Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussions of wartime violence and deaths, animal cruelty, and racist policies and behavior. The source text uses an outdated term for Indigenous people, which is replicated in this guide in quotes or as part of the official names of governmental organizations.

The prologue of Code Talker introduces Chester Nez, the last surviving member of the original 29 Navajo Marines who created a military code based on their native language during World War II. This code proved crucial to the United States’ victory over Japan in the South Pacific. The text notes a striking irony: Nez served a country that denied Native Americans in New Mexico voting rights, and the language he was once punished for speaking at boarding school became a vital military asset.

The book project evolved from a simple interview into a comprehensive memoir as co-author Judith Schiess Avila discovered the depth of Nez’s experiences. His story encompasses both his military service and his childhood on the “Checkerboard” territory—an area of mixed land ownership adjacent to the Navajo Nation—which exemplified the hardships many Navajo families faced, including food scarcity and lack of basic infrastructure.