What Native American language was famously utilized by the US Marine Corps in the Pacific theater as an unbreakable oral battlefield voice code?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Navajo
- Step 1: Devised by Philip Johnston and pioneered by the 'First Twenty-Nine' Navajo recruits at Camp Elliott in 1942, the code adapted the tonal, complex, unwritten Navajo language.
- Step 2: Developing specialized military terms (e.g., 'iron fish' for submarine, 'tortoise' for tank), the Navajo Code Talkers transmitted critical operational orders without ever having their tactical messages cracked by Japanese cryptanalysts.
Answer
Navajo
Why not the others: 'Cherokee' Cherokee soldiers served in both World Wars, but the specialized Pacific cryptographic marine program used the unwritten, complex Navajo syntax; 'Sioux (Lakota)' Lakota code talkers served with US divisions in Europe and the Pacific, but were not the primary Pacific Marine battalion code unit; 'Comanche' Comanche code talkers served in the European theater with the US 4th Infantry Division on D-Day.
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