word for him was "educated",
because in order to be an effective code talker, a Navajo would need both
a fluent command of his own language and fluency and literacy in English.
Not every Navajo who applied could meet these qualifications.
The experience of boot camp is a difficult one for any military recruit,
but in some ways it was especially hard for the Navajos, many of whom
had never been off their rural reservation and had never seen big cities.
William Dean Wilson, for example, was a sheep herder before the war.
Carl Gorman was working as a cowboy in the government's controversial
stock reduction program on the reservation. Many Navajo recruits had
not intermingled much with non-Navajos, let alone ever experienced the
98
Teresa Bruner Cox
type of treatment inflicted by Marine drill instructors. The effects of un-
familiar food and different customs caused home sickness and culture
shock in some Navajo recruits. They also faced prejudice. However, the
Navajos also shone in boot camp because of their hardiness, adaptability,
resourcefulness, and survival skills, as well as their uncomplaining ac-
ceptance of the rigorous conditions. These qualities also helped them
survive the horrific conditions which they later faced on rain drenched,
jungly Pacific Islands and rocky fortresses such as Iwo Jima.
.
Later, in the field, Navajos would find many of their most deeply held
beliefs challenged. For one, although most Navajo served on jungle covered islands, their culture believed it was a travesty to kill a snake.
Another more basic issue was the unavoidable presence of death in the war
zone. Navajos believe any contact or association with death to be dangerous and defiling. Anyone who has read a Tony Hillerman novel set in
Navajo country has heard of the potent evil of "corpse powder," and
knows that Navajos will desert or burn a house in which someone has died.
Somehow, however, Navajos in combat dealt with these cultural conflicts
as well as other dangers, although like other war veterans, they often came
home bearing psychological scars.
The special training course for Navajos at Camp Pendleton involved
four weeks (176 hours) of training in communications procedures and
equipment, including everything from wire laying, pole climbing, and
printing and message writing, to message transmission protocol, voice
procedure, the organization of a marine regiment, how to assemble and
care for a field radio, and of course learning the Navajo code words. The
code list used for training in California could not be carried into battle but
had to be completely and flawlessly memorized, and the Navajo code
talker trainees showed themselves more than equal to the task.
The first group of Navajo code talkers saw action in the Pacific less
than six months after Philip Johnston first presented his idea to the Marine
99
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
Corps high command. On Dec. 7, 1942, one year after Pearl Harbor, the
first class of Navajos (after the experimental "First Twenty-nine") ar-
rived at Camp Pendleton for code talker training. The Navajo code was
expanded at this time, and five of the Navajos remained as trainers for
future classes. By the end of August, 1943, 191 Navajos had been trained
as code talkers and assigned to one of the three existing divisions of the
Marines. (By the end of the war there would be six Marine divisions.)
Code Talkers in Action
By the end of World War II, approximately 400 Navajos would see
service as code talkers, mostly in the Pacific Theater of Operations, assigned to all six of the Marine Divisions (especially the Third, Fourth, and
Fifth Divisions) , Marine Raider battalions, and Marine Parachute units of
the U.S. Marine Corps. "The Navajo code talkers took part in every assault the US Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945." (Kukral,
p.1)
At the 1993 Code Talker's Reunion which' I attended in Gallup, New
Mexico, code talker James T. Nahkai, Jr. of the lst Marine Division explained how the code talkers were assigned within the U.S. Marine Corps
in the Pacific, and how the code was used:
All of these code talkers were in six Marine divisions, and each Marine
Division had about 15 OOO to 20 OOO Marines in them. In that division there
!s
was about maybe four or five regiments and each regiment had code talkers
in them, maybe five in each, so in a Marine division there would probably
be about thirty or forty in that one division. And then there were some code
talkers on ships, battleships and aircraft carriers and the admiral's ship,
they were al1 scattered through there. A lot of messages were sent from the
flagships to the shore, to the headauarters, in the Navajo Code. Once in
awhile, the Japanese would get on our wave length and we'd cuss each other
IOO
Teresa Bruner Cox
out.
(Interview documented in "Navajo In Site")
The code talkers usually worked in two-man teams, speaking to each
other over a radio, field telephone, or walkie-talkie. Occasionally they
acted as messengers; in fact, at first they were used mostly in the latter
way until commanders gained confidence in the effectiveness and security
of their code. The code talkers' job was to call in air strikes and anillery
bombardments, report enemy locations and movements, direct U.S. troop
movements, and transmit other sensitive information between command
posts or to the front lines. "I walked the full length of Saipan and Tinian
Islands carrying maps and esconing replacements, prisoners, and farmers.
At the same time, I operated the radio for the riflemen and was under fire
myself while delivering messages," remembers Albert Smith (Kawano, p.
83). A message usually consisted of a string of seemingly unrelated
Navajo words, which could represent letters sp'elling out a word, or a
whole word (one of the 411 special frequently used terms which had a
Navajo equivalent) .
Navajo code talkers saw service at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu on
the atoll of Palau, and at Iwo Jima. In fact they participated in every
Marine assault from Guadalcanal in 1942 to Okinawa in 1945, and some
were later assigned to the Occupation Forces in Japan and China.
However many ordinary Marines never really knew what the Navajo's
military role was. Marine historian Benis M. Frank, who participated in
the landings at Peleliu and Okinawa, has only "a faint memory of Navajo
Marines... I doubt that many other Marines, except other signalmen...and
those who had a `need to know' were aware of the code talkers and their
unique qualities." (Kawano, p.11-12) In fact, some Navajo Marines like
Eugene R. Crawford and David Jordan were actually mistaken for
Japanese and "captured" by troops from the U.S. side.
Ior
Lariguage as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
A mere two months after completing training and devising the Navajo
Code, most of the first group of Code Talkers were sent to Guadalcanal in
the Solomon Islands, where a major battle was shaping up. U.S. Marines
landed on Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942, commanded by Major General
Alexander A. Vandergrift. In this operation, the code talkers used the
Navajo code only to a limited extent; it was still partly experimental. But
General Vandergrift was so satisfied with the performance of the Navajo
code talkers there that he requested 83 more code talkers for his division
when the Guadalcanal operation ended in December 1942. In May 1943 a
combat commanders' progress report commended the performance of the
Navajo Code Talkers in action. Eventually code talkers were distributed
through most combat units (two code talkers in each infantry or artillery
battalion, four for each regiment, etc.) to act both as talkers, sending
messages by telephone and radio, and also as messengers, delivering
messages in person. King Mike Paul says, "...we were told not to claim
that we were a code talker" if captured (Kawano, p. 67).
Since mid-1942 the Japanese air base at Rabaul northeast of New
Guinea had been threatening to cut off American supply lines in the South
Pacific. Rabaul was significantly damaged by the Americans in a surprise
attack in November 1943 after a team of eleven Navajo code talkers had
been brought in to provide secure communications. The code talkers' ef-
fectiveness in that operation increased the willingness of marine commanders to use them elsewhere as the campaign for the Solomon Islands
continued. In November 1943, Navajo code talkers in the 3rd Marine
Division worked as communicators in the front lines during the battle for
Bougainville, and by mid-1944 all the Solomon Islands had been secured,
breaking the momentum of the Japanese.
The battle for Tqrawa on Nov. 20 included code talkers from the 2nd
Division. Then, on January 31, 1944, the newly created 4th D.ivision captured Kwaajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
I02
Teresa Bruner Cox
At Guam with the 3rd Division (July 21, 1944) and Peleliu (invaded by
the lst Division on Sept. 15), the code talkers' work was considered in-
dispensable for transmitting classified documents. These bloody battles
were extremely costly to both the Japanese and Americans.
The critical assault on Iwo Jima began on February 19, 1945 and
lasted for over a month. Before the invasion, the Navajo code talkers in
the force are said to have placed corn kernels (or perhaps corn pollen) on
their tongues in a traditional ritual to insure that they would speak clearly
while relaying vital messages (Benham, p.2). At least fifty code talkers
from the 4th, 5th, and later the 3rd Division, took part in the battle; in fact
the entire battle operation at Iwo Jima was directed by code talker-relayed
orders. "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken
Iwo Jima," said Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division (Kukral, p.1).
Six Navajo radio nets operating continuously during the first 48 hours
of the invasion of Iwo Jima successfully conveyed more than 800 messages
including the one indicating that Mt. Suribachi had at last been captured.
(The latter event was immortalized in a famous photograph of the flag
raising by six men which is also portrayed in the statue at the Marines
Memorial in Washington DC.)
