Nicholas Cage did a movie about the code talkers, called Windtalkers.

The History Channel also did a documentary about these WWII heroes.

God speed to the final survivor....

Having spent time on the Navajo reservation in AZ and also having lived in New Mexico, we were lucky enough to have met a former code talker. He was a gentle man, who did his service, but said he did not want to live in the big cities after the war, bur rather returned to the culture he knew. He loved this country, but valued family highly. The kids used to be able to get a GI Joe Code Talker doll, but kids can't play with war items anymore, not politically correct. We met another Navajo veteran in New Mexico who also returned to the stable ways of the canyons of New Mexico. I was impressed how both men spoke of their duty, but were so gentle at heart. It is sad the code talkers are now gone, but the children should be taught of their contributions. They deserve that, and so do the children.

One of my favorite students was a granddaughter of one of the Code Talkers who was interviewed for the Windtalkers movie. They leave a fine legacy.

Despite the movie, despite anything on the History Channel, most young adults could not tell you which war even the Japanese were in.
I've seen enough of Watter's World to be convinced of that.

Sadly too few know of this history. While there was a degree of coercion there was much honor in what these men did.

I loved the story of the code talkers: the difference between deciphering a code and translating a language. Fascinating. We were very bright to do this, though it would not work again - the world is too small now, and information is to well distributed. There is no language that could be used for more than a single interaction before it was pinpointed and translated.

I am sorry the gentleman is gone.

Jan

It was a brilliant idea carried out by American Patriots. It might not work today, but it sure did then.

WWII was an amazing time, with amazing accomplishments.I have loved reading about it since a boy, perhaps inspired by my father who was disappointed in missing participation by a few years.

This one is another lesson in the value of diversity, and I don't mean hiring and not offending minorities in the workplace.

There are fewer and fewer WWII vets remaining every day. In not so many years, they will all be gone.

Whenever my wife and I are in a restaurant and I see a WWII vet eating, I pick up their tab. In appreciation for what they went through.

The most unfortunate aspect of the history of the code talkers is that godawful movie Windtalkers with Nicholas Cage. The only reason that the code talkers were in the movie was to provide a downtrodden minority group in the background for Cages charicter to save. I had high hopes for the movie but it was one of the more pathetic examples of a formulaic hollywood movie style known as the "magic negro" movie. It was in fact worse than the standard magic negro movie where the misunerstood minority is revealed to have a wonderful and special talent. In this movie the code speaking got almost no play. Cage just dressed up a code speaker as a Japanese soilder and used his resemblance to the hated enemy to complete the mission and make the formula white racists...which hollywood knows the army is full of...to respect the poor downtrodden minority. Of course if it wasn't for Cages charicter the codetalker charicter would not have been able to work his way out of a wet paper bag.

our Navajo sponsor-kid in NM, Joshua, carries on
the tradition of wonderful members of the u.s. -- hooray!!! -- j