BACKGROUND
Origin of the Code Talkers
The Navajo Code Talkers came from the Navajo Native American tribe. The idea of using the Navajo as code talkers was inspired by Philip Johnston, who was a WWI veteran. Johnston grew up on a Navajo Reservation and learned to speak the language because his father was a missionary to the Navajo people.
(Navajo Nation Flag, Welcome to the Navajo Nation Government, 2011)
The Navajo language is unique from any other language because it lacks an alphabet. This means that it cannot be learned from anywhere outside the reservation.
(Navajo Nation Map, The Navajo Nation, 2004)
“Due to the tonal nature of Navajo speech, words changed meaning based upon pitch and inflection. The language was largely unwritten and not a subject of linguistic study."
("Navajo Code Talkers," American History)
Because of the language's complexity, Johnston had the idea of using it as a code for communication. Over the course of WWII, American messages were intercepted and decrypted by Japanese code breakers. This made it impossible for American forces to effectively communicate and strategize. An unbreakable code was needed for victory over the enemy, which made way for the Navajo Code to be created.
“... in the early part of World War II, the enemy was breaking every military code that was being used in the Pacific. This created a huge problem for strategizing against the enemy. Eventually, a suggestion was made in early 1942 -- February ’42, essentially -- to use Navajo language as a code.”
(Peter MacDonald, November 27, 2017)