After accepting Philip Johnston's offer, Navy recruiters visited Navajo schools at Fort WIngate, Arizona and Shiprock, New Mexico to find Navajos the most educated in order to create unbreakable and successful code. The Marines agreed to take only 30 Navajos, because they did not want to lose a lot of money in the event of a disaster. After a lengthy search and selection of men, the chosen Navajos were taken to a training camp in San Diego, California (Aaseng 22). While living in the camps, Navajo men had to adapt to many different things such as new foods, living quarters, mechanical equipment, and competitions that were never part of Navajo culture . These were all difficult and temporary stages of Navajo life, but not as difficult as adjusting to military discipline (Aaseng 27). The Navajo never hurt anyone, so physical discipline was harsh, cruel, and new to them. Physical training, however, was easy for the Navajo because these men were accustomed to being tired and walking (Aaseng 28). After training in San Diego, the Navajos were sent to a camp just outside San Diego, in a town called Pendleton, to learn how to communicate messages. While at Camp Pendleton, the Navajos studied Morse code, military message writing techniques, cable laying, pole climbing, communications procedures, and the use of radios (Aaseng 29). When the Navajos were finally able to begin creating the written code, they were given 211 English words that could be used in warfare. Their goal was to create a written Navajo equivalent for each word. The Navajos were given strict instructions to have their code completely memorized, as the United States needed acceleration and speed from its translators. The United States established rules and requirements regarding the creation of the code...... middle of paper ...... elders were sent to the Navajo reservation to recruit eligible volunteers to become Code Talkers , a little less than 94% of them were recruited. Some men would eat food or drink pounds of water in order to reach the required weight (Aaseng 35). A major contribution of the Code Talkers was to get most of the military where they were supposed to be through communication (Aaseng 36). By the end of World War II, 420 Code Talkers served in the war (Aaseng 72). Overall, Navajos showed great courage and willpower while serving in the war. Although the Navajo Code Talkers made many contributions during World War II, their lives did not change after returning home. It wasn't until 1971, more than 25 years after World War II, that people recognized the Navajo Code Talkers (Aaseng 105). Works Cited Aaseng, Nathan. Navajo Code Talkers: America's Secret Weapon During World War II. New York: Walker, 1992.