17 Dec
2003
17 Dec
'03
11:17 p.m.
I remember hearing many years ago that one of the branches of the armed aervices during WWII used a native American -- Cherokee? Apache? -- language to communicate. The Japanese (the story goes) went nuts trying to crack the code -- unsuccessfully.
It was Navajo.
Two questions: 1) Can anyone give me a reference for this story (assuming it's true)?
There was a recent (i.e. within the past year) article in Smithsonian magazine on the "code talkers". I believe only one or two of them are still surviving. This sort of thing doesn't constitute what would properly be called a cipher; it's either a code, or perhaps a species of steganography. -- Lefty (lefty@apple.com) C:.M:.C:., D:.O:.D:.