During World War II, the Marine Corps used the Navajo language and the intelligence of Navajo men to create an unbreakable code. The Marine Corps selected 29 Navajo men, called the Navajo Code Talkers, who created a code based on the unwritten Navajo language. The Navajo Code Talkers gave the Marines a critical advantage, and at the end of the war, the Navajo Code remained unbroken.
One of Journalism in Action’s advisors, Dr. Joseph Bruchac, Abenaki, author of the 2006 novel Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two, noted that during World War I, Choctaw and several other Native groups used their own languages to send secret messages. The Navajo Code used during WWII, however, was further developed and more widely used by about 450 Navajo servicemembers, according to Bruchac.
Directions
Watch the clip of the video from the PBS series Illustrated Daily. Then respond to the questions below.
See the Text Version below:
“Illustrated Daily; The Prince; Navajo Code Talkers,” New Mexico PBS, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), 2023.
Questions
Annotate this Image
Directions:
Use the magnifier to take a close look at the excerpt from the Navajo Times article “To Barstow Community Navajo Citizens Credit.” Scroll to the third and fourth columns from the left, under the photos of L.B. Yazzie and Steve Gorman. Then respond to the questions below.
Note:
Our search for Navajo Code Talkers on the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America database yielded just this one result from 1962 (contact us if you find more references!). A general search on the Library of Congress yielded many results, most of which are after the year 2000.
See the Text Version here:
“Yazzie was a member of the famous Navajo Code Talkers with the 6th Marines. Other members of the Navajo tribe living in the desert area who were members of the Navajo Code Talkers Group are James Dixon and Jimmie L. Bennally, who are both employed at the Santa Fe Diesel Shop, Barstow, and John Chee, Newman Clark, Joe Morris and Nelson Draper, employees of the Marines Installation. The Navajo Code puzzled the Japanese, who were never able to decipher it. Navajos selected for service simply used the language of their tribe. Among those who went ashore at Okinawa with the Code Talkers and the 6th Marines was the late war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Intrigued with the Code and its experts, Pyle had planned to write a story about them, but his untimely death prevented it.”
- What is something you notice right away about the article? What does it make you think about?
- What specific group in the US military did Navajo Code Talkers serve in?
- Write down two facts that you learned about the Navajo Code Talkers.
- Had you heard of Ernie Pyle, a journalist well-known for his war reporting, before? What might it tell you that such a revered journalist was going to do a story on the Navajo Code Talkers?
- Does this news story leave you with a good grasp of what the Navajo Code Talkers did and their contribution in helping to end World War II? Point to an example and explain why or why not.
Source:
Source: Navajo Times. Window Rock, Ariz. Sept. 12, 1962. Library of Congress
Use the toggle button above to switch to Magnify Mode. Magnify mode will help you see finer detail in the image.
Switch back to Annotate Mode to create your annotations with click and drag.
Your Annotations
Puzzler
Directions: Take a look at the different sections of the image one by one and answer the question that accompanies each section. At the end, you will see the completed image.
Source: Library of Congress
Cropped Image 1
What do you notice in this section of the photo?
Cropped Image 2
What are three identifiable parts to this section?
Cropped Image 3
What material do you think this sculpture is made out of?
Cropped Image 4
Who do you think this is a sculpture of? Approximately how tall and wide do you think this sculpture is (use the backdrop of the building to get an idea of the dimensions of the sculpture)? Why do you think the artist made it this size?
