LAST
OF ORIGINAL NAVAJO CODE TALKERS PASSES AWAY
By Headquarters Marine Corps, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON --
The passing of Chester Nez, one of the
original 29 Navajo Code Talkers, sadly marks the end of an era in our
country's and Marine Corps' history. We mourn his passing but honor and
celebrate the indomitable spirit and dedication of those Marines who
became known as the Navajo Code Talkers.
The Navajo Code Talkers made invaluable contributions to the war effort in the Pacific theater during World War II. Their heroic actions were recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal in 2001.
The incredible bravery, dedicated service and sacrifices of Mr. Nez and his fellow Code Talkers will forever remain part of the proud legacy of our Corps and will continue to inspire generations of Marines into the future. MARINES
Tommy "Gun" Mann
By Headquarters Marine Corps, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON --
The passing of Chester Nez, one of the
original 29 Navajo Code Talkers, sadly marks the end of an era in our
country's and Marine Corps' history. We mourn his passing but honor and
celebrate the indomitable spirit and dedication of those Marines who
became known as the Navajo Code Talkers.The Navajo Code Talkers made invaluable contributions to the war effort in the Pacific theater during World War II. Their heroic actions were recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal in 2001.
The incredible bravery, dedicated service and sacrifices of Mr. Nez and his fellow Code Talkers will forever remain part of the proud legacy of our Corps and will continue to inspire generations of Marines into the future. MARINES
Tommy "Gun" Mann
Code Talkers were great men! Too bad the Nick Gage "code talkers" movie was so poorly done.
ReplyDeletePershing also used Indians on his field phones during War One.
RAK
Nez explained why their code was never broken. It could only be understood by literate bilingual speakers, of which there were few. Unrelated Diné words were translated into English words. The first letters of the English words were then assembled into messages.
ReplyDeleteThey also used hundreds of metaphors for military equipment such as iron fish and noisy cricket.
"Code Talkers" were also used in Europe--except the Europe Theater used Apaches. Obviously the Navajo had better press agents.
ReplyDeleteGreat historical story, but the movie blew chunks!
ReplyDeleteBy picking Nick Cage, it was guaranteed to be a
to be a lousy movie.
In 1985 I was a young Marine L/Cpl. One day I was told that me and all the other snuffies would put on our Alpha uniform and be at the officers club at Camp Pendleton to stand around all night for some formal event. Boy was I pissed, Saturday night shot to hell. When I arrived I found out it was the largest reunion of the code talkers. I was awe struck from head to toe. Funny thing is, most of those guys didn't want to talk to officers, they were all enlisted men, they wanted to talk to us Lance Coolies and see how the Corps was treating us. It was maybe the most memorable night of my life. -Anymouse
ReplyDelete