Congratulations to the winner of the previous giveaway, the Indigenous Cookbook, Mollie T. from Missouri!
Enter for your chance to win our next giveaway below before Midnight on September 1, 2021!
See the rules page for more details.
Win the novel Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII. Chester Nez was a World War II veteran who indispensably served his country as a Navajo code talker. His book features retelling accounts about how the Japanese managed to crack every code the United States used during World War II. 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.1
History about The Navajo Code Talkers
In 1942, 29 Navajo men (known as 'the first 29') joined the U.S. Marines and developed an unbreakable code that would be used across the Pacific to help win World War II. They were the Navajo Code Talkers.
What is a code talker?
A code talker is a name given to American Indians who used their tribal languages to send secret communications on the battlefield. The US developed the idea that using American Indians who were fluent in both their traditional tribal language and in English, could be beneficial for sending secret messages in battle. In World War II the US military developed a specific policy to recruit and train American Indian speakers to become code talkers. Today, Native Americans make up over 19% of the military, being the highest ethnicity to join and serve. 2
How did Native Americans contribute to the war efforts for the Allies?
Most code talkers were assigned in pairs to a military unit. During battle, one person would operate the portable radio while the second person would relay and receive messages in the Native language and translate them into English. Their work was highly dangerous especially in the Pacific, code talkers had to keep moving as they transmitted their messages. The work of hundreds of code talkers was essential to Allied victory in World War II, and they were present at many important battles, including at Utah Beach during the D-Day invasion in France and at Iwo Jima in the Pacific. In fact, 5th Marine Division signal officer Major Howard Connor stated, “Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.”3
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1 https://https://www.amazon.com/Code-Talker-Memoir-Original-Talkers/dp/0425247856/ref=pd_lpo_1?pd_rd_i=0425247856&psc=1
2 https://www.veteranaid.org/blog/native-american-veterans-5-facts-you-may-not-know/
3 https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/american-indian-code-talkers
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