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  1. Code talker - Wikipedia

    A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is most often used for United States service members during the World Wars who used their knowledge of Native American languages as a basis to transmit coded messages.

  2. Code talker | Definition, Significance, & Facts | Britannica

    Mar 22, 2025 · Code talker, any of more than 400 Native American soldiers who transmitted sensitive wartime messages by speaking their native languages, using them as codes. In World War I and especially in World War II, the code talkers provided U.S. forces with fast communications over open radio waves.

  3. Navajo Code Talkers and the Unbreakable Code - CIA - The …

    During the invasion of Iwo Jima, six Navajo Code Talkers were operating continuously. They sent more than 800 messages. All of the messages were transmitted without error. The Navajo Code Talkers were treated with the utmost respect by their fellow marines.

  4. How Native American Code Talkers Pioneered a New Type of …

    May 29, 2014 · During World War II, the strategy encompassed more than a dozen Native languages, most notably Navajo. That work became known as "code talking." Ironically, the U.S. military was drawing benefit...

  5. World War I Code Talkers - National Museum of the United …

    The Code Talkers were so successful in World War I that the Germans saw them as a serious threat to their future war efforts. In the 1930s, Germany sent spies and agitators to sabotage future Code Talkers and limit enlistment of Native Americans.

  6. 9 Things Every American Should Know About the Navajo Code Talkers

    Aug 5, 2024 · Navajo Code Talkers, who once faced restrictions on speaking about their crucial role in World War II, are now celebrated as heroes for their unique and invaluable contributions.

  7. American Indian Code Talkers - The National WWII Museum

    What is a code talker? A code talker is the name given to American Indians who used their tribal language to send secret communications on the battlefield. Most people have heard of the famous Navajo (or Diné) code talkers who used their traditional language to transmit secret Allied messages in the Pacific theater of combat during World War II.

  8. Code Talkers Were America’s Secret Weapon in World War II

    A language once forbidden became a weapon that was quick, accurate, and never deciphered. Most important, it saved many American lives. Fewer than five code talkers remain. They have been honored by the United States and the Navajo Nation with medals and a National Navajo Code Talker Day on August 14.

  9. Code Talkers | National Archives

    Oct 4, 2016 · When the U.S. entered World War II, military leaders remembered the success of the Choctaw Code Talkers and enlisted new recruits from the Navajo, Kiowa, Hopi, Creek, Seminole, and other tribes to encrypt messages for the Army and Marine Corps.

  10. Topics | Code Talkers - National Museum of the American Indian

    Known as code talkers, these men helped U.S. forces achieve military victory in some of the greatest battles of the twentieth century. Choctaw telephone squad, returned from fighting in World War I. Camp Merritt, New Jersey, June 7, 1919.