thedrifter
11-30-02, 07:41 AM
Run Date: 11/26/2002
By Pat Coleman/Sun Journal Staff
http://www.newbernsunjournal.com/photo/lead2112602.jpg
Pat Coleman/Sun Journal
Dr. Samuel Billison, World War II Navajo code talker, signs an autograph for Shirley Jones, left, owner of Wolf Spirit, a Native American gift shop in Havelock. Donna Storey looks on.
Marines paid tribute to one of their own, Monday, in honor of Native American Indian Heritage Month.
Dr. Samuel Billison, guest speaker at Monday's observance at the Officers' Club, was one of the first of the Navajo code talkers who took part in every assault conducted by Marines in the Pacific between 1942 and 1945. They served all six Marine divisions, Marine Raider battalions and parachute units. And, although the Japanese were skilled at deciphering codes, they were never able to decode messages based on the Navajo language.
"I'm very proud about the Native American language," Billison said. "I feel that the Native American language is very sacred, very powerful and very beautiful. It was the language that really did the thing. They should be honoring the language, not us, because we just used it."
What made the language so effective in creating an indecipherable code is that it is an extremely complex, unwritten language, spoken only by Navajos who inhabit the southwest. According to published reports, less than 30 non-Navajo people could understand the language at the beginning of World War II. Syntax, tonal qualities and dialects made it unintelligible to anyone who did not have extensive exposure and training.
Philip Johnston, the son of a missionary to the Navajos, and one of the few non-Navajos who was fluent in the language, conceived the idea of using it as code. A World War I veteran aware of the military's search for a code, Johnson knew that the Choctaw language was used during the first world war.
In early 1942, he met with Maj. Gen. Clayton B. Vogel, commander of the Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet, to stage tests under simulated battle conditions to demonstrate that Navajos could encode, send and decode a three-line message in 20 seconds. Machines required 30 minutes.
Billison was one of the first 29 Navajo recruited to create the code. Their contributions remained largely unrecognized until they were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in July 2001 by President George W. Bush. It is the highest civilian honor bestowed by the U.S. Congress.
"We never knew we did anything special until 20 years after the war," Billison said. "At first, it was sort of cultural shock. We're just a bunch of sheep herders out there on the reservation. To come in front of Congress and the president was really something out of the ordinary for us."
The Navajo code was considered potentially valuable as a code, even after the war, and it remained classified for many years.
"What they tell us is that at the time the second world war was over, Russia and China were not very friendly," Billison said. "They might have thought they could use that code again. That's what we heard. We don't know. Everything was so secret that I can't say how it was."
Billison was greeted at the Officers' Club by both Navajo Marines and Marine families.
During World War II, 540 Navajos served as Marines. Between 375 and 420 were trained as code talkers. Billison served from 1943 to 1946.
At Iwo Jima, six code talkers worked around the clock during the first two days of the battle to send and receive more than 800 messages. Maj. Howard Conner, 5th Marine Division signal officer, reportedly credited the Navajo with the victory.
"The reason why I'm a Marine for 20-plus years is people like Dr. Billison," said Master Sgt. Steve Jakes, a Navajo whose great-uncle was a code talker and a friend of Billison's. "Navajo talkers inspired me to be here. It is an honor to serve as a Marine."
Linda McChesney and Bonnie Blackhorse Miner and her daughter, Danielle, said they appreciated an opportunity to hear him speak.
"It means a lot to us, especially in the way we're related by clan," McChesney said. "That brings a lot of good for us."
Cherry Point's equal opportunity adviser, gunnery Sgt. Dawn Sanchez, said she believes National American Indian Heritage Month provides an opportunity to recognize the real contributions of Native Americans, as opposed to the way they have been portrayed in the past.
"It also gives an opportunity for Native people to look up to people in their own culture," she said.
Sanchez said that while Navajos made the most significant impact as code talkers, other tribes who lent their languages to the effort have yet to be recognized.
According to William C. Meadows, author of "The Comanche Code Talkers of World War II," 13 Comanches came ashore in Normandy on D-Day with the Army's 4th Infantry Division, 4th Signal Company. He credits them with playing a vital role in Europe during the second world war.
Lakota-Dakota Sioux tribal members also served as Army code talkers in the 3rd Battalion and the 302nd Reconnaissance Team of the First Cavalry Division.
"It's good that people are now getting interested," Billison said. "It's kind of late -- 50 years after the war. Any time you have a war, the emphasis begins to minimize what really was, but now young students at high schools and universities area very interested," Billison said.
Most code talkers, he said, are in their 70s, 80s, and even their 90s, but those who are able, visit the schools to share their history whenever they can.
Pat Coleman can be reached at 638-8101 ext. 260 or at pat_coleman@link.freedom.com.
