Navajo Code Talkers

[JHarold]

Navajo Code Talkers

August 14th is National Code Talkers Day
This day is to honor them for their critical contribution they
made during and after the war. This observance began in 1982

Chester Nez was the last surviving member of the original code talkers.
He died at the age of 93 in June 2014

may God bless them all.

[Grizz]

Yes, and their descendants. They made huge sacrifices, and I imagine their families are still affected by that.

[7.62 Precision]

And the movie uncovered something that linguists and anthropologists missed for years.

When it came out, some Tlingets were surprised to hear that the actors were speaking Tlinget instead of Navajo. They began trying to figure out who the actors were, since no one had heard about any Tlinget actors. Turns out the actors actually were speaking Navajo, and the Tlingets and others with similar languages could understand them.

[Old Ironsights]

Wow. I didn't know that, and I studied Linguistics at UAA in the 90s...

Gotta check my notes...

[Old No7]

I recall traveling on business maybe 6 to 8 years ago, and there were 2 or 3 elderly men wearing WWII Code Talkers ballcaps sitting with their wives in an airport out west (Dallas or Phoenix, I think). We wanted to respect their privacy, but several of us also thought it would be nice to speak with them.

One of their wives spoke with us briefly as we approached, and she said they were very tired and were now returning home from a Code Talkers reunion. Still, she escorted us over to them so we could briefly shake their hands and say "thank you". They smiled with appreciation as we did this.

I believe they were proud -- yet not boastful -- of what they'd done. We didn't get to engage them in conversation, which could have been really neat. But at least we got to recognize them for their service, and I think the wives appreciated that just as much. It was a pretty cool moment.

Old No7

[williamranks]

They are similar languages. I never knew that.

http://www.native-languages.org/famath_words.htm

[Rusty]

I don't think the true value of their sacrifice will ever be known or rewarded.

[Old Ironsights]

They are similar languages. I never knew that.

http://www.native-languages.org/famath_words.htm

Of course it makes sense... Bering sea Land Bridge and all that, but I would have thought drift would have changed them to unrecognizability.

[JHarold]

Old no 7

that would have been the experience of a lifetime.

I envy you. and thank your for paying your respects to
those Hero's.

[M. M. Wright]

I think there were some Choctaw code talkers too. Anyone else remember anything about that

[Gaucho Gringo]

My father a Marine who spent over two years overseas had nothing but good things to say about them. The performed gallantly for a nation that had no respect for them or cared whether they lived or died for over 150 years. Similar parallels can be drawn of the American born Japanese who served in Europe because the US did not trust their loyalty and the black servicemen who were mainly looked down upon and were treated as the same way as they were in the US.