Of Computers and Code Talkers

November 11, Veteran's Day

Today is a day to honor all veterans. It is recognized in some fashion by most countries involved in WWI as Armistice Day, when on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" 1918, that terrible war was finally brought to a close.

On this day I salute all veterans, and all those currently serving in the armed forces.

But we must not forget those whose efforts were instrumental in achieving victory either. Among these are two groups sadly forgotten in the shadows of the war: the Navajo Code Talkers and the engineers who worked on the Colossus.

In the Pacific theater during WWII, Allied transmissions were being regularly decoded by the Japanese. The Navajo language was very complex (and, ironically, was in the middle of being purged from the Navajo nation), and so approximately 400 young Navajos were taught an incredibly complex code using their native language that the Japanese were utterly baffled by. They then were deployed with every Marine assault in the Pacific between 1942 & 1945. They were present at the historical attack on Iwo Jima. In fact, they were one of the reasons for the turning point in the war in the Pacific. Today, only 50 of these brave people are thought to be alive. Let us not forget their contribution to the war.

In Europe, the Nazis were transmitting messages via the Enigma machine, which the Allies were unable to decode in time to be useful. A number of engineers - including Alan Turing, Tommy Flowers, Allen Coombs, Sid Broadhurst and Bill Chandler - worked on creating the Colossus computer, which was eventually able to crack the Enigma code in minutes instead of days. This helped turned the tide of the war in Europe, and shortened the conflict by up to two years.

The contributions of these people is sadly neglected, and like the Navajo Code Talkers and engineers themselves, the stories are fading away. The stories of many more may already be lost forever. As we honor all veterans for their service and sacrifice, remember those whose work behind the scenes helped to save our soldiers lives.

Thus beginneth the pithiness.