Winnie Breegle: The Hidden Hero of the Navajo Code

Winnie Breegle emerged from rural Ohio to play a critical but long-hidden role in World War II military communications. Born in 1922, she excelled academically at a young age and entered teaching before deciding her country needed her in uniform. Joining the Navy’s WAVES program, she became part of a small, highly trained group responsible for encrypting and decrypting some of the war’s most sensitive messages. Her work connected U.S. commanders with information vital to operations in the Pacific, including transmissions linked to the Navajo Code Talkers. For decades, her contributions remained classified, leaving even her family unaware of the responsibilities she carried. Her later life centered on education, where she reshaped classrooms for more than half a century.

Early Life and Path to Service

US Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Winifred Breegle (née Moore) was born on a farm in southern Ohio on February 5, 1922. She completed high school early and continued her studies at Indiana University, graduating in 1941. She began teaching soon afterward but felt compelled to serve once the United States entered World War II. Although she was married and needed her husband’s approval to enlist, he agreed as long as she remained within the country. In 1944, she joined the Navy in Pittsburgh and entered the WAVES program. Her early training took place at Smith College and later Mount Holyoke College, where she completed rigorous instruction to become a coding officer.

Early Assignments and Cryptography Work

National Security Agency (US Federal Government), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Breegle’s first naval assignment placed her in Baltimore, where she encoded and decoded messages sent between the port director’s office and ships serving in the Atlantic and Pacific. She later transferred to a small unit of roughly 10 cryptographers based in Washington, D.C., working on highly classified communication systems. There she encountered the Navajo Code, used for secure military messages. Because the code had no written form (a standardized written form for the Navajo language itself had only been created in the 1930s), she memorized complex terminology and sometimes stayed awake at night to ensure she retained it for training others. During major campaigns, including the Battle of Iwo Jima, hundreds of Navajo-coded messages passed through her office, and she processed them without error.

Courier Duties and Extreme Secrecy

Bill Toledo, Frank G. Willetto and Keith Little, Navajo Code Talkers, were among the Iwo Jima veterans honored Feb. 19, 2010, at a ceremony commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va. On Feb. 19, 1945, the United States launched its first assault against the Japanese at Iwo Jima, resulting in some of the fiercest fighting of World War II. Marines from Arlington, VA, United States, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Alongside her office responsibilities, Breegle frequently served as a courier in the Washington and Baltimore areas, delivering classified materials to locations such as the White House and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. These assignments required her to carry a .45-caliber pistol (with orders to shoot first if she encountered trouble) and travel with a Marine escort to guarantee message security. The sensitive nature of her work led to a strict nondisclosure order at the end of the war, forbidding her from discussing her assignments for 25 years. As a result, her family remained unaware of her connection to the Navajo Code until its existence was publicly acknowledged in 1968.

Return to Teaching and Long Career in Education

Jonathan Gibson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

After leaving the Navy, Breegle returned to Ohio to reclaim her teaching position. The principal who was there when she left was still at the school and angry at her for leaving, but she was able to get her job back thanks to federal protections granted to veterans. She went on to spend decades in public high schools, eventually retiring in 1977. She and her husband later moved to Panama City, Florida, where she resumed teaching at a community college. There she worked with students, including those with learning disabilities, providing instruction, testing, and tutoring for another 20 years.

Her Final Years

In her later years, Breegle received recognition from various organizations for her wartime service, which had remained largely hidden for decades due to classification. She considered the Navajo Code Talkers essential to the war’s outcome in the Pacific and viewed her own role as part of a broader effort to support frontline troops. After being displaced by Hurricane Michael late in life, she moved to Tennessee, where she lived near family. She celebrated her 100th birthday in 2022 as the last surviving member of her wartime cryptography team. Winifred “Winnie” Breegle died in 2023 at age 100, remembered as both a dedicated educator and a significant contributor to secure U.S. military communications during World War II.

Sources: Springhill Memorial Park, Williamson Herald, WZTV, Columbia Daily Herald, The United States Navy Memorial, Omniglot