Sempers,
Roger
By Pat Coleman/Sun Journal Staff
http://www.newbernsunjournal.com/photo/lead2112602.jpg
Pat Coleman/Sun Journal
Dr. Samuel Billison, World War II Navajo code talker, signs an autograph for Shirley Jones, left, owner of Wolf Spirit, a Native American gift shop in Havelock. Donna Storey looks on.
Marines paid tribute to one of their own, Monday, in honor of Native American Indian Heritage Month.
Dr. Samuel Billison, guest speaker at Monday's observance at the Officers' Club, was one of the first of the Navajo code talkers who took part in every assault conducted by Marines in the Pacific between 1942 and 1945. They served all six Marine divisions, Marine Raider battalions and parachute units. And, although the Japanese were skilled at deciphering codes, they were never able to decode messages based on the Navajo language.
"I'm very proud about the Native American language," Billison said. "I feel that the Native American language is very sacred, very powerful and very beautiful. It was the language that really did the thing. They should be honoring the language, not us, because we just used it."
What made the language so effective in creating an indecipherable code is that it is an extremely complex, unwritten language, spoken only by Navajos who inhabit the southwest. According to published reports, less than 30 non-Navajo people could understand the language at the beginning of World War II. Syntax, tonal qualities and dialects made it unintelligible to anyone who did not have extensive exposure and training.
Philip Johnston, the son of a missionary to the Navajos, and one of the few non-Navajos who was fluent in the language, conceived the idea of using it as code. A World War I veteran aware of the military's search for a code, Johnson knew that the Choctaw language was used during the first world war.
In early 1942, he met with Maj. Gen. Clayton B. Vogel, commander of the Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet, to stage tests under simulated battle conditions to demonstrate that Navajos could encode, send and decode a three-line message in 20 seconds. Machines required 30 minutes.
Billison was one of the first 29 Navajo recruited to create the code. Their contributions remained largely unrecognized until they were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in July 2001 by President George W. Bush. It is the highest civilian honor bestowed by the U.S. Congress.
"We never knew we did anything special until 20 years after the war," Billison said. "At first, it was sort of cultural shock. We're just a bunch of sheep herders out there on the reservation. To come in front of Congress and the president was really something out of the ordinary for us."
The Navajo code was considered potentially valuable as a code, even after the war, and it remained classified for many years.
"What they tell us is that at the time the second world war was over, Russia and China were not very friendly," Billison said. "They might have thought they could use that code again. That's what we heard. We don't know. Everything was so secret that I can't say how it was."
Billison was greeted at the Officers' Club by both Navajo Marines and Marine families.
During World War II, 540 Navajos served as Marines. Between 375 and 420 were trained as code talkers. Billison served from 1943 to 1946.
At Iwo Jima, six code talkers worked around the clock during the first two days of the battle to send and receive more than 800 messages. Maj. Howard Conner, 5th Marine Division signal officer, reportedly credited the Navajo with the victory.
"The reason why I'm a Marine for 20-plus years is people like Dr. Billison," said Master Sgt. Steve Jakes, a Navajo whose great-uncle was a code talker and a friend of Billison's. "Navajo talkers inspired me to be here. It is an honor to serve as a Marine."
Linda McChesney and Bonnie Blackhorse Miner and her daughter, Danielle, said they appreciated an opportunity to hear him speak.
"It means a lot to us, especially in the way we're related by clan," McChesney said. "That brings a lot of good for us."
Cherry Point's equal opportunity adviser, gunnery Sgt. Dawn Sanchez, said she believes National American Indian Heritage Month provides an opportunity to recognize the real contributions of Native Americans, as opposed to the way they have been portrayed in the past.
"It also gives an opportunity for Native people to look up to people in their own culture," she said.
Sanchez said that while Navajos made the most significant impact as code talkers, other tribes who lent their languages to the effort have yet to be recognized.
According to William C. Meadows, author of "The Comanche Code Talkers of World War II," 13 Comanches came ashore in Normandy on D-Day with the Army's 4th Infantry Division, 4th Signal Company. He credits them with playing a vital role in Europe during the second world war.
Lakota-Dakota Sioux tribal members also served as Army code talkers in the 3rd Battalion and the 302nd Reconnaissance Team of the First Cavalry Division.
"It's good that people are now getting interested," Billison said. "It's kind of late -- 50 years after the war. Any time you have a war, the emphasis begins to minimize what really was, but now young students at high schools and universities area very interested," Billison said.
Most code talkers, he said, are in their 70s, 80s, and even their 90s, but those who are able, visit the schools to share their history whenever they can.
Pat Coleman can be reached at 638-8101 ext. 260 or at pat_coleman@link.freedom.com.
Sempers,
Roger