Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII

by Chester Nez, Judith Schiess Avila

Overview

The first and only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII.

His name wasn’t Chester Nez. That was the English name he was assigned in kindergarten. And in boarding school at Fort Defiance, he was punished for speaking his native language, as the teachers sought to rid him of his culture and traditions. But discrimination didn’t stop Chester from answering the call to defend his country after Pearl Harbor, for the Navajo have always been warriors, and his upbringing on a New Mexico reservation gave him the strength—both physical and mental—to excel as a marine.

During World War II, the Japanese had managed to crack every code the United States used. But when the Marines turned to its Navajo recruits to develop and implement a secret military language, they created the only unbroken code in modern warfare—and helped assure victory for the United States over Japan in the South Pacific.

INCLUDES THE ACTUAL NAVAJO CODE AND RARE PICTURES

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425247853
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/07/2012
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	27,564
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Chester Nez was a World War II veteran who indispensably served his country as a Navajo code talker. He passed away in 2014.

Judith Schiess Avila is a code talker scholar with the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities Chautauqua Program. She tours the state giving presentations on the topic.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A unique, inspiring story by a member of the Greatest Generation." —-Kirkus

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Code Talker

“Gripping in its narrative, Code Talker is history at its best.”—Colonel Cole C. Kingseed, U.S. Army (Ret.), co-author of Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

“A fascinating inside look at one of WWII’s most closely guarded secrets…This is an important book, a previously untold piece of our history.”—Marcus Brotherton, author of Shifty’s War
 
“You don’t need to be a fan of World War II literature to appreciate this memoir…a fascinating melange of combat in the Pacific theater, the history of the Navajo people and the development of a uniquely American code.”—Associated Press
 
“A unique, inspiring story by a member of the Greatest Generation.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A remarkably affecting first-person account of the Navajo Marines who served their country with distinction through some of the worst battles of the Pacific theater.”—The Washington Times

From the Publisher

Written with code talker scholar Schiess Avila, Nez's fascinating memoir details his experience as one of the original 29 "code talkers"-a group of Native American soldiers who kept U.S. transmissions safe from the Japanese during WWII. The code they used was developed using Navajo, an entirely spoken language. Most Marines had no idea that Nez or his fellow Navajos were involved with the highly classified code talker mission, and trusted the team despite the era's prevalent racial segregation. Though Nez grew up speaking Navajo, he was sent to government-run boarding schools, and forced to learn English. His facility with both languages allowed him to advance during his career with the Marines, and he counts the day of his enlistment (while still in high school) as the luckiest day of his life. Still, when Nez returned home to New Mexico in 1945, it would be another three years before Native Americans were allowed to vote. Though the last section of the book drifts, readers will be captivated by stories of Nez's childhood and his days as a Marine.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

While the Japanese could figure out many World War II American codes and transmissions, they could not crack the Navajo Code Talkers. Nez was one of the original Code Talkers serving with the Marines. Here, with Avila (New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities Chautauqua Program), a Code Talker scholar, he tells of a hard New Mexico childhood in the Great Depression; the discrimination against Native Americans; how the code was developed from a language with no written background; his dangerous wartime experiences on Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, and Peleliu; and his postwar life. The big picture of the Pacific Campaign is only selectively mentioned; instead there's lots of detail of personal effort, suffering, and boredom, summoning the true flavor of the war and a portrait of those who made a valuable contribution to the war effort. The appendix is a 1945 "Navajo Code Talkers Dictionary" from the U.S. Navy, also available online. VERDICT Accessible and compelling, this is recommended for general readers as well as World War II history buffs.

Library Journal

One of the original 29 Navajo code talkers discusses his experiences in WWII and his early life in the "checkerboard" area of tribal lands in the Southwest. The book is written in the first person, a choice that provides a preponderance of simple sentences. David Colacci captures the flavor of the Navajo speakers with an even tone, free of strong emotion. That’s not to say his reading is flat or uninteresting—quite the opposite. He gives listeners the feeling of being in the presence of a Native American storyteller who is relating pieces of tribal history and lore. His facility with Navajo words makes the reading flow naturally. The book and the reading make this chapter of American history come alive in a personal way. A chart of the declassified code can be downloaded from the publisher. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2012 - AudioFile