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

Nez, Chester; Schiess Avila, Judith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0425244237 ISBN 13: 9780425244234

Publisher: Dutton Caliber, 2011

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, Chester Nez is the only one still alive. The original twenty-nine were the men who first devised the code, then proved it indispensable in combat.

In this memoir, the ninety-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 Author:

My friend, Navajo code talker Chester Nez, died on June 4, 2014, at the age of 93.  He was laid to rest in the National Cemetery in Santa Fe. To honor him, New Mexico flags were flown at half mast. Police closed the 55 miles of freeway leading from his funeral in Albuquerque to the cemetery, so the funeral cortege could pass. Drivers, pulled to the side of the highway, stood by the road saluting, while 400+ motorcycle honor guards followed the casket. A fine farewell for a humble man who was not even issued a birth certificate back in 1921.

I first met Chester in January, 2007, and recorded his stories for three years. Writing Chester's memoir changed both of our lives for the better. I gained a second family and a deeper understanding of a culture different from my own, and Chester was thrilled that readers would learn how he and his fellow Navajos, the WWII code talkers, helped their country win WWII.

This is a story that remained a secret for too long.  I hope that you will enjoy reading our book as much as we enjoyed writing it!!

The book's dedication says a lot about Chester's desire to have all code talkers recognized:

This book is dedicated to the 420 World War II Navajo Marine code talkers - men who developed and implemented an unbreakable communications system that helped ensure the American defeat of the Japanese in the Pacific War. 

When the war ended, other combatants were free to discuss their roles in the service and to receive recognition for their actions.  But the Marines instructed us, the code talkers, to keep our accomplishments secret. We kept our own counsel, hiding our deeds from family, friends and acquaintances.  Our code was finally declassified in 1968, twenty-three years after the war's end.

This book may be my story, but it is written for all of these men. 

May they and their loved ones walk in beauty.

About the Author:

Chester Nev is a World War II veteran who indispensably served his country as a Navajo code talker. He lives in New Mexico.
Judith Schiess Avila conducted three years of interviews with Chester Nez before committing his story to paper. She lives in New Mexico.
Code Talker won the New Mexico Press Women's Zia Award and the New Mexico/Arizona Book Award. NPR (National Public Radio) read the entire book on-air.

• Publisher: Dutton Caliber
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0425244237
• ISBN 13: 9780425244234
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320