Warriors: Navajo Code Talkers

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 128 pages
• Published by: Northland
• Edition: 1st Edition July 25, 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0873585135
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0873585132
• Book Dimensions: 10.2 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Weighs: 1 pounds

Product Review
"When I was going to boarding school, the U.S. government told us not to speak Navajo," recalls Teddy Draper Sr. of Chinle, Arizona, "but during the war, they wanted us to speak it!" Speaking their native language--which the Japanese could not decode--Navajo soldiers were instrumental in U.S. marine victories in the Pacific during World War II, relaying vital information between the front lines and headquarters. Kenji Kawano, a native Japanese photographer whose black and white images of surviving "code talkers" are unusual for their sensitivity, notes with some irony that these soldiers were his father's enemies at one time.

Product Description
The American offensive in the Pacific during World War II [was] hampered by the Japanese ability to crack the most secret U.S. Codes. Navajo was virtually unknown outside the reservations, and [their] code proved uncrackable. Kenji Kawano's striking photographs capture the quiet dignity of the surviving veterans as they recall their actions --Los Angeles Times

Reader Reviews
"Windtalkers" was not the only cultural project to document a phenomenon about which more Americans should learn. Here is a book of actual pictures of Navajo veterans that served during World War II. The photos prove that there were more than just a few of them. Additionally, many of the men (and I don't recall seeing any Navajo women vets in this book) wear their veterans hats. This illustrates how many Native Americans are quite patriotic despite what the government did to their ancestors, and potentially still does with many tribes. There is a history of non-Natives photographing Natives which only serves to exoticize and de-humanize them. I doubt that's being done here; still, critical thinkers may want to be wary when evaluating this work. My one critique of this book is that there is very little text included. Besides photos, there is nothing much here. Still, I can't criticize a photographer for not being an academic. But be warned that this is just a coffee table book. I'd like to see more complex works being written about these brave individuals. Still, this was pretty excellent.