#27 Special Fighting Forces ObstaclesAccomplishmentsOther Details Navajo CodeTalkers Tuskegee Airmen 442 nd Infantry & Combat Team

Navajo Code Talkers Tuskegee Airmen 442 nd Infantry & Combat Team

Navajo Code Talkers

In United States history, the story of Native Americans is predominantly tragic.

Settlers took their land, misunderstood their customs, and killed them in the thousands.

Then, during World War II, the U.S. government needed the Navajos' help.

And though they had suffered greatly from this same government, Navajos proudly answered the call to duty.

Communication is essential during any war and World War II was no different.

Codes were essential to protect these communications. Unfortunately, these codes were frequently broken.

During the early months in the Pacific, Japanese intelligence experts broke every code the United States devised for combat messages.

In 1942, a man named Philip Johnston thought of a code he thought unbreakable by the enemy. A code based on the Navajo language.

Mr. Johnston's rationale for this belief was that Navajo was an unwritten language and completely unintelligible to anyone except another Navajo

And that this rich, fluent language could devise code words for specialized military terms, such as the Navajo word for "turtle" representing a tank, chicken hawk for divebomber, or war chief for commanding general.

The program proved successful and soon the U.S. Marine Corps authorized unlimited recruiting for the Navajo code talkers program.

The entire Navajo nation consisted of 50,000 people and by the end of the war 420 Navajo men worked as code talkers.

The Code Talker's primary job was to talk and transmit information on tactics, troop movements, orders and other vital battlefield information via telegraphs and radios in their native dialect.

A major advantage of the code talker system was its speed. The method of using Morse code often took hours where as, the Navajos handled a message in minutes.

The Navajo's unwritten language was understood by fewer than 30 non-Navajo's at the time of WWII.

The size and complexity of the language made the code extremely difficult to comprehend, much less decipher.

The Code Talker's served in all six Marine divisions from 1942 to 1945.

It has been said that if was not for the Navajo Code Talker's, the Marines would have never taken Iwo Jima.

They have been credited with saving countless lives and hastening the end of the war.

It was not until 1968 that the Navajo code became declassified by the US Government.

The Navajo Code Talkers finally received national recognition in 1969.

Richard T. Burress, Deputy Counsel, representing President Richard Nixon, presenting Navajo Code Talkers' Bronze Medallion to Philip Johnston. Group of Navajo Code Talkers in front of "Welcome" banner.

“The Tuskegee Airmen” were the African American pilots who received flight training at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama during and shortly after World War II.

Due to racial discrimination, African American servicemen were not allowed to learn to fly until 1941.

1941- African American college graduates were selected for what the Army called "an experiment"— the creation of the segregated 99th Fighter Squadron. *

The experiment involved training black pilots and ground support members.

This first black combat unit in the Army Air Corps, was established in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Most of the men trained at the Tuskegee Institute were college graduates or attending college.

At the beginning of the war, some believed that African Americans did not have the intelligence, ability, or loyalty to be a soldier for the United States.

The 99 th Pursuit Squadron posted a training period grade point average that was never equaled.

The Tuskegee Army Air Field was the only training facility for Basic and Advanced Flight Training for Black pilots of the U.S. Army Air Force.

When Eleanor Roosevelt visited Tuskegee Army Air Field in 1941, she insisted on taking a ride in an airplane with a black pilot at the controls. Eleanor Roosevelt's pilot was Charles Anderson. She used this photograph as part of her campaign to convince Franklin Roosevelt to activate the participation of the Tuskegee Airmen in North Africa.

More than 600 black pilots trained for this highly decorated unit. They completed more than 500 missions in the first year of America's involvement in the war.

The crew was called the “Red Tails” because of the distinctive red tail section on its aircraft.

The Tuskegee Airmen faced racism and bigotry in and outside the military, in and outside their own country.

After the war in Europe ended in 1945, black airmen returned to the United States and faced continued racism and bigotry despite their outstanding war record.

