In France during World War I, the 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, had a company of Indians who spoke 26 languages and dialects. Two officers were selected to supervise a communications system staffed by 18 Choctaw individuals. The team transmitted messages relating to troop movements and their own tactical plans in their native tongue. Soldiers from other tribes, including the Cheyenne, Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, and Yankton Sioux also were enlisted to communicate as code talkers. Previous to their arrival in France, the Germans had broken every American code used, resulting in the deaths of many soldiers. However, the Germans never broke the American Indians' "code," and these soldiers became affectionately known as "code talkers."
During World War II, the Army used American Indians in its signal communications operations in both the European and Pacific theaters of operations. Student code talkers were instructed in basic military communications techniques. The code talkers then developed their own words for military terms that never existed in their own native tongue. For instance, the word for "colonel" was translated to "silver eagle," "fighter plane" became "hummingbird," "minesweeper" became "beaver," "half-track" became "race track," and "pyrotechnic" became "fancy fire."

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