A Secret Code

The nation was shocked. On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes and submarines carried out a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. That’s a U.S. military base in Hawaii. More than 2,400 people were killed. The attack led the U.S. to enter World War II the next day. 

In the months that followed, millions of Americans joined the armed forces. One of them was Sam Sandoval, a 19-year-old Navajo man. The Navajo are one of the largest American Indian groups. Sandoval joined the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from high school. He would train to become one of the Marines’ most important secret weapons: a code talker. 

The military uses secret codes to communicate messages, like battle plans, so the enemy cannot understand them. Sandoval, now age 94, was one of more than 400 Navajos who served as code talkers during World War II. They used their native language to create a secret code that helped the U.S. and its allies win the war.

The nation was shocked. On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes and submarines carried out a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. That’s a U.S. military base in Hawaii. More than 2,400 people were killed. The attack led the U.S. to enter World War II the next day.

In the months that followed, millions of Americans joined the armed forces. One of them was Sam Sandoval. He was a 19-year-old Navajo man. The Navajo are one of the largest American Indian groups. Sandoval joined the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from high school. He would train to become one of the Marines’ most important secret weapons: a code talker.

The military uses secret codes to communicate messages, like battle plans, so the enemy cannot understand them. Sandoval, now age 94, was one of more than 400 Navajos who served as code talkers during World War II. They used their native language to create a secret code. The code helped the U.S. and its allies win the war.

The Navajo language was an unlikely choice to aid the U.S. military. When Sandoval was growing up, he and other Navajo children were discouraged from speaking it. 

In the 1860s, the U.S. government had begun forcing Native American children to attend boarding schools run by the government or churches. These schools didn’t allow them to speak their native language. 

Sandoval went to a boarding school near Farmington, New Mexico. While there, he would sneak away with other students to speak Navajo.

The Navajo language was an unlikely choice to aid the U.S. military. When Sandoval was growing up, he and other Navajo children were discouraged from speaking it.

In the 1860s, the U.S. government had begun forcing Native American children to attend boarding schools. These schools were run by the government or churches. The schools didn’t allow the students to speak their native language.

Sandoval went to a boarding school near Farmington, New Mexico. While there, he would sneak away with other students to speak Navajo. 

When the U.S. entered World War II, it needed a code that Japan’s skilled code breakers couldn’t decipher. If a code were cracked, the success of a battle, and the lives of troops, would be put at risk. 

In 1942, a man named Philip Johnston came up with a solution. Johnston wasn’t Navajo, but he had grown up around a lot of Navajos. So he knew how difficult their language was. At the time, there was no widely used written version of Navajo. Very few non-Navajo people knew how to speak the language. Johnston convinced military leaders to recruit young Navajo men to become “code talkers.” 

When Sandoval started training, the first group of 29 code talkers had already developed a dictionary of 211 code words. It would eventually be expanded to include more than 600 words (see “Code of Battle,” below). The code was so complicated that even Navajos who weren’t code talkers couldn’t understand it.

When the U.S. entered World War II, it needed a code that Japan’s skilled code breakers couldn’t decipher. If a code were cracked, the success of a battle, and the lives of troops, would be put at risk.

In 1942, a man named Philip Johnston came up with a solution. Johnston wasn’t Navajo. But he had grown up around a lot of Navajos. So he knew how difficult their language was. At the time, there was no widely used written version of Navajo. Very few non-Navajo people spoke the language. Johnston convinced military leaders to find young Navajo men to become “code talkers.”

When Sandoval started training, the first group of 29 code talkers had already developed a dictionary of 211 code words. It would later include more than 600 words (see “Code of Battle,” below). The code was complicated. Even Navajos who weren’t code talkers couldn’t understand it.

The Navajo code—and the heroism of the code talkers—was kept secret long after the war ended. The government thought the code might be needed again. In 1968, the government finally released the code to the public. In 2001, Sandoval and the other code talkers received medals from the U.S. Congress for their brave service. To this day, the Navajo code is the only spoken U.S. military code that has never been cracked.

“Many have tried throughout the world to break that code,” Sandoval says. “No one can.” 

The Navajo code—and the heroism of the code talkers—was kept secret long after the war ended. The government thought the code might be needed again. In 1968, the government finally released the code to the public. In 2001, Sandoval and the other code talkers received medals from the U.S. Congress for their brave service. To this day, the Navajo code is the only spoken U.S. military code that has never been cracked.

“Many have tried throughout the world to break that code,” Sandoval says. “No one can.” 

1. How does the first paragraph contribute to the reader’s understanding of the article?

2. What problem did Philip Johnston help solve? What was his solution?

3. When did the U.S. government finally release the Navajo code? Why was it kept secret for so long?

4. How does the sidebar “Code of Battle” help the reader better understand the article?

1. How does the first paragraph contribute to the reader’s understanding of the article?

2. What problem did Philip Johnston help solve? What was his solution?

3. When did the U.S. government finally release the Navajo code? Why was it kept secret for so long?

4. How does the sidebar “Code of Battle” help the reader better understand the article?