FReeper Canteen ~ National Navajo Code Talkers Day, August 14 ~ 14 August 2017

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In the Whole 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 Gold Medal 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.

Cousins, Preston and Frank Toledo - Ballarat, Australia.
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.

Click for more.

Chester Nez, the last original Navajo Code Talker, dies at 93.

012321 ~ 060414

RIP

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

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Isn’t he handsome?!
Things are going okay thanks, and how’s you?

[radu]

Yeah, that perfect world would be nice! LOL!

EEEEW! Gotta get up that early? No fun! Bummer you couldn’t get an afternoon appointment. :-(

[radu]

Oh man, he’s a real beauty of a cat. I hope he IS part Maine Coon so he’ll be a big boy. He’ll really be magnificent then.

Things are good here. been a bit toasty for our liking but it’s typical Aug. weather. It’ll pass.

Tigermauz’s little harem are FINALLY feeling better after being knocked for a loop by “the crud”. Hard to believe we’re actually happy the lil girlies are bouncing off the walls again. LOL

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Our Vet says he’s definitely part Maine Coon, and that he will be very “tall.”
She fell in love with him AND his name!
LOL

[radu]

Cool!

Years ago I used to help a friend show her cats and during breaks, would head for the Maine Coon area to admire them. They’re such gorgeous cats.

Easy to see why she fell in love with him. I did just seeing pix. LOL!
I love the name too. Never heard it before and it’s unique.

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Sorry to hear about the girlies not feeling well!
Tigermauz wants his “harem” to be healthy!
LOL
P.S. Ne seems to be quite smitten with Sophie!

[radu]

The girlies are feeling much better now but had a nasty respiratory funk for over a week. Antibiotics got, and kept, their fevers down but they still felt puny. At least they never lost their appetites.
They’ve been spunky again since Friday and it’s nice to see them feel well again. They were pitiful for a while.

Sophie is going to be a beauty when she’s grown. She already has a more “adult” expression than the other three. And serene. Goes with her personality as she’s the calmest of the bunch.

[lightman]

Could’ve stood more than the 0.05 inch shower late in the day Saturday, but, yeah, good weekend anyway.

[luvie]

Oh, my goodness!!! He is absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing his picture with us, Sis!

Hope you and Mr. B are doing well. Have you been checking on plane fares for Wed., Ocotber 18th to Monday, the 23rd? Let me or Lauren know what you’ve found. I’m soooo ready to see my sis!

[luvie]

I know. It’s the way they only have walk-in’s till 11 and then spend the rest of the day doing their thing. Blech! LOL!

[proud American in Canada]

Thank you for posting this!

I saw a movie about this, with Nicholas Cage. Amazing how the Indians/First Nations/Aboriginals....pardon me... Let me rephrase ...PATRIOTS ... helped win the war.

[proud American in Canada]

I think President Trump could use another of their codes to confound the leakers in this white house! LOL

Now that's an idea! LOL! :)

[proud American in Canada]

I think President Trump could use another of their codes to confound the leakers in this white house! LOL

Now that's an idea! LOL! :)

[radu]

Ugh! Back to the dentist, huh? Definitely not a fun reason to get up early.

[proud American in Canada]

You may find this thread of interest. :)

[radu]

Oh. Shoot. Forgot ....

WOOHOO! Ya nabbed the 50!

[luvie]

I wish someone with clout would suggest it to him! :)

[radu]

“Wind Talkers”. Good movie. I’ve watched it several times.

[luvie]

I totally did, too. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the # of my last post. LOL!

Thanks for the WooHoo!

[radu]

Kinda fun just fallin’ into it, isn’t it? LOL