Code Talker Stories

by Laura Tohe, Deborah O'Grady (Photographer)

The Navajo language helped win World War II, and it lives on in this book, as the Code Talkers remember the war and reflect on the aftermath and the legacy they will leave behind. The veterans, able to speak to a daughter of one of their own in English and Navajo, truly shared from their hearts. They not only provided more battlefield details, but they also reveal how their war experiences affected themselves and the Navajo generations that followed.

Genres: Indigenous, Biography, World War II, Native American

264 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2012

Reviews

[Colleen Villasenor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is primarily a collection of interviews conducted in both English and Navajo. The author tracked down many of the living Code Talkers and some of the children and grandchildren of those no longer living. I was touched by the author's sensitivity in each of her interviews. Almost everyone starts with the traditional introduction that includes stating all the clan affiliations. The stories include many of the lives of the Code Talkers before and after their service. These men were all survivors of a brutal boarding school system and a harsh reservation life that gave them both the skills and endurance needed to help them excel in the military. I was also impressed by how many were able to deal with the aftermath of war by using traditional methods. Many of them carried corn pollen and found ways to say their traditional prayers. Though they all had similar experiences, there were also several variations, particularly when it came to bodyguards as portrayed in the movie Windtalkers. I was also surprised to find out that the Code Talker G.I. Joe doll had the voice of an actual Code Talker, Dr. Samuel Billison. The book concludes with a poem by the author that was written to honor the Code Talkers. Some of my favorite lines follow.

"When the call came barely 16 year boys still without facial hair signed away the last of their boyhood and stepped into uncertain manhood for a country that had always taken, removed, and stolen Indian lives."

"Back at boarding school teachers told to forget our language. Don't speak Navajo. Speak only English. They want us to speak only the language of the enemy because they want us to forget who we are. Now, in this war that carries us across the big water we are armed with our language. Our tongues will form the shapes and sounds of Bougainville, Guadalcanal, Suribachi, Saipan. Iwo Jima will teach us a new song."

"With hardship a way of life at home, we survived military life.
With Dine Bizaad (Navajo) we were armed.
With Dine Bizaad we went into battle."

[Reed Fagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to rate a collection of first- and second-hand narratives, but these stories are certainly fascinating and mostly quite well-told, even by men in their late eighties. A great picture into the values of the Navajo people of the 1940s and their modern-day descendants. Also exposes the blindness of white Americans who desired the Navajo to speak English and punished their students when they didn't and then months later found their country's fate in the hands and tongues of Navajo men. I find myself grateful to these men and grateful for this book. May many read it.

[Reetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Code Talker Stories is an informative book in terms of the experience of the Navajo Code Talkers. "Stories" is indeed the best way to describe the chapters here - each begins with a short introduction by Tohe to the Code Talker or family member spoken to and how/where she met them to speak. Those beautifully written intros are a great way of tying everything together without manipulating the voices of those telling the stories, reordering or rewriting them. Though sometimes it's difficult to follow the train of thought of particularly the older storytellers, it's worth slight struggles to have these voices presented so plainly and honestly. Even though I have no understanding of Navajo, the reader can appreciate that this is a book for a community, where outsiders are also welcome to look in.

[Bea Elwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

My grandfather was at Iwo Jima and passed away last year, I can't help but think of the great loss of their stories to future generations. That's why I really appreciated this book of oral stories collected from the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. My one complaint was that it seemed like the author spent hours listening to these men tell their stories but within the book there was just a few pages dedicated to each one. I could have read more.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

