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

“Navajo belief forbids contact with the dead, but we waded through floating bodies, intent on not becoming one of them. Close your mind, I told myself. I tried not to think about all those dead men, their chindí violently released from this life. I am a Marine. Marines move forward. I tried to make myself numb.”

This passage employs parallel structure in the short, declarative sentences “I am a Marine. Marines move forward,” emphasizing Nez’s attempt to suppress his cultural identity in favor of his military identity. The reference to chindí (spirits of the dead) juxtaposed with military terminology highlights the collision between Navajo spiritual beliefs and the brutal reality of warfare. The passage illustrates both The Advantages of Cultural Duality and The Navajo Heritage of Survival and Resilience  as Nez attempts to navigate this conflict by compartmentalizing his cultural beliefs to fulfill his duty as a Marine.

“The Navajo language has no word for actual death. They use the word ádin, which, roughly translated, means ‘no longer available.’ So Grandma and Father talked about how Mother had helped out with the sheep or tended a sick goat. We talked about her as though she was still there, just ‘unavailable.’”

This passage illustrates how language shapes cultural understanding and emotional processing. Nez employs linguistic analysis to demonstrate the profound difference between Navajo and Western approaches to death. By explaining that the Navajo language lacks a direct equivalent to the English word “death,” instead using ádin (meaning “unavailable”), Nez reveals how his native language frames loss as a state of temporary separation rather than permanent ending. He uses parallelism in the final two sentences to show how this linguistic feature manifests in daily conversation—moving from the abstract explanation to concrete examples of how his family spoke about his mother. This parallelism reinforces the seamless integration of language and lived experience in Navajo culture. The quotation marks around “unavailable” in the final sentence create ironic distance between the English translation and the fuller meaning of ádin, emphasizing how translation can only approximate the cultural concepts embedded in the original language.

“The Long Walk became a pivotal part of our oral tradition, and it is still discussed today as one of the great tragedies of Navajo history. But the Long Walk gave us Navajos a sense of shared history and a feeling of kinship that we might not otherwise have developed. It contributed to our feeling of being one people—the Diné—the Navajo Nation.”

Nez signals a significant rhetorical shift with the conjunction “But,” moving from tragedy to transformation. This transition emphasizes how the Navajo people reconstituted collective trauma into cultural cohesion, exemplifying the theme of The Navajo Heritage of Survival and Resilience. The repetition of collective terms (“shared history,” “kinship,” “one people”) also emphasizes how individual suffering became communal strength.

“It was at Fort Defiance that Kit Carson gathered the Diné for one of the darkest episodes in their history, the Long Walk to Fort Sumner. Years later it became a government school for Navajo children, one designed to rid them of the ‘burden’ of their culture and traditions. Looking back from today’s perspective, many former students feel the fort was a bad place for a school. They had bad dreams because of the many deaths and the bodies buried there.”

This passage employs ironic juxtaposition to highlight the federal government’s continued oppression of the Navajo people. Nez connects two seemingly separate historical moments—the forced relocation of the Navajo and the establishment of boarding schools—to demonstrate how both served as tools of cultural destruction. The use of scare quotes around “burden” emphasizes the government’s patronizing attitude toward Native American traditions while revealing the author’s criticism of this perspective. The reference to students’ nightmares creates a metaphorical bridge between past and present suffering. The physical presence of buried bodies serves as a literal and symbolic reminder of historical trauma, suggesting that the psychological impact of forced assimilation paralleled the physical violence of the Long Walk. This connection demonstrates the theme of The Navajo Heritage of Survival and Resilience as it shows how Navajo children faced not only the immediate challenges of boarding school life but also the weight of their people’s historical oppression.

“The new religion presented new ideas, differing in disquieting ways from the religion we had learned at home. The Navajo Right Way stressed the importance of a life in balance, a respect for all things as part of nature, even rocks and blades of grass. The Catholic Church stood in awe of God’s creation of the world, but did not feel the same kinship with nature that we Navajo children had been taught.”

Nez uses contrast to illustrate fundamental philosophical differences between Catholic and Navajo spiritual traditions. The adjective “disquieting” establishes an ominous tone that pervades the entire passage. Using parallel structure to compare the two belief systems, he highlights how each views humanity’s relationship with nature. The phrase “kinship with nature” versus standing “in awe” of creation demonstrates the conceptual gap between viewing nature as family versus viewing it as spectacle. This passage shows how Native American students had to navigate conflicting worldviews.

