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Some “code talkers”
were as
young as 15. |
During World War II, more than 400 Navajo soldiers served as “code
talkers.” They proved that words are sometimes the best weapon.
 Shortly before dawn on Sunday, December
7, 1941, Japanese bomber planes approached the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
Most of the American soldiers and sailors stationed there were still asleep.
For the next two hours, bombs rained
down on the military complex, destroying more than 300 U.S. planes on
the ground. Bombs and torpedoes destroyed three huge battleships and damaged
many smaller ships.
The attack, which killed 2,388 people
and wounded about 2,000, stunned the U.S. Within 24 hours, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. A few days later,
Japan's allies—Germany and Italy—declared war on the U.S.
Now that the U.S. was directly involved
in World War II, a wave of patriotism swept over the country. Young men
rushed to  enlist.
When word of the crisis reached the Navajo reservation—a 16-million-acre
[area] that includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah—young
Navajo vowed to fight for the U.S.
"When I was inducted
into the service,” a Navajo said later, “one of the commitments
I made was that I was willing to die for my country, the U.S., the Navajo
nation, and my family.” More than 3,600 Navajo, of a total population
of 55,000, joined the armed forces during World War II.
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