Editing Code talker (section)

==={{anchor|Comanche code talkers}}Comanche===
[[File:Comanche Code Talkers.jpg|thumb|right|Comanche code talkers of the 4th Signal Company|alt=A group of twelve uniformed US Army servicemen gathered around two Native American men dressed in traditional tribal clothing]]
German authorities knew about the use of code talkers during World War I. Germans sent a team of thirty [[anthropology|anthropologists]] to the United States to learn Native American languages before the outbreak of World War II.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://crimereads.com/the-american-indian-code-talkers-who-helped-revolutionize-cryptography-and-win-wwii/ | title=The American Indian Code Talkers Who Helped Revolutionize Cryptography and Win WWII | date=August 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nsa.gov/museum/museu00010.cfm |title=Code Talkers Exhibit |website=[[National Security Agency|NSA.gov]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114034424/https://www.nsa.gov/museum/museu00010.cfm |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> However, the task proved too difficult because of the large array of Indigenous languages and [[dialect]]s. Nonetheless, after learning of the Nazi effort, the US Army opted not to implement a large-scale code talker program in the [[European theatre of World War II|European theater]].

Initially, 17 code talkers were enlisted, but three could not make the trip across the Atlantic until the unit was finally deployed.<ref>Connole, Joseph. "A Nation Whose Language You Will Not Understand: The Comanche Code Talkers of WWII", ''Whispering Wind Magazine'', March 2012, Vol 40 #5, p. 24</ref> A total of 14 code talkers using the [[Comanche language]] took part in the [[Invasion of Normandy]] and served in the [[4th Infantry Division (United States)|4th Infantry Division]] in Europe.<ref name=comanche_code>{{Cite web|url=http://comanchelanguage.org/comanche-code-talkers.html|title=Comanche Code Talkers {{!}} Comanche Language & Cultural Preservation {{!}} Elgin, Oklahoma|website=Comanche Language & Cultural Preservation|language=en|access-date=2019-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190208141455/http://www.comanchelanguage.org/comanche-code-talkers.html|archive-date=February 8, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Comanche soldiers of the 4th Signal Company compiled a vocabulary of 250 code terms using words and phrases in their own language.<ref>Connole, Joseph. "A Nation Whose Language You Will Not Understand: The Comanche Code Talkers of WWII", ''Whispering Wind Magazine'', March 2012, Vol 40 #5, p. 23</ref> Using a substitution method similar to that of the [[#Navajo|Navajo]], the code talkers used descriptive words from the Comanche language for things that did not have translations. For example, the Comanche language code term for ''tank'' was ''turtle'', ''bomber'' was ''pregnant bird'', ''machine gun'' was ''sewing machine'', and ''Adolf Hitler'' was ''crazy white man''.<ref name=army_comanche>{{Cite web|url=https://armyhistory.org/124th-signal-battalion/|title=124th Signal Battalion|date=2015-01-28|last=Seelinger|first=Matthew J.|publisher=The Campaign for the National Museum of the United States Army|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127152522/https://armyhistory.org/124th-signal-battalion/|archive-date=January 27, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Rudi |title=Last WWII Comanche Code Talker Visits Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery |url=http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=42523 |publisher=American Forces Press Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930025142/http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=42523 |archive-date=30 September 2017 |date=8 November 2002}}</ref>

Two Comanche code talkers were assigned to each regiment, and the remainder were assigned to the 4th Infantry Division headquarters. The Comanche began transmitting messages shortly after landing on [[Utah Beach]] on June 6, 1944. Some were wounded but none killed.<ref name=army_comanche />

In 1989, the French government awarded the Comanche code talkers the ''Chevalier'' of the [[Ordre national du Mérite|National Order of Merit]]. On November 30, 1999, the [[United States Department of Defense]] presented [[Charles Chibitty]] with the [[Thomas Knowlton#Knowlton Award|Knowlton Award]], in recognition of his outstanding intelligence work.<ref name=army_comanche/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/25/AR2005072501542.html |title=Comanche Code Talker Charles Chibitty Dies |work=Washingtonpost.com |access-date=2014-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108201418/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/25/AR2005072501542.html |archive-date=November 8, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>