Code Talker Language and Communication Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

In Navajo, no equivalent for words like "fighter plane" existed. We chose animals and other items from our everyday world that resembled the military equipment […] "fighter plane" was represented by the […] hummingbird. (10.48)

Chester and his buddies draw on the natural environment of Navajo land to come up with the code. This is another way in which their cultural and environmental heritage comes in handy in helping the Marines beat the Japanese.

Quote #8

[E]xpert code breakers from the United States military were assigned the task of breaking our code. They tried for weeks, but not one man met with any success in breaking the Navajo code. (10.63)

It's one tough code that the Navajo Marines come up with. The fact that even American code breakers can't break the code shows us what a good job the Marines have done.

Quote #9

A runner approached, handing me a message written in English. It was my first battlefield transmission in Navajo code. I'll never forget it [...] Enemy machine-gun nest on your right flank. Destroy. Suddenly, just after my message was received, the Japanese guns exploded, destroyed by U.S. artillery. (12.42)

This is the first time that Chester uses the code and witnesses it in action. It works! Chester will never forget this moment because it's the first time he sees all of his (and the other Navajo Marines') work paying off.