Welcome to Morning Open Thread, a daily post with a MOTley crew of hosts who chose the topic for the day's posting. We support our community, invite and share ideas, and encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue in an open forum.
The diarist gets to sleep as long as she likes, and she can show up long after the post published — if at all! That is a feature, not a bug. Other than that, site rulz rule.
Join us, please.
Code Talkers
“What we did truly represents who we are as Americans. America, as we know, is composed of diverse community. We have different languages, different skills, and different religion. But when our way of life is threatened, freedom and liberty we all cherish, we come together as one. And when we come together as one, we are invincible. We cannot be defeated.”
~ Peter MacDonald, Navajo Code Talker
This month saw the passing of two men who served as Navajo Code Talkers with the Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater during World War II — John Pinto, 94, and Fleming Begaye, Sr., 97. This post is for them, and for all the other Code Talkers who served our country,
While the Navajo Code Talkers in the Marine Corps are well known today, the Cherokee and Choctaw had come before, serving in World War I. And Code Talkers from American Indian Tribes across the country served during World War II, in other branches of the military and in the Pacific, North African, and European theaters. According to Arthur L. Money, Assistant Secretary of Defense, they saved countless American and allied lives.
The work of the Code Talkers remained classified until 1968. The Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008 recognized Code Talkers who served in the United States military during WWI or WWII, awarding them Congressional Gold and Silver Medals, with a unique design for each Tribe.
In the videos below, several of these remarkable men tell us about their experiences as Code Talkers.
From the US Department of the Interior, National Navajo Code Talkers Day:
“In 1942 the Marine Corps recruited young Navajos to serve in the Pacific during World War II. They would learn how to use their native language as a code during combat operations. Neither the Japanese Army nor Navy were ever able to crack the code, which remained classified until 1968.”
Run time 3:06
.
From Valerie Red-Horse Mohl, True Whispers
Run time 56:27
For more information about the Code Talkers, see this post by Meteor Blades, this article by the Central Intelligence Agency, and this site by the Smithsonian Institution. The images of the Congressional Medals are from the US Mint.
☕
Grab your cup and pull up a chair.
What is on your mind this morning?