On Wednesday, June 4, 2014, the last remaining of the original 29 Navajo code talkers, Chester Nez, died at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Nez's death marks the end of an era for both the country and the armed forces, according to the Marine Corps. For more than two decades, Nez's role as one of the original Navajo code talkers responsible for developing an unbreakable code during World War II has been kept silent. However, upon Nez's recent death, the valiant efforts of the original Navajo code talkers to develop the legendary code that was used for essential communications during WWII is being honored and celebrated, not to mention broadcasted to the public.
In 1942, Nez was just a teenager when he was recruited and assigned with other code talkers to the Marine Corps. Military authorities chose a specific assignment for Nez and the other code talkers to create a code language, including developing a dictionary, that would help create secret communication amongst the military during WWII. Navajo was chosen as the primary code language during WWII because its syntax and tonal qualities were almost impossible for a non-Navajo to learn and it had not written form. As a result of the highest-level of secrecy and responsibility that the Navajo code talkers withheld, by the end of the war in 1945, the ranks of the Navajo code talkers swelled to more than 300.
In 2002, Nez told CNN's Larry King that in his first combat experience in Guadalcanal in 1942, "there was a lot of suffering and a lot of the condition was real bad out there." On top of the suffering and poor conditions, Nez said that he worried every day that an error might cost the life of an American military service member.
As Navajo code talkers, there was a certain level of responsibility, discomfort, and danger that came with the job. "When bombs dropped, generally we code talkers couldn't just curl up in a shelter," Nez wrote in his book. "We were almost always needed to transmit information, to ask for supplies and ammunition, and to communicate strategies. And after each transmission, to avoid Japanese fire, we had to move."
Above all, the Navajo code baffled the Japanese, who had mastered their abilities to decipher codes used by the U.S. Army during WWII. According to the Navy, after WWII, Japanese chief of intelligence, Lt. General Seizo Arisue, admitted the Japanese army was never able to crack the Navajo code used by the Marines and Navy.
Once the code talkers exploits were declassified by the military, the group gained national recognition with books and a movie inspired by their stories. "The recognition of the code talkers came late, but it has been good for my Navajo people. I hope that htis type of recognition continues across cultures," Nez told CNN.
Despite the late recognition and honor for the Navajo code talkers, Nez said in a CNN interview, "The feeling that I could make it in both the white world and the Navajo world began there, and it has stayed with me all of my life. For that I am grateful."
The marking of Nez's death recalls our national history's past, as a nation that exploits the Natives for our own national gain. Although the Navajo code talkers received recognition both from the U.S. Government and Military, the Navajo code talkers remained an unknown mystery and secret tale of the U.S. well past the termination of WWII. As a result, the "secret" of Nez and the other 29 Navajo code talkers and their heroic efforts during WWII demonstrate the United State's ability to portray the separation and "otherness" between the white man and the Native. After learning more about Nez and the Navajo code talkers, I believe that without the Navajo code talkers, the U.S. would not have been so triumphant in their military efforts during WWII. And yet, the Navajo code talkers do not receive the same recognition as other military veterans. In Nez's interview with CNN's Larry King in 2002, Nez remarked that every day he worried that an error from the Navajo code talkers might cost the life of an American military service member. This statement embodies the estrangement and class division of the white, American people to the Native Navajo people. Even on the battlefield, fighting and working hard for the U.S. military and government, Nez felt that his life and efforts were not equal to that of an American soldier.
By focusing on Nez and the Navajo code talkers of WWII, the Navajo people are celebrated and highlighted in the work that they have done for this country. In WWII, the Navajo people were utilized by the American government for their language and culture. As a result, the American armed forces utilized a group of people for their benefit. Despite America's pitfall of never allowing anyone but the white man succeed, the Navajo code talkers shall remain a staple of America's military success and intelligence.
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2014/06/04/lkl-chester-nez-2002-navajo-code-talker.cnn.html
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