Among the more than 6800 American service men (and approximately 22,OOO Japanese) who died on Iwo Jima, four were Navajo code
talkers. According to the Navajo Codetalkers Association, eleven of their
number were ki11ed in action by war's end (Link).
Navajo code talkers also took part in the final amphibious invasion of
the Pacific war, at Okinawa beginning April 1, 1945. Deswood R. Johnson
Sr. recalls "carrying messages from headquarters to the front lines
everyday, night and day, for eighty-two days." (Kawano, p.53)
The Japanese were never able to break the Navajo Code, although
they did finally identify the language being used as Navajo. Lieutenant
General Seizo Arisue, Japanese Chief of Intelligence, said that his staff
I03
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacdic War
were able to break the codes used by The U.S. Army and Arrny Air Corps,
but not the code used by the U.S. Marines. When a non-code talker
Navajo soldier was captured by the Japanese at Bataan and forced to listen
to Marine radio transmissions, even he could not understand the messages
because he did not know the Navajo Code, only the Navajo language
(Kukral, p. 1). A Navajo soldier held by the Japanese in Nagasaki in
1944 Navajo named Joe Kieyoomia was tortured by his captors, who were
trying to make him decipher intercepted radio transmissions. This man
was not a trained code talker and the garbled messages in Navajo only
sounded like nonsense to him. Since his captors still hoped to "break" him
and learn the secret of the Marines' code, they did not kill him. (See
Benham for this account. It is not clear whether the men in these two
stories from different sources might be the same person.)
The Aftermath
The period after World War II brought many changes to the Navajo
Nation. 3600 Navajos had served in the U.S. military by war's end.
Relative to their whole population, a larger proportion of Navajos took part
in World War II than in the U.S. as a whole. As a result of this fact, in
addition to the relative insularity of the reservation up to that time, the
Navajo reservation was much more strongly affected by the war experience than the average American town. At the same time, all across
Indian America, the postwar years brought a redefining of the relationship
between tribes and the U.S. government as the Bureau of Indian Affairs
implemented the policy of "termination" of special services. The changes
which took place had a profound affect on the Navajo way of life, especially after valuable mineral resources were discovered on the reservation:
"World War II changed Navajo life forever...the war represented nothing
less than a major turning point in Navajo history." (Iverson, p. 47)
I04
Teresa Bruner Cox
The war had given Navajo code talkers and other Navajo veterans a
look at life off the reservation and a wider view of the world. For many it
was their first contact not only with foreign countries but with American
society. For some Navajos who had previously made their living as sheep
farmers, military service was the first experience of wage labor and a cash
economy. It caused some Navajos to want for their own families and
communities the comforts and conveniences they had seen in mainstream
America, amenities like running water, for instance. "But they found
conditions on the reservation, after four years of government neglect,
much worse than when they had left...The people who had remained on
the reservation were poorer than ever." (Locke, p. 450) For a population of
approximately 150,OOO people living in a land area roughly the size of the
state of North Carolina (25,OOO square miles), there were in 1948 only
466 hospital beds, 95 miles of paved roads, and only 763 telephones, many
of which were in public places or government offices rather than in private
homes. (Locke, p. 453)
Wanime service had not really given Navajo veterans many marketable job skills which they could use to live in the civilian world. As one
Navajo code talker put it put it, "I sure can't make a living on the
Reservation just by talking." (Bixler, p.99) Jobs on or near the reserva-
tion were scarce after the war, Work created during the war years soon
disappeared with the coming of peace, as did the soldiers' government
paychecks. But the traditional stock raising economy was dying. Ac-
cording to a government report in March 1948, only 800 reservation
Navajos had ful1-time jobs.
Many Navajo veterans came home with a new appreciation of the
benefits of education. After the war, some code talkers went back to high
school, which they had left early in order to enlist. Others attended college
or vocational training supported by the "G.I. Bill", a government program
which provided financial support for the training and education of war
IOS
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacdic War
veterans. Some code talkers became educators, ministers, or found jobs
with the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Navajo Nation.
Unfortunately the schools in the reservation area were grossly inadequate, both in the number of places and the quality of the facilities, at
that time. Many veterans stayed in California or in cities away from the
reservation at least for a time. Code talker Carl Gorman used his G.I. Bill
'
to study art in California, and he became a well known painter. Later he
also helped with a pioneering cross cultural medical project on the reser-
vation, the Navajo Healing Sciences Project, and became a teacher and
philosopher. Former code talker Peter MacDonald attended school in
Oklahoma, became an engineer, and lived in southern California for some
years before later becoming Chairman of the Navajo Nation. William Dean
Wilson eventually became a judge in the fledgling Navajo Nation Court
System.
Because they were American Indians, the code talkers still faced
prejudice in the United States and in their home states. Despite their
wartime service to the country, and a 1924 U.S. Iaw confirming the
citizenship of American Indians, Navajo Indians faced restrictions on their
right to vote in Arizona until 1948, in New Mexico until 1953, and until
1957 in Utah (Watson, p.36).
Many Navajos, like veterans of every war, came home carrying
mental as well as physical trauma. The wife of Johnny Benally, first
president of the Navajo Codetalkers Association, recalls her husband
saying of his wartime experiences, "Nobody realizes what we had to go
through. It was just tenible." She said her husband would never watch
war movies (Kawano, p. 33). Dan Akee of the 4th Marine Division says in
the book Wam'ors, "The war was very sad. I saw dead Marines on the
beach at Okinawa...we had to go through them." (Kawano, p.17) Wilsie
H. Bitsie of the lst and 2nd marine Divisions wonders, "Why did I kill?
This has had a great psychological bearing on me and still does." (Kawano,
io6
Teresa Bruner Cox
p.35) The gruesome carnage of the bloody island battlefields of the Pacific
was traumatic for everyone who experienced it, but Navajo beliefs about
the negative, contaminating power of contact with death must have
greatly accentuated the horror for Navajo combatants.
Some Navajo veterans had nightmares or experienced depression after their return home; some men drank heavily. . Navajo veterans who
returned to the reservation sometimes dealt with their paih in a traditional
minner by undergoing cleansing ceremonies such as the "Enemy Way"
which had been used in the old days to purify returning Navajo warriors.
"I lost friends in Okinawa. When I came home from the war, my family
had two-day and two-night healing ceremonies, as well as two squaw
dances [usually the end of an Enemy Way ceremony], to help me get well,
but I am still sick," reports Deswood R. Johnson Sr. (Kawano, p 53). "I
was shot in the leg in Guam...then sent home in 1944," says Howard
Hosteen Nez. "I couldn't work when I came back, but went to both a
medicine man and a doctor and am okay now." (Kawano, p. 70) Dan Akee
came back from the war deaf, but was eventually cured after a Navajo
ceremony was held (Bixier, p.. 10). Western medicine had failed to find a
cause for his ailment.
Some Navajo followed tradition and avoided talking of the details of
their battlefield experiences. Even today, Lewis F. Ayze of the 3rd Marine
Division says, "These stories I don't care to relate." (Kawano p. 22)
Others may have felt that talking might exorcise the violent memories.
But none of them could talk about their real responsibilities in the war
effort because the Navajo Code was still a government secret. The most
they could say was that they were radio operators or worked in communications.
I07
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
Recognition
When World War II ended, the Navajo code talkers left for home with
instructions not to reveal the actual nature of their wartime work even to
'
their wives. Perhaps the code might be needed again in a future conflict.
In fact, the entire Code Talker Program remained classified until 1968,
leaving the vital role of the Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War an
untold story, and the men themselves unsung heroes.
After declassification and 24 years after the end of the war, the Navajo
code talkers received recognition for the first time at a reunion of the U.S.
Marine Corps 4th Division in Chicago in 1969. A group of twenty-one code
talkers representing each of the six Marine Divisions attended this reunion
and they were presented with specially minted meda!lions in honor of their
wartime services to the country.
After this, a reunion exclusively for Codetalkers was organized and
held in Window Rock, Arizona in July 1971. At that time a number of the
Code Talkers were interviewed as part of the Doris Duke Indian Oral
History Project (University of Utah) and the Marines Corps' own Oral
History Project, and for the Navaho Tribal Museum, in order to preserve
their first-hand stories for posterity. At this reunion the Navajo
Codetalkers Association was created as a veterans group. In the same year
the Navajo code talkers were awarded a long deserved Presidential Certificate of Appreciation.
In 1975 code talkers marched in the Rosebowl Parade in Pasadena,
California, and in 1976 they took part in parades in Washington and
Philadelphia which started off the U.S. Bicentennial Celebrations.
