Editorial: Code-talkers helped U.S. stay unbreakable

Of the six World War II Marines who iconically erected the American flag at Iwo Jima, we’d bet you didn’t know that one of them was a Native American.

Cpl. Ira Hayes belonged to the Pima tribe in Arizona. Johnny Cash even wrote a heart-rending ballad about him.

Knowing the significant contribution of Native Americans in helping win World War II, it felt particularly appropriate Friday - the eve of the 76th anniversary of the D-Day invasion - that The Augusta Chronicle reported a local veterans organization’s progress in a program to help Native American veterans.

America’s Warrior Partnership actually launched the Dine Naazbaa Partnership in May. But CEO Jim Lorraine announced the first positive results - 114 veterans, family members and caregivers in the Navajo Nation have been connected with resources they need to elevate their quality of life.

“Our model is set up around proactive outreach and engagement with veterans in the community, so what we do in the Navajo Nation and what we do in the other communities where we work is that we do active outreach,” he said. “We go out and meet the veterans, build a relationship with them, understand where they’ve been in their life, where they are today and where they want to go in the future.”

We couldn’t be prouder that a locally-based organization would help such a special group of veterans.

The D-Day anniversary is one of those occasions when Americans should reflect on the sacrifices and determination displayed by the brave military who help comprise what’s become known as the Greatest Generation.

And you can’t truly tell the story of World War II without including Native Americans.

Military men belonging to several tribes became “code-talkers” - communications specialists who transmitted sensitive strategic information to one another in their native languages. The languages were so obscure that virtually no one outside the United States could translate them - which made them ideal for code.

The first 29 Navajo code-talkers came up with codes within the language. Names for animals would correspond to letters of the alphabet that would form messages.

Code-talkers also had to come up with special words to accurately fit the information. For example, since there obviously are no Navajo words for “transport plane,” talkers instead would use the word “atsa,” meaning eagle. “Jeshoo,” or buzzard, would mean a bomber.

Maj. Howard Connor, signal officer for the 5th Marine Division, used six Navajo code talkers during the first two days of the Battle of Iwo Jima, sending and receiving more than 800 messages without a single error. "Were it not for the Navajos," Connor said, "the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima."

To this day, the Navajo code is the only spoken U.S. military code never to have been deciphered.

That’s an enormous part of the Native American impact on World War II.

As you remember D-Day today, think particularly of the brave men who radioed the exact landing locations of each Allied group on the beaches of Normandy - broadcasting in pure Comanche.

If local veterans and the people who care about them need to contact America’s Warrior Partnership for assistance, call (706) 434-1708. Navajo Nation veterans can contact the Dine Naazbaa’ Partnership at (928) 910-4225.