Joe Enders: Stay on my ass.
Ben Yahzee: His name was Joe Enders, from south Philadelphia. He was a fierce warrior, a good marine. If you ever tell a story about him George... Say he was my friend.
Joe Enders: You think too much.
Private Chick: First time I've ever been accused of that.
Ben Yahzee: Sergeant, I'm telling you I won't freeze up again.
Joe Enders: Because your buddy smeared ash on your forehead?
Ben Yahzee: That's right, because my buddy smeared ash on my forehead.
Sargeant Ryan 'Ox' Anderson: How! Just kidding.
Answer: The point of using the Navajo code to call in air strikes was to encrypt what the Marines were requesting without the Japanese being able to decipher what was said. This is critical because during the Battle of Saipan, the Japanese made extensive use of caves and reinforced earthworks to support their artillery positions and machine gun nests. The delay between requesting artillery support and the act of carrying it out allowed the Japanese to withdraw their infantry to relative safety before the fire mission could commence. By using PVT Yahzee and PVT Whitehouse, they were able to circumvent this and request attacks without the Japanese knowing what was coming. The only time Yahzee does not use the code is when he uses the Japanese radio to call off the artillery strikes that were falling short and hitting Marines. This situation required immediate attention and it would not have been appropriate to use the code.
Invader_Gir