“The massacre killed more than livestock. It changed the dynamic between neighbors; it changed the meaning of hard work; it changed everything. After the Long Walk, the livestock massacre is considered the second great tragedy in Navajo history. A story now woven into oral tradition, the extermination is discussed wherever Navajos meet, so that like the Long Walk, it will never fade from memory.”

This passage employs anaphora through the repetition of “it changed” to emphasize the livestock massacre’s far-reaching consequences. The rhetorical structure builds from specific impacts to a sweeping declaration of total change, creating a crescendo effect that mirrors the scale of the devastation. By connecting this event to the Long Walk, Nez contextualizes the massacre within the broader pattern of federal policies that disrupted Navajo life. His reference to oral tradition highlights how the Navajo people preserve their historical trauma through storytelling, ensuring that each generation understands these pivotal moments. This passage exemplifies the theme of The Navajo Heritage of Survival and Resilience by showing how the Navajo community transformed a devastating experience into a cautionary tale that strengthens cultural memory and identity.

“We, like other Native Americans, had been born to the warrior tradition. Like other Navajos, we saw ourselves as inseparable from the earth we lived upon. And as protectors of what is sacred, we were both eager to defend our land.”

This quote illuminates the deep motivations behind Nez’s military service, expressing the themes of The Advantages of Cultural Duality and Service Despite Marginalization. The phrase “inseparable from the earth” uses metaphorical language to express the fundamental connection between Navajo identity and their ancestral lands. This spiritual and physical connection to the land transforms their military service from mere patriotic duty into a sacred obligation to protect their homeland. The term “sacred” bridges traditional Navajo spiritual beliefs with the concept of national defense, demonstrating how Nez and his fellow Code Talkers integrated their cultural values with military service. This integration exemplifies how they maintained their Navajo identity while adapting to serve in the U.S. military system.

“The officer wasted no time. He looked around the room at each of us, the twenty-nine carefully selected Marine recruits, and told us we were to use our native language to devise an unbreakable code. I read expressions of shock on every face. A code based on the Navajo language? After we’d been so severely punished in boarding school for speaking it?”

This passage highlights the themes of The Advantages of Cultural Duality as well as Service Despite Marginalization. The juxtaposition between the previous punishment for speaking Navajo and its newfound military value creates dramatic irony. Nez employs rhetorical questions to emphasize the startling reversal in how the American government viewed the Navajo language. The short, declarative sentences leading to these questions create a mounting tension that mirrors the Marines’ growing realization of their situation.

“The Navajo language is very exact, with fine shades of meaning that are missing in English. Our language illustrates the Diné’s relationship to nature. Everything that happens in our lives happens in relationship to the world that surrounds us. The language reflects the importance of how we and various objects interact.”

Nez demonstrates the theme of The Advantages of Cultural Duality by explaining how the Navajo language’s precision and connection to nature made it ideal for military communication. Nez employs parallel structure in the phrases “relationship to nature” and “relationship to the world” to emphasize the interconnectedness in Navajo thought. The use of the italicized term Diné—the Navajo word for their own people—amid English text symbolizes the cultural bridging that the code talkers achieved.

“Ironically enough, one of our staples was a bar of Fels-Naptha, the same brown soap we’d had our teeth brushed with in boarding school. We were expected to do our own laundry whenever we got a chance, using that lye soap.”

This quote illustrates the theme of Service Despite Marginalization through its bitter irony. The soap serves as a symbol connecting the oppressive boarding school experience to military service. Nez’s matter-of-fact tone in describing this connection underscores the continuing presence of boarding school trauma even as the Navajo men served their country. The specific brand name “Fels-Naptha” acts as a concrete detail that anchors the memory and emphasizes the historical authenticity of the account.

“Unfortunately, many trees were bomb-blasted, and we had to slash our way into the jungles with machetes, cutting vines and flowers. I always hated the feeling that we were destroying something really beautiful. Sometimes, when I was resting, I’d see monkeys come down from the trees. We men would feed them. During quiet periods, I often thought about those wonderful animals and flowers and wondered how they were going to survive the war. As a Navajo, I’d been taught to respect the earth, and the devastation made me feel sick.”