collection of interviews with Navajo code talkers . several similar stories but still interesting to see why and how these men became 'radiomen'. they didn't even know they were 'code talkers' and weren't allowed to talk about their work until years later. proud of these guys.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book with the anticipation of crossing through some Navajo areas during my travels this summer. I hope to be able to stop in Window Rock at the Code Talker Memorial in a few weeks, and I want to be prepared with a little knowledge of their history. Hopefully someday I will make it up to the museum. This is a difficult book to stick with. The stories are not riveting; the script is exactly the words that the code talkers speak to the interviewer. But I can appreciate their value today. It has also served as a launching point for me into some deeper research and interest.
I feel as if this book gives some rare outside glimpse into the Navajo culture. Many portions of the book are in Navajo-with English translation alongside. There are few details here, just a quick general story of how each person interviewed was raised, how they came to be in the Marines, a brief glimpse at their service and their thoughts and feelings since the war. A few of the stories don't make much sense-perhaps because of the age of the individual being interviewed. I appreciate that the author did not try to alter any of the stories (every now and then there was a slight correction). Through reading the book I came to recognize the beauty of their culture. Many of the Code Talkers received a ceremony or blessing prior to leaving and then again upon returning from the war. I come from a culture that also gives blessings and I appreciated that many of the Code Talkers spoke of its importance in both protecting them and healing them when they returned home-as I have felt something similar in my life.
I think that the author took the time to actually put this together is what is most amazing. Very few of us document our own histories, thinking that in our day to day there is nothing of value to our posterity. But as we look back on history we find that these things are priceless and most people would give everything they have to be able to read some sort of record of those family members they were close to. I have 2 grandfathers that served in wars, one in WWII and the other in Korea; and although I have a few things that were kept from their service, I have no details of what they experienced or how they contributed. This book must be a tremendous blessing to the family members of those who agreed to be interviewed.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book relates an important part of history through the eyes of the Navajo code talkers. The author interviews the aging code talkers and lets them tell their stories in their own words. These men joined the marines after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many of them were under 18. The original 29 code talkers created an unbreakable code that was used in the Pacific battles of WWII against Japan. They saw great danger. Those interviewed were not the original 29 but followed soon after them. Without exception these men were very patriotic and dedicated to their service. They did not reveal the secrets of the code until many years later when President Reagan recognized them for the heroes they were. Because these men were well into their 80s when interviewed, some of their stories are rambling narratives, but their feelings come through. The author is the daughter of a code talker so she assembled these stories with great respect.

[Darryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps the most authentic book ever written on the Navaho Code Talkers from WWII. The author of the book is the daughter of a Code Talker and from 2009-2010, when many of them were still alive, she interviewed several dozen still living in Arizona on the Navaho reservation. The only drawback is that many of them rambled (due to their advanced age) and didn't make a lot of sense, but some of them I found very interesting.

[shanzo Noji · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating. I watched Windtalkers when it first came out, I had no idea about the existence of this in WWII. I was fascinated and happy to hear that such a complex language by the Navajo was being utilized and these brave men fought for their native country despite what they have been through.

[Maxine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valuable history here, in the words of some of the men who made it. Makes me want to hear spoken Navajo more than ever.
I've rated it 4 instead of 5 stars because the minimal editing makes it a challenging read for me.

[Mills College Library]

940.54597 T645 2012

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt it was pretty repetitive, most of the individual stories seemed almost exactly the same. Hardly anything was mentioned about the actual code talkers military service.

[Bob Nedderman · Rating 5 out of 5]

As valuable for its insight into the lives and character of these men and their families as for their wartime experiences.

[Rio Nuevo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Navajo language helped win world War II, and it lives on in this book, as the Code Talkers remember the war and reflect on the aftermath and the legacy they will leave behind. The veterans, able to speak to a daughter of one of their own in English and Navajo, truly shared from their hearts. They not only provided more battlefield details, but they also reveal how their war experiences affected themselves and the following generations.

[Torah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been very interested in the Navajo Code Talkers since I first learned about them while in school. This is the first book I have read on these men, and I found their interviews and stories very poignant. I am very glad that I found this book. I can't praise it enough. I hope that I can incorporate it into my lesson plans sometime in the future; I think that it would be a very valuable resource for students' learning about this topic.