Windtalkers

[Raf]

I've just seen the movie. Is this a thrue story. Were indians trained to be radio operators and did they use this code ?

[alsaco]

I have read in 1945 reports of war correspondants stating that in Guadalcanal and Saïpan the signal corps was communicating in navajo, with indian tribes operators.

In the film Saïpan, war film from 1945, the indian operators were filmed in a sequence, with japs on the parasited line who could not understand what they had intercepted.

But the story of the special code added to the tribes languages is new. I have read somewhere that the secret was kept because such a formula could be used by terrorists inside US, after the war. I doubt this to be true.

[Victor]

I've just seen the movie. Is this a thrue story. Were indians trained to be radio operators and did they use this code ?

There was something in National geographic several years ago about this. They had problems because the Navajo language did not have words for bombers, fighters etc. So a fighter was an eagle and so on.

[MaPen]

I've just seen the movie. Is this a thrue story. Were indians trained to be radio operators and did they use this code ?

Indians (Native Americans, to be politicaly correct) from various tribes indeed served as code-talkers. But they were never at the same time used as first line combat troops. That part of the movie is pure fiction.

Short history of Navajo code-talkers is here: http://www.yvwiiusdinvnohii.net/history/usmccode.htm or http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq61-2.htm or several other sites

regards