Chester Nez Timeline and Summary

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• Chester is shipped off to boarding school at the age of eight. He's sad to leave Grandmother's beautiful home in the Checkerboard.
• In the mid-1930s, on one of his breaks home from school, Chester witnesses the Great Livestock Massacre.
• Most of his family's livestock is destroyed under a government program aimed at reducing Navajo livestock. This is a huge blow to the family.
• In April 1942, Nez and some of his Navajo buddies—still in high school—decide to join up with the Marines, to help defend their country against the Japanese.
• In Camp Elliott in San Diego, Nez and his Navajo buddies begin developing the secret code that will be used in battle against the Japanese.
• In November 1942, Chester and other Navajo code talkers land on the island of Guadalcanal to take part in their first battle against the Japanese. Their code helps the Americans win the island.
• After taking part in the battles for the islands of Bougainville and Guam in the Pacific, Chester is sent to take part in the invasion of Peleliu in September 1944.
• This is the toughest battle of the Pacific campaign.
• Chester is discharged in 1945 after serving his tour, and he returns home to America and the Checkerboard.
• In 1950, Chester is called up as a Marine Reserve to fight in the Korean War. Thankfully, his tour is pretty light compared to the tour in the Pacific.
• Chester marries Ethel in early 1952, and they start a family.
• Sometime between 1968 and 1974, Chester and Ethel get a divorce
• Chester and the "original twenty-nine" code talkers are awarded a Congressional Gold Medal by President George W. Bush for their service during World War II.