This passage juxtaposes Nez’s military duties with his traditional Navajo values. The description moves from destruction to compassion, using imagery of “bomb-blasted” trees and cut flowers contrasted with the gentle act of feeding monkeys. Nez employs sensory details and emotive language (“wonderful,” “beautiful,” “sick”) to convey his internal conflict between participating in necessary military operations and honoring his cultural teachings about environmental stewardship. The structure of the passage mirrors Nez’s thought process: It begins with physical descriptions of destruction, transitions to moments of connection with wildlife, and concludes with a statement of his Navajo identity. This progression emphasizes how his Indigenous worldview shapes his perception of war’s environmental impact. The final sentence explicitly connects his emotional response (“made me feel sick”) to his cultural background, demonstrating how his Navajo values remain central to his experience even in a non-Native military context.

“Panic tried to rise as I recognized a buddy lying dead on the beach. But I’d become an expert at numbing my thoughts and concentrating on the task at hand. I gritted my teeth and pressed my lips closed against the bile rising in my throat. I pushed down the scream of anger that wanted to burst from my chest. I was a Navajo, a Marine, a code talker. I would not dwell on death. I would not lose my concentration.”

This passage illustrates the themes of The Navajo Heritage of Survival and Resilience and The Advantages of Cultural Duality. Nez uses imagery to convey his visceral reaction to death, and he then demonstrates his psychological coping mechanism through parallel structure: “I would not dwell on death. I would not lose my concentration.” His self-identification includes three distinct aspects of his identity—Navajo, Marine, and code talker—showing how he has integrated these roles. The sequential listing suggests a progression from his foundational identity to his wartime roles.

“The killing fields. Our baptism. The word the drill instructors had used in basic training kept running through my head. Baptism. Baptism. Baptism.”

The repetition of “baptism” creates a hypnotic effect that mirrors the psychological state of a soldier under extreme stress. The juxtaposition of religious terminology (“baptism”) with warfare (“killing fields”) recalls the juxtaposition of religion and violence in Nez’s boarding school experiences. The italics emphasize the weight and irony of these words, emphasizing their lasting impact on Nez’s consciousness.

“My whole body went cold. After surviving Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, and Peleliu, would I die here, killed by an American soldier?”

This quote exemplifies the theme of Service Despite Marginalization. The irony of potentially dying at the hands of fellow Americans after surviving multiple Pacific battles underscores the racial prejudice Native American servicemen faced. The rhetorical question emphasizes the absurdity and injustice of the situation.

“Loud noises made me jump. I always felt uneasy. Even though, intellectually, I knew I was safe, my reflexes told me I could be shot at any second. A nurse or doctor dropped something, or a car backfired in the parking lot, and I’d be back on the islands, diving into a foxhole.”

Nez depicts post-traumatic stress through sensory details and the contrast between intellectual understanding and physical response. The present-to-past shift in the final sentence mimics the triggering effect of trauma, demonstrating how past experiences continue to intrude on present reality.

“We code talkers, forbidden to talk about the realities of our war, were largely denied that solace of getting everything out into the open. Even though I knew my family wanted to learn about what I’d faced, and even though I knew they would help me if they could, I couldn’t bring myself to talk about the limited things I was allowed to reveal.”

This quote illustrates Service Despite Marginalization. The imposed secrecy created an additional burden for code talkers beyond typical war trauma. Nez emphasizes the painful gap between his desire for connection and forced silence. The passage reveals how governmental restrictions complicated the veterans’ healing process and their reintegration into their communities.

“I was luckier than many. A lot of the code talkers, after gaining the respect of the Marines, figured they would be able to get that same respect back home in white society. But many couldn’t find jobs. That sometimes led to drinking. And the drinking spiraled into lost opportunities and vanished self-respect. Too many men died of the diseases—both mental and physical—exacerbated by alcohol. Penniless. But they didn’t give away the secret of the code talkers, even to save their own skins.”

Nez presents a stark contrast between military valor and civilian hardship to illustrate the tragic irony of the code talkers’ post-war lives. The staccato sentence structure mirrors the downward spiral many veterans experienced, with each brief statement representing another step in their decline. The passage exemplifies the themes of both Service Despite Marginalization and The Navajo Heritage of Survival and Resilience. The final sentence reveals these men’s profound dignity: Despite their struggles, they maintained their honor and loyalty by protecting wartime secrets. The phrase “even to save their own skins” emphasizes the depth of their commitment to military duty, even when society failed to reciprocate their loyalty.