The Navajo Codetalkers Association now has a permanent exhibit in
the Gallup-McKinley Chamber of Commerce on Old Route 66 in Gallup,
New Mexico. They meet there every August for a reunion during the
io8
Teresa Bruner Cox
Gallup Inter-tribal Ceremonial, and they march in the parade (see Photo
4) . I had the honor of meeting some of the code talkers at their reunion in
August 1993, including then-president Albert Smith (4th Marine Div. 4th
Signal Corps), Bill Toledo (3rd Marine Div.), and Arcenio Smiley (2nd
Marine Div.), and I met Carl Gorman as part of a seminar organized by
University of New Mexico professor John Condon.
Now that the story of the code talkers can be publicized, several books
and articles have been written about them, and at least two television
programs have appeared, belatedly bringing them some of the recognition
they deserve. In 1982 Congress declared August 14, 1982 as National
Navajo Code Talkers Day. In 1992 the Pentagon opened a permanent
exhibition documenting the history of the Navajo Code. Also a large
statue commemorating the service of the Navajo code talkers has been
erected in the city of Phoenix, Arizona.
In this age of electronic and computer technology, it seems unlikely
that a code based on Navajo or some other obscure and complex language
could ever again be used effectively in war or intelligence operations. But
from 1942 to 1945, the Navajo Code and the code talkers who made use of
it played a key role in the American victory in the Pacific War. Without
their efforts, history might have been quite different. I would like to
conclude this paper with some words of praise for the Navajo code talkers
taken from the presidential proclamation of Navajo Code Talkers Day:
The Navajo Nation, when called upon to serve the United States,
contributed a precious commodity never before used in this way. In the
midst of the fighting in the Pacific during World War II, a gallant group of
men from the Navajo Nation utilized their language in coded form to help
speed the Nlied victory.
Equipped with the only foolproof, unbreakable code in the history of
warfare, the code talkers confused the enemy with an earfu1 of sounds never
heard before by code experts. The dedication and unswerving devotion to
Ie9
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
duty shown by the men of the Navajo Nation in serving as radio code talkers
in the Marine Corps during World War II should serve as a fine example for
all Americans."
(Proclamation reproduced in Link)
In Memorium
Car1 Gorman
Warrior, Anist, Teacher, Dine'
190?-1998
Bibliography
About the IVavojo Code Talleers.'
Aaseng, Nathan. Navojo Code Talleers. New York: Walker Publishing, 1992.
Benham, Barbara. "Smooth Operators." Discovery Channel On-line, www.dis-
covery.com
Bernstein, Alison R. American Indinns and World VVar II: Toward a New Era in
Indinn Affairs. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991.
Bixler, Margaret T. Winds of Freedom: The Stoiy of the IVavojo Code Talkers of
JVorld WarIZ Dairien, CT: Two Bytes Publishing, 1992.
Butler, Julie. "National Atomic Museum Honors W.W.II Navajo Code Talkers."
Sandia National Laboratories web site: wurw. sandia.gov
Frank, Benis N. "Introduction" to Wantors: Naval'o Code Talkers. Flagstaff, AZ:
Northland Publishing, 1990; pp. 1-13.
Greyhills Academy. "Navajo Language Pages." Tuba City, Arizona: 1997.
www. greyhills.cc.az.us. com
Hirshfelder, Arlene, and Martha Kreipe deMontano. The Native American
Almonac: A POrtrait of Native America Totiay. New York: Prentice Hall,
1993; pp. 232-234.
Kawano, Kenji. Wam'ors: Araval'o Code Talleers. Flagstaff, AZ: Northland Publishing; 1990,
Knowles, Gerald. "The Navajo Code Talkers: America's Secret Weapon in
Defeating the Japanese in World War Two." Passages West. Taos, NM:
Unlimited Ink. www.unink.comlpassages.
IIO
Teresa Bruner Cox
Krukal, L.C. "The Navajo Code Talkers." Washington, DC.: Navy and Marine
Information Office, www.chinfo.navy.millnavpali. navajo.txt
Link, Martin, and the Navajo Codetalkers Association. "We Talked Navajo."
Gallup, NM: The Indian Tracler NewsPaPer ; 198611992.
McClain, S. Navojo WeaPon. Boulder, CO: Books Beyond Borders, 1994.
Paul, Doris Atkinson. The IVavojo Code Talleers. Philadelphia: Dorrance Publishing, 1973.
Watson, Bruce. "Navajo Code Talkers: A Few Good Men." Smithsonian 24, no.
5 (Aug. 1993): 34-43.
Weston, Mary Ann. IVative Amen'cans in the IVews: Iuages of Indinns in the
Twentieth Century Press. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996. pp.85-
107.
Navojo Culture, Language, and History
Iverson, Peter. The Nava7'o Nation. Albuquerque, NM: University of New
Mexico Press, 1981.
Kluckhohn, Clyde, and Dorothea Leighton. The Navaio (Revised Edition).
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 194611974.
Ortiz, Alfonso, ed. Handbooh of North American Indians, Volume 10, The
Southwest. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1983; pp. 368-399,
489-55, 570-591.
"Navajo In Site." (video) Sarasota, FL: Rudman Communications, 1996.
Underhill, Ruth. The Naval'os. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, Oklaho-
ma; 195611989.
III
Language as a Weapon Navajo Code Talkers m the Pacific War
ais;. sSSSny.S tr" .:ttt
S,si•g...lk,#X,-.il,/."-,t`ts•,ts-,j-r,F--ps.-.
.ge.ascs.2':,:t- Åë't x",
ftits
t'"
ca'
ut:i-"tS'k.2.otLtg'/."i$'t•.su,;-yi
vssgasnyggex'erv.tsgue:ge1::stth.di. za esere{eww.gpminLlbij
NavaJo Code Talkers in marching formation at Camp Pendleton
(Source CIJne LJbrary, Northern Anzona University, www nau edul-cltne)
A team of NavaJo Code Talkers in action
(Source US Marine Corps Archives, www )
II2
"..# -t.as'fie
ts"
Teresa Bruner Cox
F--
."'t,.V}ifg{
z,-
}•vaTt..l't,/•.".lag,
}' 2,i,?'{"k;'"?,/g,t?,,
si yfi .:t"
t-
t."y
xt•;iitE.;•:•;7if:nytrtf,.
-di t- E
.XWI
,,i-is/lj.lllSi•i
;
w
s"-
..pt"tretWF
g.pa
tf;.N',,,
4fiXt "
.s -s
nt"e
;vskv
e-t-
Nth}
a
-4ptti -il
x"
t
"-"
a
-ta
s•gi if
g-ta
'es".tw
#
flkt,iW1921'ff2,s
bu lain:t
sl
za
'kcb
vV:
4-gete}t
ff ee
$ ifv
t-a.
" 'F v2 ; ,s. .k
wtt
btts-- "
zalp
n} "
fitte.
fitYkxv.
-pt
`sint,w,
s
NavaJo code talker Carl Gorman in
lg93 (photo by the author)
,
,
a
Navalo Code Talkers Marching in the Gallup Inter-tribal Ceremonial
Parade, August 1993 (photo by the author)
II3
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
t"ijge, l,..7':t'
r"'
Traditional Navajo hogan (house)
on the Navajo Reservation
II4
in Canyon de Chelly, New Mexico,
(photo by the author, 1993)
Teresa Bruner Cox
Appendix
THE NAVAJO CODE
(Source: United States Marine Corps Historical Center, Washington, DC)
ALPHABETIC CODE
ANT
AXE
M. (TSIN-TLITI)
M. BE-TAS-TNI)
M. (NA-AS-TSO-SI)
(NA-HASH-CHID)
(SHUSH)
N.
N.
(TSAH)
(TOISH-JEH)
BADGER
BEAR
BARREL
NEEDLE
NOSE
(MOASI)
(TLA-GIN)
(BA-GOSHI)
CAT
COAL
o.
o.
o.
(A-KHA)
(TLO-CHIN)
(NE-AHS-JAH)
OIL
C.
C.
C.
D.
D.
D.
(BE)
DEER
P.
P.
P.
(BI-SO-DIH)
Q.
(CA-YEILTH)
E.
E.
E.
(AH-JAH)
(DZEH)
QUIVER
R.
R.
R.
(GAH)
(DAH-NES-TSA)
RABBIT
(AH-I.OSZ)
FLY
FOX
s.
s.
(KLESH)
GIRL
T.
T.
T.
(A-WOH)
(THAN-ZIE)
TOOTH
TURKEY
U.
