2008 Medal Numunu Comanche Code Talkers Bronze 38mm

Coin Details

Description

This 38mm bronze medal honors the Numunu (Comanche) Code Talkers, who were among the first Native Americans to use their language for military communications in the European Theater of World War II. Comanche code talkers of the 4th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and used the Comanche language to transmit critical tactical communications during the Normandy invasion and subsequent operations across France and into Germany. Their service in the European Theater distinguishes them from the better-known Navajo program, which operated exclusively in the Pacific. The obverse features imagery honoring the Comanche code talkers, identified by the tribal name "Numunu" meaning "the People." The Comanche language, part of the Uto-Aztecan language family that stretches from the American Great Plains to Central America, presented unique cryptographic advantages. The seventeen Comanche code talkers who served with the 4th Signal Company developed their own coded vocabulary within the Comanche language, creating terms for military equipment and tactical concepts that did not exist in everyday speech. Their code was tested successfully during the D-Day operations and subsequent combat across Western Europe. The reverse carries Code Talkers program inscriptions. The Comanche code talkers' D-Day service makes them among the most historically significant participants in the code talker program, as their work directly supported one of the most consequential military operations in world history.

Rarity Notes

Bronze duplicate medal, 38mm. Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008. Comanche code talkers served at D-Day and across the European Theater.

Cross References

PCGS #910599; Code Talkers 2008; Numunu (Comanche) Nation; 4th Infantry Division; D-Day June 6, 1944