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Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code
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Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII Hardcover - 2011

by Chester Nez; Judith Schiess Avila

The first and only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII-includes the actual Navajo Code and rare photos.

Although more than 400 Navajos served in the military during World War II as top-secret code talkers, even those fighting shoulder to shoulder with them were not told of their covert function. And, after the war, the Navajos were forbidden to speak of their service until 1968, when the code was finally declassified. Of the original twenty-nine Navajo code talkers, only two are still alive. Chester Nez is one of them.

In this memoir, the eighty-nine-year-old Nez chronicles both his war years and his life growing up on the Checkerboard Area of the Navajo Reservation-the hard life that gave him the strength, both physical and mental, to become a Marine. His story puts a living face on the legendary men who developed what is still the only unbroken code in modern warfare.


Summary

The first and only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII-includes the actual Navajo Code and rare photos.

Although more than 400 Navajos served in the military during World War II as top-secret code talkers, even those fighting shoulder to shoulder with them were not told of their covert function. And, after the war, the Navajos were forbidden to speak of their service until 1968, when the code was finally declassified. Of the original twenty- nine Navajo code talkers, only two are still alive. Chester Nez is one of them.

In this memoir, the eighty-nine-year-old Nez chronicles both his war years and his life growing up on the Checkerboard Area of the Navajo Reservation-the hard life that gave him the strength, both physical and mental, to become a Marine. His story puts a living face on the legendary men who developed what is still the only unbroken code in modern warfare.

From the publisher

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

Details

  • Title Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
  • Author Chester Nez; Judith Schiess Avila
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 320
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Dutton Caliber, New York
  • Date 2011-09-06
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780425244234 / 0425244237
  • Weight 1.2 lbs (0.54 kg)
  • Dimensions 9 x 6 x 1.2 in (22.86 x 15.24 x 3.05 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Library of Congress subjects United States, World War, 1939-1945
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2011023701
  • Dewey Decimal Code B

Media reviews

END

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.
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Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
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by Chester Nez; Judith Schiess Avila

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

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Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
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Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
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Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII (Signed by Chester Nez and Judith Schiess Avila)

by Nez, Chester; Schiess Avila, Judith

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SIGNED, FOURTH PRINTING (number line to 4). New York, Berkley Caliber, 2011. Signed by Chester Nez and the co-author Judith Schiess Avila on the Title Page with a brief inscription, 'To Helen". Chester Nez (1921 - 2014) was one of the original 28 Navajo US Marine Code Talkers. A Fine Book in a Fine Dust Jacket in a Brodart protective cover, Clean, no wear, no tears, not price-clipped ($26.95). Text Clean, no marks. Boards show no flaws, no bumps. Books are Carefully Packed and Shipped Daily with Delivery Confirmation from a Dry, Smoke-Free shop.
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