~SALUTE~
George Smith
A member of the famed Navajo Code Talkers, who used their rare and ancient language to outwit the Japanese during World War II, has died. George Smith died on Oct. 30 at the Gallup Indian Medical Center in New Mexico, Smith was 90.
Smith was part of a Marine unit of Native Americans who created a complex and secret code based on the Navajo language. Because Navajo is an unwritten language that was passed through generations, it is difficult for a non-Navajo speaker to translate. The words of the code, which were committed to memory by the Code Talkers, were used in communications in key battles, such as Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. The identities of the Code Talkers were kept secret, even to friends and family, until 1968.
Smith enlisted with the Marines in 1943. He achieved the rank of corporal while serving in World War II in the Pacific Theater. He fought in battles at Siapan, Tinian, and the Ryukyu Islands, and served in places such as Hawaii and Japan.
The Code Talkers and the secret code they developed saved countless lives and helped end the war.
navajocodetalkers.org.
George Smith
A member of the famed Navajo Code Talkers, who used their rare and ancient language to outwit the Japanese during World War II, has died. George Smith died on Oct. 30 at the Gallup Indian Medical Center in New Mexico, Smith was 90.
Smith was part of a Marine unit of Native Americans who created a complex and secret code based on the Navajo language. Because Navajo is an unwritten language that was passed through generations, it is difficult for a non-Navajo speaker to translate. The words of the code, which were committed to memory by the Code Talkers, were used in communications in key battles, such as Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. The identities of the Code Talkers were kept secret, even to friends and family, until 1968.
Smith enlisted with the Marines in 1943. He achieved the rank of corporal while serving in World War II in the Pacific Theater. He fought in battles at Siapan, Tinian, and the Ryukyu Islands, and served in places such as Hawaii and Japan.
The Code Talkers and the secret code they developed saved countless lives and helped end the war.
navajocodetalkers.org.
