Expanding the program required training resources, recruitment effort, and the organizational commitment to integrate Code Talkers into unit communications sections across multiple divisions.

These commitments would not have been made if the operational assessment had been mixed or uncertain.

The postwar assessment of the program — recorded after Japan’s surrender, when the full scope of what the Code Talkers had accomplished could be reviewed — was equally positive.

The Marine Corps’ evaluation confirmed that the code had not been broken, that it had provided genuine speed and security advantages, and that it had been a valuable element of communications capability throughout the Pacific campaigns.

What the Corps’ assessments also document is the practical nature of the program’s value.

The Code Talkers were not celebrated for their cultural distinctiveness or their personal qualities by military assessors focused on operational effectiveness.