Long Overdue Commendation Given to Comanche Code Talkers

At last the long wait is over, and credit is now given to where credit is due. The Comanche code talkers that gave valuable services during the Second World War have now been given due recognition. In the Comanche language, they were called Numurekwa’etuu. The U.S. Congress, on Wednesday, November 19, awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to 33 tribes whose family and tribe members performed as code talkers to outsmart Adolf Hitler and his troops during the Second World War. They were members of the 4th Infantry Division.

It was an amazing feat, because the Comanche native language was never decoded by the German Nazis and the Japanese. From memory they were able to develop over 200 military terms that baffled the German forces. The members of the Comanche nation were not only code talkers, they were trained as line repairmen and radio operators and 13 Comanche men were part of the infantry that stormed the shores of Normandy.

The Congressional Gold Medal

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honor that the U.S. Congress can bestow to citizens. It is a clear sign of the nation’s recognition of the contribution that the Comanche tribes gave to the United States and to the world during the war, and even if it was long overdue, the honor is one that the Comanche Nation will forever cherish. The chairman of the Comanche Nation, Wallace Coffey said the award and recognition is long overdue, but they are still very proud that the recognition did happen.

Brave men

Seventeen young Comanche men were chosen to become a part of the elite group of Code Talkers. All of them were fluent in the Comanche language and were trained by the Army on communication tactics. Only fourteen of them were sent to work at the European theater. All seventeen of them were bestowed a medal during the very moving awarding ceremony.

Recognition came in slowly

But it was not only during the Second World War that the Comanche tribes became involved. They were provided their services to the United States Army during the First World War. It was in 1918 that their language started to be used, when a U.S. officer, with four Comanche soldiers under his command, was frustrated when their communication were always intercepted by the Germans. They then started using the four soldiers to use their language for their secret communication and found that the Germans failed to crack them.

The distinctive work by the American Indians during both worldwide strifes was barely recognized, due in part to the military’s campaign to assert their advantage. The code talkers program was only declassified in 1968 and the move for recognition after that was slow.

The French government were the first to give them public recognition, awarding the three surviving members of the code talkers group the Chevalier de L’Ordre National du Merite in 1989. The National Order of Merit is given to citizens of France as well as foreign nationals for distinguished military or civil service. It is one step lower to the Légion d’honneur or Legion of Honor that is reserved for French nationals only.

Photo Credit: Comanche Code Takers