So does 420.

So does “more than 400.” The actual situation is more nuanced, and explaining it accurately matters both for historical precision and for understanding why the historical record contains uncertainty.

The National Archives, which holds the primary documentary record of the program, has indicated that the number of Navajo men who served in the Code Talker program is estimated at roughly 375 to 420.

This range reflects genuine uncertainty in the historical record rather than a failure of counting.

Several factors contribute to this uncertainty.

The program was classified during the war, which meant that some record-keeping was handled with restrictions that affect later reconstruction of the full roster.