| Original caption: “Navajo Indian communication men with the Marines on Saipan landed with the first assault waves to his the beach.” Navajo code talkers United States Marine Corporal Oscar B. Ilthma (July 28, 1910 – March 24, 1949) of Gallup, New Mexico; United States Marine Private 1st Class Jack Nez (March 19, 1924 – April 22, 1977) of Fort Deflance, Arizona; and United States Marine Private 1st Class Carl N. “Kin-Ya-Onny-Beyeh” Gorman (October 5, 1907 – January 29, 1998) of Chinle, Arizona, landed on Saipan, Mariana Islands, with the 1st assault wave. They served with the Headquarters and Service Company of the 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. Missing from the photo is Headquarters Company’s 4th Code Talker, United States Marine Private 1st Class William D. Yazzie (December 4, 1914 – February 13, 2006) of Chinle, Arizona. Gorman, Ilthma, Nez, and Yazzie were 4 of the 1st 29 Navajo “Code Talkers” of the 382nd Platoon, who reported to Fort Wingate on May 4, 1942, were inducted, and then driven by bus 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) to San Diego for basic training. They were then sent to Camp Pendleton to create the Navajo Code. The Navajo code was formally developed and modeled after the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet, which uses agreed-upon English words to represent letters or other meanings. There, they collaborated to use Navajo words for military terms. Oscar B. Ilthma, who was half German, remembered that his father had sent radio messages during World War I. For dive bomber, “Gini, Chicken Hawk,” for Major General, “So-Na-Kih, Two Star,” for submarine, “Besh-Lo, Iron Fish.” The Japanese were never able to crack the Navajo-based encryption. The landing on Saipan was contested; Code Talkers recalled watching and listening as Marines were killed and wounded all around them as they landed. The Code Talkers were employed as observers because the fast-moving battlefield was not a practical use for coded messages. When the great gyokusai (literally “shattered jewels” – banzai charge) occurred on July 7, 1944, a Code Talker recalled, “Very little code talking was possible during this emergency on Saipan because things were moving too fast. It seems to me that the use of the code was most effective when the Marines were up against something – when we were sitting in one place too long, and wanted to move on. When lines were established, and a planned strategy could be carried out — to take the next hill, the airport, or what have you-that’s when the code talkers were in greatest demand.” During the last days of the battle, Gorman and another marine were carrying a wounded man on a stretcher to the shore for transportation to the hospital ship when a mortar shell exploded close enough to knock them off their feet. They dropped the stretcher and the man they were carrying, but they were not hit. When they recovered, they placed the wounded man back on the stretcher and ran with him to the boat. On July 26, Gorman was assigned to serve during the battle on Tinian despite the continuing and increasing effects from the concussion he received from the mortar shell. The shock from the mortar shell brought on an attack of malaria, and by the time he returned to Saipan, he was physically debilitated. Gorman was evacuated to Pearl Harbor on September 19, 1944, but remembers little of that trip. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a white gown tucked into white sheets in a bed. He thought he had died and gone to heaven. “There was a pitcher of water by the bed, and I thought, people drink water in heaven,” Gorman recalled. “Then I saw a window and thought, there are windows in heaven. On the opposite wall was a picture of a battleship firing a cannon, and I knew that this was not heaven. There are no battleships in heaven.” After receiving his honorable discharge in the winter of 1945, Gorman used his veteran’s benefits to study art at the Otis Art Institute. He became a successful artist and teacher. While living in Los Angeles, California, he served as the leader of the urban Navajo community there. During this time, Carl’s son, R. C. Gorman (July 26, 1931 – November 3, 2005), was gaining recognition as an artist. The 2 held father-son exhibits. R. C. became a world-famous artist and later sculpted a bust of his father, which he donated to the University of Northern Arizona in honor of the Code Talkers. Carl Gorman returned to the reservation where he accepted a position as director of the Navajo Arts and Crafts Guild. He later served as president of the Code Talker Association. Over the years, he was often seen on Veterans’ Day wearing his Code Talker uniform and marching in parades. As a spokesman, Gorman helped educate Navajo and all Americans about the Code Talker role in World War II. He was an excellent role model and a respected leader among the Navajo. Oscar B. Ilthma enlisted on May 4, 1942. He was wounded on July 2, 1944, on Saipan. Honorably discharged on September 17, 1945, he had post-traumatic stress disorder. On March 24, 1949, he arrived in Gallup, New Mexico, by train from Stockton, California. After waiting a few hours, he took off his coat and knelt on his hands and knees on the tracks as the Santa Fe-bound train passed; the train struck, killing him. Jack Nez enlisted on May 4, 1942, and was honorably discharged on September 9, 1945. After World War II, he was employed as a paint and body shop worker until he was killed in an automobile accident. William D. Yazzie enlisted on May 4, 1942, and remained on active duty after World War II, winning 3rd place in a shooting match in Hawaii on March 2, 1947. He continued to represent the United States Marine Corps in shooting matches in the Reserves for 20 years. Due to the influence of Christian missionaries, he changed his name to William Dean Wilson and became a judge for the Navajo Nation. Photographer Marine Sergeant James L. “Larry” Burns (December 31, 1919 – June 21, 1994) enlisted in the Marine Corps on September 23, 1941, and was a public relations photographer. Burns extensively documented the Saipan landings. He was honorably discharged on October 19, 1945. He worked for the Cedar Rapids Gazette after World War II. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1510.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.10 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 2920 x 2332 |
| Photographer | James L. Burns |
| Photographer Title | United States Marine Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 15, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Saipan |
| Country | Marianas |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-127-N-82619 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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