19370 - Code Talkers, Con Men and Love Letters

Course Overview

Creativity in war can mean the difference between success and failure. Creativity such as Native Americans sending messages in their indigenous language. During the battle for Iwo Jima, six Navajo Code Talker Marines successfully transmitted more than 800 messages without error and without translation by the Japanese. American artists, designers and sound engineers in Europe created “a traveling roadshow of deception” for Patton.  The Ghost Army of inflatable tanks, fake radio chatter, and blared sound effects simulated a force 30 times its size that conned the Nazis.  Just as creative was the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Working 24/7 in three eight-hour shifts, they processed more than 65,000 pieces of mail per shift. No matter how poorly addressed the package as in “fried chicken for Ray from Arkansas,” it reached its destination. This was done despite the discrimination these women experienced. The 6888th was the only all-Black Women's unit to serve overseas. This is a class in innovative thinking during World War II. It is part of a series called Secrets of World War II.