The Tuskegee Airmen came home with 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Legion of Merit, 744 Air Medals, 8 Purple Hearts, two soldier medals, 14 Bronze stars, and a Red Star of Yugoslovia. The Tuskegee Airmen destroyed or damaged over 409 German aircraft.

Tuskegee Army Air Field continued to train new airmen until 1946, with women entering the program in several support fields.

The bravery and service of the Tuskegee Airmen led to President Harry Truman’s decision to desegregate the U.S. military in President Truman signs Executive Order 9981, which directed the desegregation of the Armed Services.

Tuskegee pilots, from right, retired Lt. Col. Lee Archer, Lt. Col. Asa Herring and Lt. Col. Bob Ashby talk at a forum held at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.

The movie, The Tuskegee Airmen, is based on the true story of how a group of African American pilots overcame racist opposition to become one of the finest US fighter groups in World War II During WWII, a special project is started by the US Army Air Corps to integrate African American pilots into the Fighter Pilot Program. Known as the "Tuskegee Airman" for the name of the airbase at which they were trained, these men were forced to constantly endure harassment, prejudice, and much behind the scenes politics until at last they were able to prove themselves in combat. In WWII, the Tuskegee army airfield was where the first 'colored' army fighter pilots were trained. This dramatization of real events follows one man, Hannibal Lee, through training to impossibly high standards, Congressional maneuvering, months of no air-combat action, and finally acceptance and decoration as one of the 332nd Fighter Group, who never lost a bomber to enemy action.

THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN OF WORLD WAR II IN HONOR OF THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, THEIR INSTRUCTORS AND GROUND SUPPORT PERSONEL WHO PARTICIPATED IN PREPARING FOR COMBAT TRAINING AT THE WALTERBORO ARMY AIRFIELD DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. BECAUSE OF THEIR HEROIC ACTION IN COMBAT THEY WERE CALLED SCHWARTZE VOGELMENSCHEN (BLACK BIRD MEN) BY THE GERMANS WHO BOTH FEARED AND RESPECTED THEM. WHITE AMERICAN BOMBER CREWS IN REVERENCE REFERRED TO THEM AS THE "RED TAIL ANGELS" BECAUSE THE IDENTIFYING RED PAINT ON THEIR TAIL ASSEMBLIES AND BECAUSE OF THEIR REPUTATION FOR NOT LOSING ANY AIRCRAFT THEY PROTECTED (ESCORTED) TO ENEMY FIGHTERS AS THEY PROVIDED FIGHTER COVERAGE FOR MISSIONS OVER STRATEGIC TARGETS IN EUROPE.

442 nd Combat Unit

On December 7, 1941, the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by Japan.

This act thrust the United States into World War II.

All men who were eligible for military duty were called upon to fight, except Japanese Americans.

Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Japanese American men were catagorized 4C, non-draftable.

Moreover, they and their families were placed into internment camps by the United States government.

On February 1, 1943, the government reversed its decision on Japanese Americans serving in the armed forces and announced the formation of the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team.

The 442nd initially consisted of Japanese American volunteers from the mainland United States and the Hawaiian Islands.

Despite the rampant racism towards Japanese Americans during this period, many volunteers felt that if there was to be any future for Japanese in the United States, they had to demonstrate their loyalty by fighting for their country.

.

After liberating the small town of Bruyeres in Southern France and rescuing the "Lost Battalion" (141st), Japanese American soldiers gained the respect of their fellow soldiers.

Japanese Americans also served in Italy and North Africa.

18,000 total awards were bestowed upon the 442nd, including 9,500 Purple Hearts, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, Seven Distinguished Unit Citations, but only one Congressional Medal of Honor.

Although their impeccable service earned the 442nd the respect of their fellow soldiers, they were not perceived in the same way by American society when they returned to the West Coast.

World War II veterans of Japanese ancestry were welcomed home by signs that read, " No Japs Allowed," and " No Japs Wanted."

In many cases, veterans were denied service in local shops and restaurants, and their homes and property were often vandalized or set on fire.

For their performance, the 442nd has been recognized as the most decorated unit in United States history. Sakato served in the Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Europe during World War II