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

I'd heard of code talkers before, but I'd never really dived into their history. I found this book, written by one of the original 29 (or 32 if you go by Chester's numbers). Code talkers were a group of brave Native Americans who used the Navajo language to make sure the Japanese didn't know what the Americans were doing in the Pacific during WWII. The code was never broken and was much quicker and more efficient than what was being used previously. I like how the memoir went through almost his entire life. It covers his childhood up until 2011. Chester passed away in 2014 and was the last surviving member of the original code talkers. He lived quite a life and went through so much. I have the Kindle version and wanted to mention a few things. The text for the book ends at page 276. Acknowledgements, Navajo dictionary for the code, Bibliography, an index, maps of the islands Chester helped conquer, and pictures fill the rest of the book. The pictures start on page 347. The code was small and hard to read on my Paperwhite, but that's something I could fix. This is one of the better memoirs I've read. The writing was easy to read, there were enough breaks if you wanted to stop for a while, and the subject matter was super interesting to me. I believe this is an important part of WWII history that shouldn't be forgotten. The impact these men had was so important to the Pacific theater, and it was a secret for so long. If you're at all interested in a life lived the Right Way, I recommend this book.

My husband is a retired Master Sgt in the Marines. He was enjoying this book as I noticed signs of reading. He took it to “his throne” to read! lol! UNFORTUNATELY, we just had a house fire recently, and lost everything. I hope to replace it for him eventually so when we get a new to us home, it will be”feel like home” again! Unfortunately it will be quite awhile as it is a non essential n we can’t right now.

There have been several myths about the code talkers over the years. This book shows they were just myths. The book also offers insight into the lives and attitudes of the code talkers. This is not the most well written book you will read, and unfortunately age and failing memory rear their ugly head. That bing said, forgive the shortcomings and learn how a group of great Americans did their part to help defeat the Japanese. This is important history.

A true story of Native American heroes that truly won the war in the Pacific. Well written by one of the original Navajo Code Talkers explaining in great detail how they relayed target coordinates from the battlefield to the Japanese targets. One of the best books I have read in a long time!

After being treated horrendously like a sub-human at two different "boarding horror schools" while he was a child, Nez's culture as a Navajo was facing genocide. Beaten daily, feed little, forced to follow english commands that they did not understand since they weren't taught english and punished for not following the command, and a whole host of violations that would today place the boarding school tyrant "matrons" in jails for very long periods of time and catch the attention of UN Unicef's, America's child protective services and a myriad of government protective agencies and organizations. In a stroke of hypocrisy, under the suggestion of a military man who had spend time with the Navajo, the Marines looked to Nez to speak the language that he had been so forcefully and cruelly forbidden to, in order to serve his country and protect it from tyranny. The other armed branches skeptical of the Navajo "code" were reluctant to switch to it from an elaborate and archaic coding system which took up valuable time in the combat field, where time lost quite literally translated to men lost and friendly fire incidents prevailed, but the marines flirted with the idea. Once marine Generals saw that the old coding communications took four hours to transmit a communication and the Navajos took two minutes to accurately convey the same message, misgivings were set aside and the Navajo were brought in to save American lives and end the war as quickly as possible to save Japanese lives as well. Nez witnessing of his fellow marines die and suffer, on the battle field and in the hospital as well as several of his fellow Navajo code talkers, was trial enough. Nez had to nonstop transmit critically important messages all throughout the day on the battlefield, having to change sites after every transmission, while gunfire, mortar, grenades and various artillery is going off around them and coming down on them. Furthermore, the Navajos Marine commanders deemed their mission too important to permit the overworked Navajo marines to go on break like all of their fellow battle weary and fatigued Marines. The Navajos never questioned their duty. The Navajo code talkers diffused many of their anxieties with their classic Navajo humor. Nez's trails would not end there though. After committing the most anxiety provoking task since he'd had been in the trenches of asking a woman's family for permission to marry then marrying his third girlfriend, the one he wanted to spend the majority of his time with, then having a un Navajo weeding at a catholic church, Nez's wife gives birth to a girl. Nez's wife lives but the girl that Nez had been dreaming of perishes after only an hour of life in the hospital. Nez is devastated that he lost a daughter that is so highly valued in Navajo culture, even more so than sons sometimes. Nezs trails continue. After having a son with his wife, who is from another tribe, the son missteps off a train and dies. When Nez's other son runs out to him at his home in Albuquerque, Nez's wife restrains him and tells him that his father needs to be alone. Nez tries to dry his tears from the double death of two of his children before his son runs up to him. Nez's trails continue. After his 21 year old son is partying with his friends, he gets into a car with a drunk friend and his killed when the drunk friend crashes the car into anther car that had been chasing them. Nez's trials continue. Late in Nez's life, after moving from his home in Albuquerque where he was living while he lost three of his children, Nez outlives his daughter. In addition to the battlefield scars that Nez faces, he also had to live with the death of four children, but he handled all of this with the Navajo ideal of balance, not falling prey to the perils of alcohol like several of his fellow code talkers later do. Nez constantly quoted the famous Navajo saying of "Beauty in front of me, beauty behind me, beauty to the left of me, beauty to the right of me." Besides inventing an unbreakable code, this story is a tale of Navajo stamina and strengths triumphing over painstaking grief. Nez had to also deal with the changing generations of Navajos, many who did not respect or value the ways that he had been shown by his family members. Nez liked a girl very much but because she was in one of the five tributes at the time associated with his own, he could not pursue her. As Nez wrote the book, it was not uncommon for current Navajo to marry a tribal half sister. As Nez is trying to rid himself of the nightmares of Japanese attackers that plague his mind through a ceremony, the Navajos giving the ceremony do not follow the guidelines that had been observed in his previous ceremony to rid him of these demons of negative lingering spirits. As a snake entered the building of the ceremony, the man entrusted with guarding the door kills the snake rather then redirecting it, as it is incorrect to kill anything without using it, thus spoiling the ceremony. Furthermore, at night several of the Navajo involved in the ceremony choose to drink alcohol, which is strictly forbidden during such a ceremony. Only through the family's quick action is Nez's family able to quickly organize and execute another ceremony to redo the damage done in this ceremony, is Nez able to rid himself of the symptoms associated with PTSD.

Having lived on the Navajo Reservation for a few years and after hearing my father, who was a Marine, and had met some of these Code Talkers in the World War II, I wanted to know more about them. This book is well written and helps you to understand their challenges and achievements.

Excellent read,a must read for those who are into WW 2 history.

Book arrived as stated. Book in great shape. This book is one I will have to read .

Very interesting!

Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo... Chester Nez ok, welldone ok ok ok

The book revealed exactly what the title said. Along with many photos I enjoyed it thoroughly and as a WWII history buff I was very pleased with this book

This is a well-written account of the way that the language of the Navajo Indians formed the basis of a code to encipher secret messages. Despite the efforts of the Germans the code proved unbreakable. The book is written by a man belonging to the Navajo Indian tribe who was in the navy and whose identity was kept secret. I give it five stars because of the unique and authentic story, and because of the quality of the writing, but I confess that it went on a little too long for me and I skipped the last part.