U.
(SHI-DA)
(NO-DA-IH)
UNCLE
UTE
v.
(A-KEH-DI-GLINI)
VICTOR
A.
A.
A.
(WOL-LA-CHEE)
B.
B.
B.
(BE-LA-SANA)
(TSE-NILL)
(CHINDT)
(LHA-CHA-EH)
APPLE
COW
DEVIL
(AH-NAH)
DOG
EAR
ELK
EYE
F.
F.
F.
(CHUO)
FIR
G.
(AH-TAD)
(TSA-E-DONIN-EE)
(MA-E)
(KLIZZIE)
G
G. (JEHA)
H.
(TSE-GAH)
H. (CHA)
H. (LIN)
L
L
(TKIN)
I.
(A-CHI)
J.
J.
(TKELE-CHO-GI)
(AH-YA-TSINNE)
J.
(YIL-DO-T)
K.
K.
K.
L.
L
L
(YEH-HES)
GOAT
GUM
HAIR
HAT
HORSE
ICE
ITCH
INTESTINE
JACKASS
JAW
JERK
(JAD-HO-LONI)
KETTLE
(BA-AH-NE-DI-TININ)KEY
(KLIZZIE-YAZZIE) KID
(DIBEH-YAZZIE)
(AH-JAD)
(NASH-DOIE-TSO)
(A-CHIN)
(CLA-GI-AIH)
(NE-ZHONI)
(DIBEH)
(D-AH)
W. (GLOE-IH)
MATCH
MIRROR
MOUSE
ONION
OWL
PANT
PIG
PRETTY
RAM
RICE
SHEEP
SNAKE
TEA
WEASEL
X.
Y.
(AL-NA-AS-DZOH)
(TSAH-AS-ZIH)
CROSS
z.
(BESH-DO-TLIZ)
ZINC
YUCCA
LAMB
LEG
LION
IIS
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pachic War
MILITAR Y ORGANIZA TJONAL
TERMS
WORD
NAVAJO
UNITS
CORPS
DIN-NEH-IH
ASHIH HI
DIVISION
REGIMENT
BATTALION
TABAHA
TACHEENE
NAKIA
COMPANY
PLATOON
HAS-CLISH-NIH
SECTION
YO-IH
SQUAD
DEBEH-LI-ZINI
OLFFICERS
COMMANDING GENERAL
BIH-KEH-HE (+G)
MAJOR GENERAL
SO-NA-KIH
SO-A-LA-IH
BRIGADIER GENERAL
COLONEL
ATSAH-BESH-LE-GAI
CHE-CHn-BE-Tma-BESH-LE-Gal
LIEUTENANT COLONEL
CHE-CHIL-BE-TAH-OLA
MAJOR
CAPTAIN
BESH-LEGAI-NA-KIH
LIEUTENANT BESH-LEGAI-A-LAH-IH
COMMAINDING OFFICER
HASH KAY GI NA TAH
EXECUTIVE OFFICERBIH DA HOL-NEHI
UTERAL TRANSLATION
CLAN
SALT
EDGE WATER
RED SOIL
MEXICAN
MUD
BEADS
BLACK SHEEP
WAR CHIEF
TWO STAR
ONE STAR
SILVER EAGLE
SILVER OAK LEAF
GOLD OAK LEAF
TWO SILVER BARS
ONE SILVER BAR
THOSE IN CHARGE
NAMES OF COUNTRIES
AFRICA
ZHIN-NI
BLACKIES
ALASKA
AMERICA
AUSTRALIA
BEH-HGA
NE-HE-MAH
WITH WINTER
OUR MOTHER
ROLLED HAT
BETWEEN WATERS
CHA-YES-DESI
BRITAIN
TOH-TA
CHINA
FRANCE
CEH-YEHS-BESI
GA-GHA-HI
BESH-BE-CHA-HE
GERMANY
ICELAND
INDIA
ITALY
JAPAN
PHILIPPINE
RUSSIA
SOUTH AMERICA
II6
TKIN-KE-YAH
AH-LE-GAI
BRAIDED HAIR
BEARD
IRON HAT
ICE LAND
WHITE CLOTHES
DOH-HA-CHI-YALI-TCHI STUTTER
BEH-NA-ALI-TSOSIE
SLANT EYE
FLOATING ISLAND
KE-YAH-DA-NA-LHE
SILA-GOL-CHE-IH
RED ARMY
SHA-DE-AH-NE-HI-MAH SOUTH OUR MOTHER
Teresa Bruner Cox
SPAIN
DEBA-DE-NIH
SHEEP PAIN
NAMES OF AIRPLANES
PLANES
WO-TAH-DE-IH
GINI
DIVE BOMBER
TORPEDO PLANE TAS-CHIZZIE
NE-AS-JAH
OBSERVATION PLANE
DA-HE-TIH-HI
FIGHTER PLANE
JAY-SHO
BOMBER PLANE
GA-GIH
PATROL PLANE
TRANSPORT
ATSAH
AIR FORCE
CHICKEN HAWK
SWALLOW
OWL
HUMMINGBIRD
BUZZARD
CROW
EAGLE
SHIPS
SHIPS
BATTLE SHIP
AIRCRAFT
SUBMARINE
MINE SWEEPER
DESTROYER
TRANSPORT
CRUISER
MOSQUITO BOAT
TOH-DINEH-IH
SEA FORCE
LO-TSO
WHALE
CARRIER TSIDI-NEY-YE-H BIRD CARRIER
IRON FISH
BESH-LO
CHA
CA-LO
DINEH-NAY-YE-HI
LO-TSO-YAZZIE
TSE-E
BEAVER
SHARK
MAN CARRIER
SMALL WHALE
MOSQUITO
MONTHS
MAY
ATSAH-BE-YAZ
WOZ-CHEIND
TAH-CHILL
TAH-TSO
TAH-TSOSIE
JUNE
JULY
BE-NE-EH-EH-JAH
BE-NE-TA-TSOSIE
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
BE-NEEN-TA-TSO
GHAW-JIH
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
NIL-CHI-TSOSIE
NIL-CHI-TSO
YAS-NIL-TES
SMALLEAGLE
SQUEEKY VOICE
SMALL PLANT
BIG PLANT
SMALL PLANT
PLANTING
SrmL HARVEST
BIG HARVEST
HALF
SMALL WIND
BIG WIND
CRUSTED SNOW
II7
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
GELIVIERAL VOCABULARY
WORD
ABANDON
ABOUT
NAVAJO
AFTER
BI-KHA-DI (A)
AFTER
AGAINST
BE-NA-GNISH
AGAINST
AID
AIR
EDA-ELE-TSOOD
NILCHI
NILCHI-BEGHAN
AID
AIR
LITERAL TRANSLATION
YE-TSAN
RUN AWAY FROM
WOLA-CHI-A-HE-GAHN AINT FIGHT
WOL-LA-CHEE-BE-YIED ANT BREAST
ABREAST
ACCOMPLISH UL-SO
ALL DONE
ACCORDING BE-KA-HO
ACCORDING TO
HANOT-DZIED
ACKNOWLEDGE
ACKNOWLEDGE
ACTION
AH-HA-TINH
PLACE OF ACTION
ACTIVITY
ACTION ENDING IN Y
AH-HA-TINH- (+Y)
ENOUGH, SUFFICIENT
ADEQUATE BEH-GHA
ADDITION
ADDITION
IH-HE-DE-NDEL
YI-CHIN-HA-TSE
ADDRESS
ADDRESS
NEAR OR CLOSE BY
ADJACENT
BE-GAHI
HAS-TAI-NEL-KAD
ADJUST
ADJUST
NAS-SEY
ADVANCE
AHEAD
NA-NETIN
ADVISE
ADVISE
BE-ZONZ
AERIAL
STINGER
AFFIRMATIVE
AFFIRMATIVE LANH
AIRDROME
ALERT
ALL
HA-IH-DES-EE
AIRDROME
ALERT
ALL
ALLIES
TA-A-TAH (+A)
NIH-HI-CHO
ALONG
WOLACHEE-SNEZ
ALSO
EH-DO
ALTERNATE
NA-KEE-GO-NE-NAN-DEY-HE
2ND POSITION
AMBUSH
KAHC-DA
AMBUSH
AMMUNITION
BEH-ELI-DOH-BE-CAH-ALI-TAS-AI
