Navajo Weapon: The Navajo Code Talkers

Sally McClain discussed her book Navajo Weapon: The Navajo Code Talkers, published by Rio Nuevo Publishers. The book tells the story of the U.S. Marine Corps recruitment of young Navajo men to create a secret code within a code, using the native language that many of them had once been forbidden to speak. According to Ms. McClain, the unbreakable code helped save countless American lives and earned the Navajo Code Talkers the respect of their comrades-in-arms. During World War II, the Navajo Code Talkers played decisive roles in the Pacific Theater and helped to turn the tide in several battles, including Cape Gloucester, New Britain, Saipan, Guam, and Iwo Jima. Based on first-person accounts, correspondence and Marine Corps documents, the book includes important details of the way the code was created, the original code dictionary, historic military documents and 54 rare photographs and maps. A question and answer period followed Ms. McClain’s remarks. close