The evidence for this practice as a universal or systematic policy is thin and disputed.

The National Archives documentation of the program does not establish this as a general order.

Some veterans have described something like this arrangement in specific circumstances, while others deny any such orders.

Presenting it as a documented standard practice would misrepresent the state of the historical record.

What is documented is that the classified nature of the Code Talker program meant that capture represented a specific security concern beyond the ordinary dangers of being a prisoner of war.

The program’s existence was classified, and a captured Code Talker who could be compelled to explain what he had been doing would have represented a significant intelligence loss.