FReeper Canteen ~ Navajo Code Talkers Day ~ 14 August 2013

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

The FReeper Canteen Presents…..

~ August 14th … National Navajo Code Talkers Day! ~

On July 26, 2001, the original 29 Code Talkers were presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush. This long awaited recognition occurred 56 years after World War II despite the fact that the Code saved thousands of lives. The Code had been de-classified in 1968.

Canteen Mission Statement

Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies military
and family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

The Navajo Code Talkers received no recognition until the declassification of the operation in 1968. In 1982, the code talkers were given a Certificate of Recognition by President Ronald Reagan, who also named August 14 "National Navaho Code Talkers Day."

How Great Thou Art ~ Choctaw

During World War II (1939-1945), the U.S. Marines trained Navajo soldiers as code talkers. During military campaigns in the Pacific, the Navajo soldiers relayed secret messages about troop movements and enemy locations in the Navajo language. Because of the complexity of the language, the Japanese were never able to decipher the code.

The idea to use Navajo for secure communications came from Philip Johnston, the son of a missionary to the Navajos and one of the few non-Navajos who spoke their language fluently.

Johnston, reared on the Navajo reservation, was a World War I veteran who knew of the military's search for a code that would withstand all attempts to decipher it. He also knew that Native American languages--notably Choctaw--had been used in World War I to encode messages.

Johnston believed Navajo answered the military requirement for an undecipherable code because Navajo is an unwritten language of extreme complexity. Its syntax and tonal qualities, not to mention dialects, make it unintelligible to anyone without extensive exposure and training.

It has no alphabet or symbols, and is spoken only on the Navajo lands of the American Southwest. One estimate indicates that less than 30 non-Navajos could understand the language at the outbreak of World War II.

In May 1942, the first 29 Navajo recruits attended boot camp. Then, at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California, this first group created the Navajo code. They developed a dictionary and numerous words for military terms. The dictionary and all code words had to be memorized during training.

Once a Navajo code talker completed his training, he was sent to a Marine unit deployed in the Pacific theater. The code talkers' primary job was to talk, transmitting information on tactics and troop movements, orders and other vital battlefield communications over telephones and radios. They also acted as messengers, and performed general Marine duties.

In this photograph, two Navajo Indians, Corporal Henry Bake, Jr., left, and Private First Class George H. Kirk, operate a portable radio set in a clearing they created in the dense jungle close to the front lines.

Praise for their skill, speed and accuracy accrued throughout the war. At Iwo Jima, Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division signal officer, declared, "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima." Connor had six Navajo code talkers working around the clock during the first two days of the battle. Those six sent and received over 800 messages, all without error.

The Japanese, who were skilled code breakers, remained baffled by the Navajo language. The Japanese chief of intelligence, Lieutenant General Seizo Arisue, said that while they were able to decipher the codes used by the U.S. Army and Army Air Corps, they never cracked the code used by the Marines.

The Navajo code talkers even stymied a Navajo soldier taken prisoner at Bataan. (About 20 Navajos served in the U.S. Army in the Philippines.) The Navajo soldier, forced to listen to the jumbled words of talker transmissions, said to a code talker after the war, "I never figured out what you guys who got me into all that trouble were saying."

In a ceremony in the Capitol on July 26, 2001, the original twenty-nine Navajo "code talkers" received the Congressional Gold Medal, and subsequent code talkers received the Congressional Silver Medal.

It is the only unbroken code in modern military history. It baffled the Japanese forces of WWII. In fact, during test evaluations, Marine cryptologists said they couldn't even transcribe the language, much less decode it.

Please remember that The Canteen is here to support
and entertain our troops and veterans and their families,
and is family friendly.

[ConorMacNessa]

Good Morning To Our Valiant Troops, To Our Vets, To Our Families, Our FRiends, Our Allies And To All Canteen Denizens!

Godspeed our Troops around the Globe, especially those in combat!


An American Soldier Patrolling At Sunrise, Dabay Province, Afghanistan

Reveille
(Click)


GOOD MORNING!
Some People Wake Up, Stretch and Enjoy Freedom -
Some People Wake Up, Stretch and Defend It!

May The Lord Protect And Uphold Our Troops In Their Vital Mission!

May He Keep Safe Their Families During Their Time Of Separation!

May He Preserve And Uphold The American Nation In This Time Of Adversity!

"Riamh nár dhruid ó sbairn lann!"

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[MEG33]

For the interesting thread and comments about The Code Talkers
Good Morning To The Canteen
*HUGS*
~Thank You To All Who Serve Our Country~

[beachn4fun]

WELCOME TO THE

(where our troops, allies and their families can refresh themselves)

Good morning, Everyone. Good morning

Thank you, Ma, for preparing the Canteen for today’s activities.
I know we're talking about the Code Talkers
and I'm not trying to take away from
the wonderful things they did
BUT
have you ever noticed how Prez Bush
always looks directly at a person,
like he is in the first photo?
Gosh, I miss him.

Our local DC Metroland weather report

~ Today...Partly cloudy. High 77F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.

~ Tonight...Mostly clear. Low 57F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Whoz ya daddy? Whoz ya daddy?
Whoz jealous of those temps?

Sorry gang, couldn't help it.
A lovely chilly morning and
a lovely (low humidity) sunny day planned.

Sorry I've been scarce this week, but
Monday morning emails delivered me a request
for an updated report - like right now.
I'm done my part, just have to wait
for bossman to go over it so he can do his part.
Thus, this will be short and sweet - again.

Please stay right where you are.
Keep the troops and their families entertained.

The Canteen is

Come on in and sit for a while.
There's always plenty of coffee, tea,
pancakes, conversation, silliness,
and plain old BS

REMEMBER THEM ~ DEFENDERS OF FREEDOM

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT

Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before.

[MEG33]

ME??? Jealous???

Your temps sound perfect
Have A Great Day

[beachn4fun]

LOL

Good morning Meg ((HUGS))

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

[beachn4fun]

oooh, another nice one.

[beachn4fun]

Good morning CMN ((HUGS))

Hope you and family are well.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

[beachn4fun]

Interesting. Thanks and welcome to the Canteen, Fresh Wind.

[beachn4fun]

WOW, another interesting piece of history.

thanks and good morning, ansel12

[MEG33]

;o)

[Arrowhead1952]

Good morning to everyone at the Canteen. Had to work until almost 1130 last night, so am a bit tired. It's already 80º here this morning.

[Arrowhead1952]

Check out this funny video.

http://biggeekdad.com/2013/08/geriatric-traffic-jam/

[E.G.C.]

((HUGS))Good morning, Beach. How’s it going?

[Arrowhead1952]

Good morning Meg and (((HUHS))).

[Arrowhead1952]

Good morning beach and (((HUGS))).

[mountainlion]

My uncle that was in the 10th Mountain Division told me about the code talkers 50 years ago. Heroes all!

[beachn4fun]

OMG! I'd be going crazy. This would be me by the end

[beachn4fun]

Good morning EG ((HUGS))

Another busy day. but weather is gor-ge-ous!

Howz it out your way?

[beachn4fun]

Good morning dear ((HUGS))

I had to wear a light jacket on my morning walk

:)

[Arrowhead1952]

No jacket needed here. I may take a wet towel to wrap around my neck.