Code Talkers Helped U.S. Win World Wars I and II

When the topic of military code talkers comes up, many think of the Navajo code talkers of World War II who operated as Marines in the Pacific Theater. This association was bolstered following the 2002 release of the film "Windtalkers," starring Nicholas Cage.

While the Navajo Nation contributed immensely to the war effort, other Native American tribes also had their own code talkers who served in both world wars.

Code talkers were useful because their languages weren't understood by enemy forces and the code talkers could transmit secret messages to and from the battlefield without being deciphered.

World War I code talkers included the Choctaw, Cherokee, Comanche, Osage, Lakota and Cheyenne Nations.

Army Pfc. Joseph Oklahombi, a Choctaw code talker, earned a Silver Star Medal, one of the highest awards for valor. On Oct. 8, 1918, at Saint-Etienne, France, his 36th Infantry Division unit came under attack.

Oklahombi and others in his company captured 171 Germans and killed about 79 more. He was also awarded the Croix de Guerre by France. It's the French equivalent of the U.S. Medal of Honor, the highest award for valor.

During World War II, code talkers from the Comanche, Lakota, Muscogee, Mohawk, Meskwaki, Tlingit, Hopi, Cree, Crow and Choctaw Nations were among those who served in the European Theater with the Army, while Navajo code talkers served in the Pacific Theater with the Marine Corps.

Native Americans had to get creative with military terms that were not native to their language. For instance, the Navajo language didn't have a word for submarine, so they used the term iron fish in World War II.

Also in World War II, the Navajo used their word for shark to denote a destroyer and they used buzzard for bomber.

During World War I, people from the Choctaw Tribe substituted these terms: one grain of corn meant first battalion, two grains of corn meant second battalion and so on. The phrase "little gun shoot fast" was their code for machine gun; "many scouts" for patrol; "scalps" for casualties; and "bad air" for a gas attack.

The public didn't even know that the code talker program existed until 1968, when it was declassified.

The Code Talker Recognition Act, House of Representatives Resolution 4544 of 2008, was signed into law by President George W. Bush. It recognizes about 50 Native American tribes who served as code talkers in both world wars.

About National Native American Heritage Month

In 1976, as part of the nation's bicentennial commemoration, President Gerald Ford proclaimed Oct. 10-16, 1976, as "Native American Awareness Week."

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed Nov. 23-30, American Indian Week.

On Nov. 14, 1990, President George H.W. Bush declared the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month to honor the hundreds of Native Americans throughout the United States, including Alaska but not Hawaii.

Native Hawaiians and those in U.S. territories in the Pacific are honored in Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month each May.

Bush's proclamation reads in part: "During the National American Indian Heritage Month, as we celebrate the fascinating history and time-honored traditions of Native Americans, we also look to the future. Our Constitution affirms a special relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes and - despite a number of conflicts, inequities, and changes over the years - our unique government-to-government relationship has endured. In recent years, we have strengthened and renewed this relationship."

In 2009, President Barack Obama proclaimed November as National Native American Heritage Month.