ALL SORT OF AMMUNITION
AMPHIBIOUS
CHAL
DO
FROG
AND
SLANTING
AND
ANGLE
ANNEX
ANNOUNCE
ANTI
ANTICIPATE
ANY
II8
DEE-CAHN
ALLIES
LONG ANT
ALSO
ADDITION
IH-NAY-TANI
BEH-HA-O-DZE
WOL-LA-CHEE-TSIN
ANNOUNCE
NI-JOL-LIH
ANTICIPATE
TA-HA-DAH
ANY
ANT ICE
Teresa Bruner Cox
YE-KA-HA-YA
APPEAR
BI-CHI-OL-DAH
APPROACH
APPROXIMATETO-KUS-DAN
CAH-TSO
ARE
HAZ-A-GIH
AREA
ARMOR
ARMY
ARRIVE
ARTILLERY
AS
ASSAULT
APPEAR
APPROACH
APPROXIrmTE
BIG RABBIT
AREA
BESH-YE-HA-DA-DI-TEH IRON PROTECTOR
LEI-CHA-IH-YIL-KNEE-IH
IL-DAY
ARMY
BE-AL-DOH-TSO-LANI
MANY
AHCE
AS
ARRIVE
ALTSEH-E-JAH-HE
FIRST STRIKER
DE-JI-KASH
BUNCH TOGETHER
ASSIGN
BAH-DEH-TAHN
ASSIGN
AT
ATTACK
ATTEMPT
ATTENTION
AH-DI
AL-TAH-JE-JAY
AT
ATTACK
TRY
ASSEMBLE
BOO-NE-TAH (+A)
GIHA
HANI-BA-AH-HO-ZINI
AUTHENTICATOR
BE-BO-HO-SNEE
AUTHORIZE
TA-SHOZ-TEH-IH
AVAILABLE
ATTENTION
KNOW ABOUT
AUTHORIZE
AVAILABLE
BAGGAGE
KLAILH (+B)
BANZAI
NE-TAH
BESH-NA-ELT
BESH-BA-WA-CHIND
BAGGAGE
FOOL THEM
BARGE
BARRAGE
BIH-CHAN-NI-AH
BIH-TSEE-DIH
BIH-BE-AL-DOH-TKA
IN THE WAY
BASE
THREE GUNS
DA-AH-HI-DZI-TSIO
BATTLE
BAY
BAZOOKA
BEE
BEACH
BARGE
BARRAGE
BARRIER
BASE
BATTERY
BATTLE
BAY
BAZOOKA
BE
BEACH
BEEN
BEFORE
TOH-AH-HI-GHINH
AH-ZHOL
TSES-NAH
TAH-BAHN (+B)
TSTS-NAH-NES-CHEE
BEE NUT
BEFORE
BEGIN
BIH-TSE-DIH
HA-HOL-ZIZ
BELONG
TSES-NAH-SNEZ
LONG BEE
BETWEEN
BEYOND
BI-TAH-KIZ
BILH-LA DI
BETWEEN
DOWN BELOW
COMMENCE FROM
BRUSH SHELTER
EGGS
BOOBY TRAP DINEH-BA-WHOA-BLEHI MAN TRAP
BIVOUAC
EHL-NAS-TEH
BOMB
A-YE-SHI
II9
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
BORNE
BOUNDARY
BULL DOZER
BUNKER
BUT
BY
CABLE
CALIBER
YE-CHIE-TSAH
BORN ELK
KA-YAH-BI-NA-HAS-DZOHBOUNDARY
DOLA-ALTH-WHOSH BULL SHEEP
SANDY HOLLOW (Bedlike)
TSAS-KA
NEH-DIH
BUT
BE-GHA
BY
BESH-LKOH
WIRE ROPE
NAHL-KIHD (+C)
MOVE AROUND
TEMPORARAY PLACE
TO-ALTSEH-HOGAN
CAMP
CAMOUFLAGEDI-NES-IH
YAH-DI-ZINI
CAN
HID
CAN
CANNONEER
BE-AL-DOH-TSO-DEY-DIL-DONBIG
CAPACITY
BE-NEL-AH
YIS-NAH
YO-LAILH
BIT-SAH
CAPTURE
CARRY
CASE
CASUALTY
CAUSE
CAVE
CEILING
CEMETERY
CENTER
CHANGE
CHANNEL
CHARGE
CHEMICAL
CIRCLE
CIRCUIT
CLASS
CLEAR
CLIFF
BIH-DIN-NE-DEY
BI-NIH-NANI
TSA-OND
DA-TEL-JAY
JISH-CHA
ULH-NE-IH
THLA-GO-A-NAT-ZAH
HA-TALHI-YAZZIE
AH-TAH-GI-JAH
TA-NEE
NAS-PAS
AH-HEH-HA-DAILH
ALTH-AH-A-TEH
YO-AH-HOL-ZHOD
TSE-YE-CHEE
UL-CHI-UH-NAL-YAH
CLOSE
COAST GUARDTA-BAS-DSISSI
CODE
COLON
YIL-TAS
NAKI-ALH-DEH-DA-AL
ALTH-KAY-NE-ZIH
DA-AH-HI-JIH-GANH
COMBINATION AL-TKAS-EI
COLUMN
COMBAT
COME
COMMA
HUC-QUO
TSA-NA-DAHL
COMMERCIAL NAI-EL-NE-HI
I20
GUN OPERATOR
CAPACITY
CAPTURE
CARRY
CASE
PUT OUT OF ACTION
CAUSE
ROCK CAVE
SEAL
AMONG DEVELS
CENTER
CHANGE
SMALL SINGER
CHARGE
ALKALI
CIRCLE
CIRCUIT
CLASS
CLEAR
CLIFF
CLOSE
SHORE RUNNER
PECK
TWO SPOTS
COLUMN
FIGHTING
MIXED
COME
TAIL DROP
COMMERCIAL
Teresa Bruner Cox
COMMIT
HUC-QUO-LA-JISH
COME GLOVE
HA-NEH-AL-ENJI
COMMUNICATION
BE-KI-ASZ-JOLE
CONCEAL
TA-LA-HI-JIH
CONCENTRATION
CONCUSSION WHE-HUS-DIL
CONDITION
AH-HO-TAI
CONFERENCE BE-KE-YA-TI
CONFIDENTIAL NA-NIL-IN
TA-A-NEH
CONFIRM
MAKINGTALK
CONQUER
WON
A-KEH-DES-DL
NE-TSA-CAS
CONSIDER
BILH + (C)
CONSIST
CONSOLIDATE AH-HIH-HI-NIL
CONSTRUCT AHL-NEH
CONTACT
CONTINUE
CONTROL
CONVOY
COORDINATE
AH-HI-DI-DAIL
CRAFT
CREEK
AH-TOH
TA-YI-TEH
NAI-GHIZ
TKAL-KAH-O-NEL
BEH-EH-HO-ZIN-NA-AS
WOLTAH-AL-KI-GI-JEH
COUNTER ATTACK
COH-JI-GOH
COURSE
CONCEAL
ONE PLACE
CONCUSSION
HOW IT IS
TALK OVER
KEPT SECRET
MAKE SURE
THINK IT OVER
CONSIST
PUT TOGETHER
TO MAKE
COME TOGETHER
CONTINUE
CONTROL
MOVING ON WATER
KNOWN LINES
COUNTER ACT
COURSE
NEST
VERY LITTLE WATER
CROSS
TOL-NIL-TSANH
AL-N-AS-DZOH
CUB
SHUSH-YAHZ
CUB
DASH
UH-DZOH
HA-YELI-KAHN
DAWN
DAWN
DEFENSE
DEGREE
DELAY
DELIVER
DEMOLITION
DENSE
DEPART
AH-KIN-CIL-TOH
NAHL-KIHD
BE-SITIHN
BE-BIH-ZIHDE
AH•DEEL-TAHI
HO-DIHL-CLA (+D)
DE-DA-YAH
CROSS
DASH
DEFENSE
DEGREE
DEER LAY
DEER LIVER
BLOW UP
WET
DEPARTMENTHOGAN
DEPART
DEPARTMENT
DESIGNATE
DESPERATE
POINT OUT
DOWN TO LAST
YE-KHI-DEL-NEI
AH-DA-AH-HO-DZAH
AHCHA-NIL
DETACH
BE-NEH-SHA
DETAIL
DETONATOR AH-DEEL-TAHI (+O+R)
NA-NE-KLAH
DIFFICULT
DETACHED
DEER TAIL
BLOWN UP
DIFFICULT
I2I
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pachic War
DIG IN
LE-EH-GADE
