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Army Code Talkers ELA 6

Last updated 10 months ago
9 questions
In the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, boarding schools were established to house American Indian children with the intent of erasing their heritage and identities. This included their native languages. During World War I, however, the United States realized that they would need American Indian languages to win the war.

[1] Napoleon once said, “the secret of war lies in the communications.” If he were around today, he might have revised it to “secure communications.”

[2] During World Wars I and II, the military needed a quick and reliable means of protecting its radio, telephone, and telegraphic1 messages from enemy intelligence. American Indian tribes had their own languages and dialects2 that few outside the tribes understood, and many of their languages were not even written down. Their languages were ideal for the task at hand and fortunately, a large number of American Indians had joined the armed forces.

World War I

[3] In France during World War I, the 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, had a company of Indians who spoke 26 languages and dialects. Two officers were selected to supervise a communications system staffed by 18 Choctaw individuals. The team transmitted messages relating to troop movements and their own tactical plans in their native tongue. Soldiers from other tribes, including the Cheyenne, Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, and Yankton Sioux also were enlisted to communicate as code talkers. Previous to their arrival in France, the Germans had broken every American code used, resulting in the deaths of many soldiers. However, the Germans never broke the American Indians’ “code,” and these soldiers became affectionately known as “code talkers.”

World War II

[4] During World War II, the Army used American Indians in its signal communications operations in both the European and Pacific theaters3 of operations. Student code talkers were instructed in basic military communications techniques. The code talkers then developed their own words for military terms that never existed in their own native tongue. For instance, the word for “colonel” was translated to “silver eagle,” “fighter plane” became “hummingbird,” “minesweeper” became “beaver,” “half-track” became “race track,” and “pyrotechnic” became “fancy fire.”

[5] The Army and Marine Corps used a group of 24 Navajo code talkers in the Pacific Theater, who fought in the many bloody island campaigns.4 In North Africa, eight soldiers from the Meskwaki tribe in Iowa served as code talkers in the 168th Infantry Regiment, 34th Division. In Europe, the 4th Signal Company, 4th Infantry Division, was assigned 17 Comanche code talkers. From the D-Day landings at Normandy in June 1944, to the liberation of Paris and the Battle of the Bulge, they kept the lines of communications secure.

[6] Soldiers from other tribes, including the Kiowa, Winnebago, Chippewa, Creek, Seminole, Hopi, Lakota, Dakota, Menominee, Oneida, Pawnee, Sac, Fox, and Choctaw served during the war. Some were killed and wounded, and at least one was taken prisoner. As a testament5 to their commitment and strength, the enemy was never able to break the code talkers’ communications.

[7] Many of the code talkers continued in their military careers, serving during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Belated Recognition

[8] For many years, the code talkers’ work remained classified.6 Then on June 18, 2002, Congress passed the Code Talkers Recognition Act to recognize the important part that these soldiers played in “performing highly successful communications operations of a unique type that greatly assisted in saving countless lives and in hastening7 the end of World War I and World War II.” The act further states that the code talkers operated “under some of the heaviest combat action... around the clock to provide information... such as the location of enemy troops and the number of enemy guns.”

[9] Congress recognized the remarkableness of the code talkers’ achievements, despite societal discrimination against them. The act states that at “...a time when American Indians were discouraged from practicing their native culture, a few brave men used their cultural heritage, their language, to help change the course of history.”

Notes

  1. a system of sending messages from a distance along a wire, usually by using signals
  2. a form of a language that is specific to a region or group of people
  3. an area involved in war operations
  4. a series of military operations in a specific area and intended to achieve a particular goal
  5. something that serves as evidence for a fact or quality
  6. kept secret from all but a few people in the government
  7. Hasten (verb) : to cause something to happen sooner; to quicken
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Q1

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What is the main idea of the passage?

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Select one sentence from the text that best supports the idea that American Indian languages were effective for military communication.

[3] In France during World War I, the 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, had a company of Indians who spoke 26 languages and dialects. Two officers were selected to supervise a communications system staffed by 18 Choctaw individuals. The team transmitted messages relating to troop movements and their own tactical plans in their native tongue. Soldiers from other tribes, including the Cheyenne, Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, and Yankton Sioux also were enlisted to communicate as code talkers. Previous to their arrival in France, the Germans had broken every American code used, resulting in the deaths of many soldiers. However, the Germans never broke the American Indians’ “code,” and these soldiers became affectionately known as “code talkers.”
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Analyze the impact of the term "code talkers" in the passage. What does it imply about their role?__________
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How did the code talkers contribute to the military efforts in World War II?

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How does the organization of the text help readers understand the central idea?__________
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Which sentence best supports the use of cause and effect in the text's organization?

[3] In France during World War I, the 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, had a company of Indians who spoke 26 languages and dialects. Two officers were selected to supervise a communications system staffed by 18 Choctaw individuals. The team transmitted messages relating to troop movements and their own tactical plans in their native tongue. Soldiers from other tribes, including the Cheyenne, Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, and Yankton Sioux also were enlisted to communicate as code talkers. Previous to their arrival in France, the Germans had broken every American code used, resulting in the deaths of many soldiers. However, the Germans never broke the American Indians’ “code,” and these soldiers became affectionately known as “code talkers.”
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According to the text, which characteristic of American Indians most influenced the military’s decision to recruit them as code talkers?

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Which fact supports the characteristic of American Indians that influenced their recruitment?