Involving Indians and Indian language during wartime is not new. In World War I, there was a group of Indians called the Choctaw who spoke to each other relaying messages in their native language over field radios. After that war, many people studied Native American languages even Germans and other foreign countries so they would never be surprised again. World War II began for the U.S. with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on 12-7-41. The Navajos like other Americans were scared that the Japanese were going to hurt them. They were very interested in the war effort to defend their nation and the United States. The Navajos had a language that was not written but was oral and only those growing up on the reservation could understand it. Philip Johnston, an engineer, was raised on the reservation as the son of a missionary family. He played with Navajo children and learned the language. He developed this idea that he could make a device for the Navajos to send codes that could not be broken by the Japanese. Navajo is a difficult language where pitch and tone can take a word and change the meaning. Philip Johnston staged a demonstration using Navajos who would translate messages between themselves in Navajo and accurately translate them back into English. The Lt. Colonel Jones was impressed and approved a pilot program to recruit 30 Navajos.
Beth Carpenter For a History Project