Posted on 06/04/2014 12:36:28 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The last of the 29 Navajos who developed a code that stumped the Japanese during World War II has died.
Chester Nez, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, died Wednesday morning of kidney failure, said Judy Avila, who helped Nez write his memoirs. He was 93.
Before hundreds of men from the Navajo Nation became Code Talkers, 29 Navajos were recruited to develop the code based on the then-unwritten Navajo language. Nez was in 10th grade when he enlisted, keeping his decision a secret from his family and lying about his age, as did many others.
"It's one of the greatest parts of history that we used our own native language during World War II," Nez told The Associated Press in 2009. "We're very proud of it."
Of the 250 Navajos who showed up at Fort Defiance — then a U.S. Army base — 29 were selected to join the first all-Native American unit of Marines. They were inducted in May 1942. Nez became part of the 382nd Platoon.
Using Navajo words for red soil, war chief, clan, braided hair, beads, ant and hummingbird, for example, they came up with a glossary of more than 200 terms that later was expanded and an alphabet.
Nez has said he was concerned the code wouldn't work. At the time, few non-Navajos spoke the language. Even Navajos who did couldn't understand the code. It proved impenetrable.
The Navajos trained in radio communications were walking copies of the code. Each message read aloud by a Code Talker was immediately destroyed.
"The Japanese did everything in their power to break the code but they never did," Nez said in 2010.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Real Patriots when we can stand to hear a good news story. Congratulations and thanks to these brave warriors! May they each rest in peace.
Word is Bob-Dad Bergdahl wanted to use him to pass coded messages to his son...
compare these great Americans with the tinkerbell deserter we traded five dangerous taliban trash for.
sickening.
Big news here in the land of enchantment.
Another chapter on selfless patriotism and honor closes.
May god rest his soul. What a real soldier, Nothing like that freak traitor.
I’m ashamed I didn’t know about this!
How fascinating. True American patriots.
I wish we could give “likes” to comments like yours, lol.
I just heard of this group not too long ago and did some reading online.
True American Heroes
There is a very nice exhibit on the "code talkers" in the U.S. Marine Corps Museum near Quantico, VA.
There is a very nice exhibit on the "code talkers" in the U.S. Marine Corps Museum near Quantico, VA.
I’ve had the honor of meeting some of the Code Talkers when accompanying my World War II Marine uncle to Marine Corps League events in the Four Corners area.
He'd have been better off using Lynne Stewart for that job.
He had a book out on his experience as a code talker: “Code Talker”, published 2011. I got this past Christmas, but haven’t had a chance yet to read it (it is 3rd in line right now). I look forward to reading this, especially now.
Don't get me wrong they did what their country asked them to do in time of war. But, others did so too, even at greater personal risk, but didn't get the recognition because they weren't members of a minority group.
in the Nicholas cage movie he is told to kill his code talker if the man got captured...so that the man could not be tortured into revealing the secret code...
Patriotic Americans, despite the fact that this country truly had not treated their people particularly well. That is surely to be admired and appreciated.
RIP to a brave and valuable man. The use of Navajo as a code is still one ofthe most amazing ideas ever.
The Code Talkers weren’t in the European Theatre Of War.
They saved thousands of lives and helped shorten the Pacific War.
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