DIG IN
DIRECT
DISEMBARK
DISPATCH
DISPLACE
DISPLAY
AH-JI-GO
DIRECT
GET OUT
DISPOSITION
A-HO-TAY
EH-HA-JAY
LA-CHAI-EN-SEIS-BE-JAY DOG IS PATCH
HIH-DO-NAL
BE-SEIS-NA-NEH
DISTRIBUTE
NAH-NEH
TSE-LE
DO
DOCUMENT BEH-EH-HO-ZINZ (+D)
MOVE
DEER IS PLAY
DISPOSITION
DISTRIBUTE
SMALL PUP
DOCUMENT
DRIVE
AH-NOL-KAHL
DRIVE
DUD
DI-GISS-YAHZIE
DI-GISS-TSO
SMALL DUMMY
EACH
ECHELON
EDGE
TA-LAHI-NE-ZINI-GO
EACH
WHO-DZAH
LINE
BE-BA-HI
EDGE
EFFECTIVE
BE-DELH-NEED
YEA-GO
AH-NA-NAI
EFFECTIVE
WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT
ALI-KHI-HO-NE-OHA
HA-BEH-TO-DZIL
EH-HO-JAY
HO-NEZ-CLA
ELEVATE
ELIMINATE
DUMMY
EFFORT
ELEMENT
ELEVATE
ELIMINATE
EMBARK
EMERGENCY
LA-AZ-NIL
EMPLACEMENT
ENCIRCLE
YE-NAS-TEH (+E)
ENCOUNTER BI-KHANH
A-HA-NE-HO-TA
ENGAGE
ENGINE
ENGINEER
ENLARGE
ENLIST
ENTIRE
ENTRENCH
ENVELOP
EQUIPMENT
ERECT
ESCAPE
ESTABLISH
ESTIMATE
EVACUATE
EXCEPT
I22
CHIDI-BI-TSI-TSINE (+E)
DAY-DIL-JAH-HE
NIH-TSA-GOH-AL-NEH
BIH-ZIH-A-DA-YI-LAH
TA-A-TAH (E)
E-GAD-AH-NE-LIH
A-ZAH-GI-YA
BIG DUMMY
TROOP REPRESENTING OTHERS
GET ON
EMERGENCY
EMPLACEMENT
ENCIRCLE
GO AGAINST
AGREED
ENGINE
ENGINEER
MAKE BIG
ENLIST
ENTIRE
MAKE DITCH
YA-HA-DE-TAHI
YEH-ZIHN
A-ZEH-HA-GE-YAH
ENVELOP
EQUIPMENT
STAND UP
ESCAPE
HAS-TAY-DZAH
ESTABLISH
BIH-KE-TSE-HOD-DES-KEZESTIMATE
HA-NA
NEH-DIH (E)
EVACUATE
EXCEPT
Teresa Bruner Cox
EXPECT
EXCHANGE
EXECUTE
NA-WOL-NE
ALH-NAHL-YAH
EXPLOSIVE
EXPEDITE
AH-DEL-TAHI (+E)
SHIL-LOH (E)
EXPLOSIVE
SPEED UP
EXTEND
EXTREME
NE-TDALE
AL-TSAN-AH-BAHM
MAKE WIDE
EACH END
FAIL
FAIL
FEED
CHA-AL-EIND
YEES-GHIN
MAI-BE-HE-AHGAN
DZEH-CHI-YON
FIELD
FIERCE
CLO-DIH (+F)
TOH-BAH-HA-ZSID (+F)
FAILURE
FARM
A-DO-NIL
BA-EH-CHEZ
TAH-AH-KWO-DIH
COH-AH-GHIL-TLID
FLAME THROWER
DAH-DI-KAD
FLANK
WO-CHI
FLARE
MA"E-AS-ZLOLI
FLIGHT
TA-NA-NE-LADI
FORCE
BE-CHA
FORM
BE-CHA-YE-LAILH
FORIWtTION
FORTIFICATION AH-NA-SOZI
AH-NA-SOZI-YAZZIE
FORTIFY
FORWARD TEHI
BESH-YAZZIE
FRAGMENTATION
FREQUENCY HA-TALHI-TSO
FRIENDLY
NEH-HECHO-DA-NE
BI-TSAN-DEHN
FROM
YEAS-NIL (+F)
FURNISH
WO-NAS-DI
FURTHER
FILE
FINAL
GARRISON
GASOLINE
EXPECT
EXCHANGE
EXECUTE
FAILURE
FOX ARM
FEED
FIELD
AFRAID
FILE
THAT IS ALL
FLAME THROWER
FLANK
LIGHT STREAK
FOX LIGHT
WITHOUT CARE
FORM
FORMATION
CLIFF DWELLING
SMALL FORTIFICATION
LET'S GO
SMALL METAL
BIG SINGER
FRIENDLY
FROM
FURNISH
FURTHER
YAH-A-DA-HAL-YON-IH
TAKE CARE OF
GASOLINE (CAR'S WATER)
GRENADE
GUARD
CHIDI-BI-TOH
NI-MA-SI
NI-DIH-DA-HI
GUIDE
NAH-E-THLAI
GUIDE
HALL
HALF TRACK
HALT
LHI-TA-ATA
ALH-NIH-JAH-A QUHE
TA-AKWAI-I
HORSE ALL
RACE TRACK
POTATOES
GUARD
HALT
I23
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
BET-SEEN
HANDLE
HANDLE
JO
HAVE
HAVE
NA-HA-TAH-BA-HOGAN HEADQUARTER
HEADQUARTER
WO-TAH-TEH-DAHN-OHHELD
HIGH
WO-TAH
HIGH EXPLOSIVEBE-AL-DOH-BE-CA-BIH-DZIL-IGI POWERFUL SHELL
WO-TAH-HO-NE-TEH HIGH WAY
HIGHWAY
HELD
HIGH
HOLD
HOLD
WO-TKANH
HOSPITAL
HOSTILE
HOWITZER
PLACE OF MEDICINE
NOT FRIENDLY
AH-NAH-NE-DZIN
BE-EL-DON-TSO-QUODI SHORT BIG GUN
A-ZEY-AL-IH
WO-CHI (+I)
ILLUMINATE
IMMEDIATELY SHIL-LOH(+I)
A-HE-DIS-GOH
IMPACT
IMPORTANT BAH-HAS-TEH
HO-DOL-ZHOND
IMPROVE
EL-TSOD
INCLUDE
INCREASE
HO-NAHL
INDICATE
BA-HAL-NEH
TA-NEH-NAL-DAHI
INFANTRY
LIGHT UP
INFILTR-ATE
INITIAL
YE-GHA-NE-JEH
BEH-ED-DE-DLID
WENT THROUGH
BRAND
EHD-TNAH
INSTALL
INSTALLATION
IMMEDIATELY
IMPACT
IMPORTANT
IMPROVE
INCLUDE
INCREASE
TELL ABOUT
INFANTRY
INSTALL
INSTALLATION
INSTRUCT
INTELLIGENCE
INTENSE
INTERCEPT
INTERFERE
INTERPRET
INVESTIGATE
INVOLVE
YEL-NA-ME-JAH
AH-NILH-KHLAI
AH-TAH-HA-NE
NA-ALI-KA
INTERCEPT
INTERFERE
INTERPRET
A-TAH
IS
SEIS
ISLAND
ISOLATE
SEIS-KEYAH
BIH-TSA-NEL-KAD
INVOLVE
SEVEN
SEVEN ISLAND
SEPARATE
JUNGLE
WOH-DI-CHIL
JUNGLE
KILL
NAZ-TSAID
KILL
KILOCYCLE
NAS-TSAID-A-KHA-AH•YEH-HA-DILHKILL
I24
NAS-NIL
NA-NE-TGIN
HO-YAH (+I)
DZEEL
TEACH
SMART
STRENGTH
TRACK
OIL GO AROUND
Teresa Bruner Cox
LABOR
LAND
NA-NISH (+L)
LAUNCH
LEADER
TKA-GHIL-ZHOD
AH-NA-GHAI
DE-BE-YAZIE-HA-A-AH
DAH-DE-YAH
KAY-YAH
LEAST
LEAVE
LEFT
NISH-CLA-JIH-GOH
LABOR
LAND
LAUNCH
LEADER
LAMB EAST
LESS
BI-OH (+L)
LEVEL
DIL-KONH
LIAISON
LIMIT
DA-A-HE-GI-ENEH
HE LEFT
LEFT
LESS
LEVEL
KNOW OTHER'S ACTION
BA-HAS-AH
LIMIT
LITTER
NI-DAS-TON (+L)
