University of Utah, Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library - Code Talkers Oral Histories, 1971

Title: Navajo Code Talkers Oral Histories, 1971

Summary: This collection (1971) consists of eight oral histories of the Marine Corps Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. The histories are bound in a volume, and include eighteen photographs of code talkers working during the war.

Collection Description: The interviews were done 9-10 July, 1971, at Window Rock, AZ, where a reunion was being held. Benis M. French, representing the Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C., performed the interviews. Because the code talkers were sent to separate places of the world during the war, each person's oral history details different experiences.

Historical Note: The history of the Marine Corps Navajo Code Talkers dates from 1942-1945. In 1942, a white man by the name of Phillip Johnston, who had lived on a Navajo reservation for many years of his life, conceived an idea that he thought might help the war. He believed that the Navajo language, a verbal, rarely-written language, could be used as part of a code that would enable messages to be sent freely over the radio. An experiment was done in front of top Marine officials to prove that the system would work. After the go-ahead, Navajos volunteered or were recruited, and about 320 eventually contributed as code talkers. The code involved speaking in Navajo, but using substitute words for some things, as would a regular code. It was found that the Navajo speakers could put a message into the code, send it, and translate it faster than any other code system being used at that time. As far as is known, the Japanese were never able to break the Navajo code.

Dates: 1971 (inclusive)

Collection Number: MS 0504

Restrictions: Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Restrictions on Use: The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

GUIDE CREATOR NOTE: Digital access to these interviews is unavailable. Interviews and related materials must be used on-site at the Special Collections of J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah. Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Transcripts of these 8 oral histories are available in a bound book at the Special Collections Desk at the J. Willard Marriott Library. For more information on the transcripts, please visit the library listing here.

For more information on the Navajo Code Talkers Oral History Collection, please visit their website here.