United States Special Service

A look at the Tuskegee airmen, the Navajo code talkers, and the 442nd Regimental Combat team.

The United States and World War II

What were the main reasons that the United States entered World War II?• German submarines sinking American merchant ships.• Japans invasion of China and the treatment of the Chinese.• The attack of Pearl Harbor.

Coded Messages in World War IIWhy were coded messages so important for both the Allie and Axis Powers during World War II and why was it important to have strong codes?• They were used to tell important

information without enemies knowledge.

• If there secrets were discovered the enemies could learn where to attack and put countless lives in danger.

• The Enigma code was a code system used by Germany during World War II.

• Using a modified Enigma machine the Germans felt like they had come up with a code that none of there enemies could decipher and used it for all of there military communications.

• The British were able to crack the code in 1940 and used the information to stop the Axis Powers in North Africa.

Navajo Code Talkers• The United States wanted to

create a code that they felt like would be impossible for there enemies (especially the Japanese) could not crack.

• Philip Johnston, an engineer from Los Angeles, suggested to U.S Marine Corps that they should use Navajo for there coded messages.

• Johnston, as a kid lived on the Navajo reservation since his father was a missionary and was able to speak Navajo himself.

Navajo Code Talkers Cont.…• Navajo was a complex un-written

language that very few outside of the Navajo people could understand.

• The Navajo marines were able to encode, transmit, and decode a three-line English message in about 20 seconds.

• These codes helped the Allied Powers (especially the Americans) in many battles such as the Battle of Iwo Jima.

• Imagine that you are a non-Japanese American after the attack on Pearl Harbor. There is fear everywhere that another attack could happen and that there might be Japanese spies living among you. Would you agree with the government choice to put Japanese Americans in internment camps and why or why not.

• Now imagine that you are a son or daughter of a Japanese immigrant. Your family dose not interact at all with Japan and your family considers themselves American. The government has decided to take your family from your home, sell most of your belongings, and put your family in an interment camp. How would you feel about this situation and would you be able to understand why the government has arrested you for no reason

The 442nd Regiment • The 442nd regiment was composed of

Japanese Americans from mostly Hawaii who volunteered for the United States Army.

• These men fought for the United States even though many of them had family members who were locked up in United States internment camp.

• The reasons why the United States was willing to have Japanese Americans fight in the war was because they needed more troops especially since they were needing troops to fight with the Allies in Germany and fight in the Pacific against the Japanese.

The 442nd regiment • The 442nd regiment was sent into the

Vosges Mountains which is on the outskirts of France to save 1st Battalion, 141st Regiment of the 36th "Texas" Division who were surrounded by Germans.

• After five days of fighting and heavy lost of men the 442nd regiment was able to save the Texans.

• The 442nd regiment was used at the end of World War II and broke through the Gothic line which was a very heavily defended part of Northern Italy by the Germans.

• They were able to break through the Germans defenses and had them on the run until they surrender on May 2, 1945.

The Tuskegee Airman

• Based on the trailer for the movie Red Tails who do you think the Tuskegee Airman were and what did they do to help the United States during World War II

The Tuskegee Airman • In World War II there was still a lot

of discrimination against African Americans thanks to Jim Crow Laws. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces.

• Even with discrimination by laws and fellow solders the airman were able to prove themselves and be sent into battle.

• 996 men completed training with 450 of them becoming fighter pilots and the others became bomber pilots.

The Tuskegee Airman • The pilots were originally sent in

April of 1943 to help the Allied Powers against the Axis Powers.

• There hard work got them sent to help in Allied campaigns in Italy and Germany

• There main job during the war was that they protected bomber pilots on escort missions deep in the enemy territory.

• The impact and color barriers that the Tuskegee Airman broke would lead to future events against segregation in the United States.