SCATTER
LOCATE
A-KWE-EH
LOSS
UT-DIN
SPOT
LOSS
MACHINE GUNA-KNAH-AS-DONIH
NA-E-LAHI
MAGNETIC
RAPID FIRE GUN
PICK UP
HASTNI-BEH-NA-HAI
MANAGE
MANEUVER NA-NA-O-NALTH
KAH-YA-NESH-CHAI
MAP
MAXIMUM BEL-DIL-KHON
MAN AGE
MOVING AROUND
CHITI-A-NAYL-INIH
MECHANIC
MECHANIZED CHIDI-DA-AH-HE-GONI
A-ZAY
MEDICAL
MEGACYCLE MIL-AH-HEH-AH-DILH
NA-EL-NEHI-TSIN-NA-AI
MERCHANT SHIP
HANE-AL-NEH
MESSAGE
MILITARY
MILLIMETER
MINE
MINIMUM
MINUTE
MISSION
MISTAKE
MOPPING
MAP
FILL TO TOP
AUTO REPAIRMAN
FIGHTING CARS
MEDICINE
MILLION GO AROUND
MERCHANT SHIP
MESSAGE
SILAoo-KEH-GOH
MILITARY
NA-AS-TSO-SI-A-YE-DO-TISH DOUBLE MOUSE
HA-GADE
MINE
BE-OH (+M)
MINUMUM
AH-KHAY-EL-KIT-YAZZIE LITTLE HOUR
AI-NESHODI
MISSION
O-ZHI
MISS
HA-TAO-DI
MOPPING
MORE
MORTAR
THLA-NA-NAH
MORE
BE-AL-DOH-CID-DA-HI
SITTING GUN
MOTION
NA-HOT-NAH
MOTOR
CHIDE-BE-TSE-TSEN
MOTION
CAR HEAD
NATIVE
KA-HA-TENI
TAL-KAH-SILAGO
NAVY
NATIVE
SEA SOLDIER
I2S
Lariguage as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
NECESSARY
NEGATIVE
NET
NEUTRAL
NORMAL
NOT
NOTICE
YE-NA-ZEHN WANT
DO-YA-SHO-DA NO GOOD
NA-NES-DIZI NET
DO-NEH-LINI NEUTRAL
DOH-A-TA-H-DAH NORrmL
NI-DAH-THAN-ZIE NO TURKEY
NE-DA-TAZI-THIN NO TURKEY ICE
NUMBER
KUT
(+N) NOW
BEH-BIH-KE-AS-CHINIGIH WHAT'SWRITTEN
OBJECTIVE
BI-NE-YEI
OBSERVE
OBSTACLE
occupy
OF
HAL-ZID
NOW
OFFENSIVE
DA-HO-DESH-ZHA
YEEL-TSOD
TOH-NI-TKAL-LO
OPPOSITION
NE-HE-TSAH-JIH•SHIN
OR
ORANGE
ORDER
ORDNANCE
EH-DODAH-GOH
OTHER
OUT
OVERLAY
PARENTHESIS
PARTICULAR
PARTY
PAY
PENALIZE
PERCENT
PERIOD
PERIODIC
PERMIT
PERSONNEL
I26
ONLY
WORK AT
OPPORTUNITY
OPPOSITION
EITHER
TCHIL-LHE-SOI
BE-EH-HO-ZINI
LEI-AZ-JAH
DAS-TEH-DO (+O)
LA-E-CIH
CLO-DIH (+O)
ORANGE
ORDER
UNDER GROUND
BE-KA-HAS-TSOZ
OVERLAY
ATSANH
RIB
A-YO-AD-DO-NEH
PARTICULAR
PARTY
PAY
DA-SHA-JAH (+P)
NA-ELI-YA
TAH-NI-DES-TANH
YAL
BEGIN
OTHER
OUT SIDE
SET BACK
MONEY (ALL SORTS)
PERIOD
DA-AHL-ZHIN
DA-AL-ZHIN-THIN-MOASI PERIOD ICE CAT
GOS-SHI-E (+P)
PERMIT
DA-NE-LEI
MEMBER
PHOTOGRAPHBEH-CHI-MA-HAD-NIL
PILL BOX
OCEAN FISH
BIN-KIE-JINH-JIH-DEZ-JAY OFFENSIVE
TA-LAI-DI
ONCE
ONCE
TA-EI-TAY-A-YAH
ONLY
YE-NAHL-NISH
OPERATE
OPPORTUNITYASH-GA-ALIN
ORIGINATE
GOAL
OBSERVE
OBSTACLE
TAKEN
PHOTOGRAPH
BI-SO-DIH-DOT-SAHI-BI-TSAH SICK PIG BOX
Teresa Brtmer Cox
PINNED DOWNBIL-DAH-HAS-TANH-YA PINNED DOWN
TSIDI
BIRD
PLANE
DIL-DI-GHILI
PLASMA
PLASMA
POINT
PONTOON
POSITION
POSSIBLE
POST
PREPARE
PRESENT
PREVIOUS
BE-SO-DE-DEZ-AHE
TKOSH-JAH-DA-NA-ELT
BILH-HAS-AHN
TA-HA-AH-TAY
SAH-DEI
HASH-TAY-HO-DIT-NE
KUT (+P)
PIG POINT
FLOATING BARREL
POSITION
POSSIBLE
POST
PREPARE
PRESENT
BIH-TSE-DIH (+P)
PREVIOUS
ALTSEH-NAN-DAY-HI-GIHIST POSITION
PRIMARY
PRIORITY
PRIORITY
HANE-PESODI
DA-TSI
PROBABLE
PROBABLE
BIG JOB
NA-NISH-TSOH
PROBLEM
NAY-NIH-JIH
PROCEED
oo
NAH-SAI (+P)
PROGRESS
PROGRESS
SELF DEFENSE
PROTECT
AH-CHANH
YIS-NIL (+P)
PROVIDE
PROVIDE
DINL-CHI
PURPLE
PURPLE
FANCY FIRE
PYROTECHNICCOH-NA-CHANH
QUESTION
QUICK
AH-JAH
EAR
SHIL-LOH
QUICK
RADAR
ESAT-TSANH (+R)
DEZJAY
LISTEN
RAID
SHIPPING POINT
RAID
RAILHEAD
RAILROAD
RALLYING
RANGE
RATE
RATION
RAVINE
REACH
A-DE-GEH-HI
KONH-NA-AL-BANSI-BI-THIN RAILROAD
A-LAH-NA-O-GLALTH
GATHERING
AN-ZAH
GAH-EH-YAHN
DISTANCE
RABBIT ATE
RATION
RAVINE
NA-A-JAH
CHUSH-KA (+R)
IL-DAY (+R)
READY
REAR
KUT (+R)
BE-KA-DENH (R)
REACH
READY
REAR
RECEIPT
SHOZ-TEH
RECEIPT
RECOMMENDCHE-HO-TAI-TAHN
RECOMMEND
HA-A-CIDI
RECONNAISSANCE
RECONNOITERTA-AH-NE-AL-YA
INSPECTOR
MAKE SURE
RECORD
R-E-ROPE
CAH-AH-NAH-KLOLI
r27
Lariguage as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
RED
REEF
LI-CHI
TSA-ZHIN
REEMBARK EH-NA-JAY
REFIRE
NA-NA-COH
NA-YEL-NA
REGULATE
NAL-DZIL
REINFORCE
AGANH-TOL-JAY
RELIEF
NAH-JIH-CO-NAL-YA
RELIEVE
REORGANIZE HA-DIT-ZAH
RED
BLACK ROCK
GO IN
REFIRE
REGULATE
REINFORCE
RELIEF
REMOVE
REORGAN!ZE
NI-NA-DO-NIL
REPLACEMENT
REPORT
WHO-NEH
REPLACEMENT
GOT WORD
TKA-NAZ-NILI
REPRESENTATIVE
JO-KAYED-GOH
REQUEST
TRIPLE MEN
ASK FOR
RESERVE
RESTRICT
RETIRE
RESERVE
RESTRICT
RETIRE
RETREAT
RETURN
REVEAL
REVERT
REVETMENT
RIDGE
RIFLEMEN
RIVER
HESH-J-E
BA-HO-CHINH
AH-HOS-TEEND
JI-DIN-NES-CHANH
NA-DZAH
WHO-NEH (+L)
NA-SI-YIZ
BA-NASCLA (+R)
GAH-GHIL-KEID
