| Driving down the road it is not hard to spot military | | | | One of the most dangerous jobs in the military is radio |
| decals. They show up on old pickup trucks, economy | | | | operator. An operator might as well wear a giant red |
| cars and expensive luxury cars. Sit on a park bench | | | | target on his or her back. Communication is an |
| and sooner or later someone will sit down next to you | | | | essential element of any military operation. Taking out |
| that have served the country in the military. Many | | | | the ability to communicate with HQ or other platoons |
| Christmas trees have military gifts beneath them. The | | | | can be a crippling blow. The radios of WW II were |
| military is a part of the American culture, for better or | | | | bulky and obvious contraptions often strapped to the |
| worse. The military has created hundreds of heroes, | | | | back of a soldier. Often that soldier was a Navajo |
| men and women who have risen to the challenges | | | | Indian who was able to speak in code in the Navajo |
| placed in front of them and done extraordinary things. | | | | language. |
| Many of them have received medals of Honor. Many | | | | The Germans and Japanese were both excellent |
| of them have performed and served well in anonymity. | | | | code breakers. The ability to pass information safely |
| Walk through the park or drive through town and there | | | | during World War II was difficult at best. Electronic |
| will likely be many heroes and many stories of | | | | communication was nowhere near as sophisticated as |
| courage that no one knows about. | | | | it is today. Finding ways to quickly pass information |
| One of the amazing stories of World War II is the | | | | safely was crucial to many military victories. Often |
| story of the code talkers. Code talkers were Native | | | | there wasn't time for elaborate subterfuge. The ability |
| Americans that spoke languages few others | | | | to have two men talking in a language no one |
| understood. They were Choctaw, Ute, Navajo and | | | | understood was a tremendous advantage to the US |
| other tribes with distinct languages. The Navajo are the | | | | military. It is difficult to estimate the number of lives |
| ones that are best known for this work. In part it is | | | | saved by Code Talkers. |
| because their language remained more isolated. Over | | | | At great risk to themselves Navajo Code talkers |
| the years anthropologists and scientists had come to | | | | served in the US military. Along with them the Ute and |
| study the various Native American tribes. During World | | | | Choctaw also served. Not too many years before the |
| War I code talkers where used and it was believed | | | | tribes were at war with the US government. By all |
| that the Germans may have collected experts on the | | | | accounts, the US government has not had its finest |
| various Native Languages since then. By all accounts | | | | hours in dealing with the Native American tribes. Yet in |
| the Navajo nation and its language remained one of | | | | World War I and WW II the Indian Nation served with |
| the more obscure and least studied languages. This | | | | great honor and distinction, their heroic stories an |
| put the Navajo in the fore front of the war. | | | | amazing part of history. |