“But fighting side by side with white men in the Marines had changed me. Like many Navajo military men, I expected to live in the white man’s world, to be accepted and treated with courtesy and respect as a contributing member of mainstream society.”

This quote captures the transformative impact of military service on Nez’s worldview and expectations. The phrase “fighting side by side” symbolizes the equality he experienced during combat, creating an expectation of continued equality in civilian life. The use of “white man’s world” instead of “American society” highlights the racial divide that persisted despite shared military service. This passage sets up the broader discussion of the disappointments many Native American veterans faced when returning to civilian life.

“With the release of the secrecy surrounding the Navajo code, I became a bit of a celebrity. That could be embarrassing. I know that I did my duty, nothing more. I had always lived by the Navajo custom which taught that no one should be treated as a hero for doing his duty.”

This passage illustrates the tension between American and Navajo values regarding recognition and heroism. The structure of these sentences creates a deliberate contrast: They first establish the American response (celebrity status), then immediately counter it with the Navajo perspective (duty). Nez employs understated language (“a bit of a celebrity,” “could be embarrassing”) to reinforce his cultural values. The repetition of the word “duty” emphasizes the Navajo conception of service as an obligation rather than an extraordinary act. This quote exemplifies how Nez navigated conflicting cultural expectations throughout his life.

“I wondered about the men who had died never having told their families that they were code talkers. Some of them had not been identified in their Marine records as being code talkers and so they received no recognition. How strange it must have felt to be a code talker and to die with that secret, knowing your family would never know.”

This reflection uses parallel structure to emphasize the lasting impact of secrecy on the code talkers’ lives, highlighting the theme of Service Despite Marginalization. The repetition of the word “never” in the lines “never having told” and “would never know” creates a haunting effect that underscores the personal cost of the men’s classified service. Nez’s use of empathetic imagination (“How strange it must have felt”) considers the emotional burden of maintaining such a significant secret until death. The mention of incomplete Marine records adds an institutional dimension to the personal tragedy, suggesting systemic oversights in recognizing Native American contributions to the war effort.

“I traveled all over for interviews, wearing my official code talkers’ uniform. A red peaked cap represented the Marines. A gold shirt, with a 3d Division patch on the arm, stood for corn pollen. Navajo jewelry showed respect for the Navajo people, the Diné. Light-colored pants recalled the earth and all of its inhabitants.”

This passage uses symbolism to illustrate the theme of The Advantages of Cultural Duality. Each element of the uniform serves as a metaphor that bridges military and Navajo identities. The symbolic meanings progress from explicitly military (Marine cap) to deeply spiritual (the symbolic connection to the earth), creating a hierarchy that subtly privileges Navajo cultural elements while acknowledging military service. This careful balance of symbolism parallels how Nez maintained his cultural identity while serving in and being honored by the U.S. military.

“Recalling the gold medal ceremony and the recognition following it, I can’t help but become reflective. When I was a little boy growing up, I didn’t know a word of English, and that was one thing I hungered to learn.”

Nez uses the narrative technique of temporal juxtaposition, contrasting his decorated present with his humble beginnings. The metaphorical use of “hungered” emphasizes the intensity of his childhood desire to learn English, suggesting both desperation and determination. This passage exemplifies the theme of The Advantages of Cultural Duality, highlighting Nez’s early recognition that mastering English would be crucial for his future. The reflective tone established by the gold medal ceremony frames his entire life story as one of transformation and achievement.

“I think about how, in my life, cultures have collided—the quiet of Navajo land giving way to military training, the strict order of military training exploding into the chaos of battle.”

Through carefully chosen contrasts—”quiet” versus “strict order” versus “chaos”—Nez creates a powerful image of cultural collision. The em dash functions as a literary pause, emphasizing the dramatic shift between worlds. The metaphorical use of “exploding” reinforces the violent nature of these cultural transitions. This passage illustrates both The Advantages of Cultural Duality and The Navajo Heritage of Survival and Resilience, showing how Nez navigated dramatic shifts between disparate worlds.