BE-AL-DO-HOSTEEN
TOH-YIL-KAL
RETREAT
CAME BACK
REVEAL
TURN ABOUT
CORNER
RABBIT RIDGE
RIFLEMEN
MUCH WATER
ROBOT BOMB A-YE-SHI-NA-TAH-IH
LESZ-YIL-BESHI
ROCKET
YEH-MAS
ROLL
NAZ-PAS (+R)
ROUND
GAH-BIH-TKEEN
ROUTE
EGG FLY
SAND BOIL
ROLL
RUNNER
NIH-DZID-TEIH
RUNNER
SABOTAGE
SABOTEUR
A-TKEL-YAH
HINDERED
TROUBLE MAKER
SAILOR
CHA-LE-GAI
SALVAGE
SAT
NA-HAS-GLAH
A-TKEL-EL-INI
ROUND
RABBIT TRAIL
SCARLET & REDLHE-CHI (+S & R)
WHITE CAPS
PICK THEM UP
APPLE SITTING
RED
SCHEDULE
SCOUT
SCREEN
BEH-EH-HO-ZINI
HA-A-SID-AL-SIZIGIH
BESH-NA-NES-DIZI
SCHEDULE
SHORT RECONNAISANCE
SCREEN
SEAMAN
TKAL-KAH-DINEH-IH
BAH-HAS-TKIH
SECRET
SECRET
n8
BIH-LA-SANA-CID-DA-HI
SEAMAN
Teresa Bruner Cox
SECTOR
SECURE
YOEHI (+S)
SEIZE
YEEL-STOD (+S)
BE-TAH-HAS-GLA
SELECT
SEMICOLON
SET
SHACKLE
SHELL
SHORE
SHORT
YE-DZHE-AL-TSISI-GI
SECTOR
SMALL SECURITY
SEIZE
TOOK OUT
DROP
DA-AHL-ZHM-BI-TSA-NA-DAHL
DOT
ELK SITTING
DI-BAHONESH-GOHZ (+S)SHACKLE
BE-AL-DOH-BE-CA
SHELL
TAH-BAHN (+S)
SHORE
DZEH-CID-DA-HI
BOSH-KEESH
BOSH-KEESH
YE-EL-TSANH
SHORT
NA-EH-EH-GISH
ALAH-IH-NE-TIH
BY SIGNS
ICE SITTING
SMOKE
TKIN-CID-DA-HI
A-HO-TAY (S)
LIT
SNIPER
OH-BEHI
PICK 'EM OFF
SPACE
BE-TKAH
BETWEEN
SPECIAL
E-YIH-SIH
SPEED
SPORADIC
SPOTTER
SPRAY
YO-ZONS
AH-NA-HO-NEIL
rmIN THING
SWIFT MOTION
SQUADRON
STORM
STRAFE
STRAGGLER
STRATEGY
STREAM
STRENGTH
STRETCH
NAH-GHIZI
NE-OL
NA-WO-GHI-ooID
SIDE
SIGHT
SIGNAL
SIMPLEX
SIT
SITUATE
EEL-TSAY-I
KLESH-SO-DILZIN
CHY-NE-DE-DAHE
NA-HA-TAH (S)
TOH-NI-LIH
DZHEL
STUBBORN
DESZ-TSOOD
NAY-DAL-GHAL
HA-TIH-JAH
NIL-TA
SUBJECT
NA-NISH-YAZZIE
STRIKE
STRIP
SIDE
SEEN
INNER WIRE
SITUATE
SMOKE
NOW AND THEN
SPOTTER
SNAKE PRAY
SQUASH
STORM
HOE
STRAGGLER
STRATEGY
RUNNING WATER
STRENGTH
STRETCH
STRIKE
STRIP
STUBBORN
SMALL JOB
SUBMERGE TKAL-CLA-YI-YAH
A-NIH-LEH
SUBMIT
SUBORDINATEAL-KHI-NAL-DZL
YAH-TAYGO-E-ELAH
SUCCEED
WENT UNDER WATER
SEND
UT-ZAH
SUCCESS
SUCCESSFUL UT-ZAH-HA-DEZ-BIN
IT IS DONE
HELPING EACH OTHER
MAKE GOOD
IT IS DONE WELL
I29
Language as a Weapon: Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific War
SUCCESSIVE
SUCH
SUFFER
UT-ZAH-SID
YIS-CLEH
SUCCESS SCAR
sox
TO-HO-NE
SUFFER
SHINH-coBAH
SUMMER MARY
TKA-oo-NE-NAN-DEY-HE 3RD POSITION
SUPPLEMENTARY
NAL-YEH-HI
SUPPLY
SUPPLY
SUMMARY
SUPPLY SHIP
SUPPORT
SURRENDER
SURROUND
SURVIVE
NALGA-HI-TSIN-NAH-AILHSUPPLY SHIP
BA-AH-HOT-GLI
DEPEND
NE-NA-CHA
NAZ-PAS (+S)
YIS-DA-YA
SYSTEM -
SURRENDER
SURROUND
SURVIVE
DI-BA-TSA-AS-ZHI-BI-TSIN
SYSTEM
TACTICAL
E-CHIHN
TACTICAL
TAKE
TANK
GAH-TAHN
TAKE
TASK
TAZI-NA-EH-DIL-KID
DEH-NA-AS-TSO-SI
ALI-KHI-HO-NE-OHA (+T)
CHAY-DA-GAHI
TORTOISE
CHAY-DA-GAHI-NAIL-TSAIDI TORTOISE KILLER
TANK DESTROYER
WOL-DONI
TARGET
TARGET
TEAM
TERR-ACE
TERRAIN
TERRITORY
THAT
THE
THEIR
TASHI-NA-HAL-THIN
KA-YAH (T)
TAZI-CHA
CHA-GEE
BIH
TURKEY ASK
TEA MOUSE
TERRACE
TURKEY RAIN
TERRITORY
TURKEY HAT
BLUE-JAY
THEIR
THEREAFTER TA-ZI-KWA-I-BE-KA-DI
CHA-GI-O-EH
THESE
CHA-GEE (+Y)
THEY
TURKEY HERE AFTER
THIS
DI
THIS
TOGETHER
TORPEDO
TOTAL
TRACER
TA-BILH
TOGETHER
LO-BE-CA
TA-AL-SO (+T)
FISH SHELL
TRAIN
COH-NAI-ALI-BAHN-SI
THE SEE
THEY
TOTAL
BEH-NA-AL-KAH-HI
TRACER
TRAFFIC DIAGRAMHANE-BA-NA-AS-DZOH DLAGRAM STORY LINE
TRANSPORTATION
A-HAH-DA-A-CHA
E-GADE
TRENCH
TKA-IH
TRIPLE
NAL-DEH-HI
TROOP
CHIDO-TSO
TRUCK
ALTH-AH-A-TEH (+T)
TYPE
I30
TRAIN
TRANSPORTATION
TRENCH
TRIPLE
TROOP
BIG AUTO
TYPE
Teresa Bruner Cox
UNDER
BI-YAH
UNIDENTIFIED DO-BAY-HOSEN-E
DA-AZ-JAH (+U)
UNIT
UNSHACKLE NO-DA-EH-NESH-GOHZ
UH-QUO-HO
UNTIL
VICINITY
VILLAGE
VISIBILITY
VITAL
WARNING
WAS
WATER
WAVE
WEAPON
WELL
WHEN
WHERE
WHICH
WILL
WIRE
WITH
WITHIN
UNDER
UNIDENTIFIED
UNIT
UNSHACKLE
UNTIL
NA-HOS-AH-GIH
THERE ABOUT
CHAH-HO-OH-LHAN-IH MANY SHELTER
VISIBILITY
NAY-ES-TEE
TA-EH-YE-SY
VITAL
BILH-HE-NEH (+W)
NE-TEH
TKOH
YILH-KOLH
WARNING
WAS
WATER
WAVE
FIGHTING WEAPON
TO-HA-HA-DLAY
WELL
GLOE-EH-NA-AH-WO-HAIWEASEL HEN
BEH-DAH-A-HI-JIH-GANI
GLOE-IH-QUI-AH
GLOE-IH-A-HSI-TLON
GLOE-IH-DOT-SAHI
WEASEL HERE
WEASEL TIED TOGETHER
SICK WEASEL
SMALL WIRE
BESH-TSOSIE
BILH (+W)
WITH
BILH-BIGIH
WITH IN
WITHOUT
WOOD
WOUND
TA-GAID
CHIZ
CAH-DA-KHI
YARD
A-DEL-TAHL
YARD
ZONE
BIH-NA-HAS-DZOH
ZONE
WITHOUT
FIRE WOOD
WOUND
I3I