Code talkers

The Navajo code talkers were put into English schools as children and were discouraged from speaking Navajo and participating in their customs. In fact, they were punished for it.

It was ironic because before the war, they were punished for speaking Navajo but it ended up being one of the things that helped the United States win the war. So afterwards, Americans were more accepting of it

Almost all the Navajo that fought in WWII were trained code talkers. They joined the war effort because they wanted to protect their ways of life and their homelands.

 They kind of constructed an alphabet using Navajo words for miscellaneous items such as animals and plants. They then sent these letters using Morris code.

When the code talkers returned home they did not receive a huge welcome, and no one knew of the things they did because they were told to keep it top secret just I case the government needed to use those tactics again. But eventually in the early 2000's they were awarded with medals for their bravery, even though there were only 5 of them alive.

Code Talkers 3.0

They were like any other children like us. They grew up like all of us, but they were forced to go to boarding school and it was like a military school very brutal. They were forced most of the time to make them like us Americans. They were trying to wipe out their language and make them forget their culture. 400 hundred Code Talkers and 1800 Navajo. They had to memorize 420 words or codes and the Japanese had a hard time figuring it out because the changed it a lot and they had Navajo language to. They didn't have any recognition because it was classified so the public didn't know so they couldn't give any support.

Navajo Code Talkers 4.0

1.          The Navajo Code Talkers were treated poorly. As they were children they were taken from there  home and brought to a boarding school and were forced to forget there language and culture. If they spoke Navajo there were punished and put polices not help .

2.          The Code Talker were treated better but still had some some problems such as military money and other resources

3. There were 400 Code talkers in the war.and they fought with the navy in the Pacific battle.

4. The code worked because it was one letter for some thing and another for another word and they had to memorize it.

Navajo code talkers

as children they went to boarding school. the boarding school was catholic, and small. they would have BBQ on sunday and would cook meat. also on thoughs days they would have to bring their own salt if they wanted the meat to taste good. when they heard about the attack on pearl harbor they felt a "metal anger creep into our minds"says Keith Little. people before WWII just didn't what them to speak it, they wanted everyone to be the same and speak they same language. but after and during they needed them to speak navajo,because japanese didn't know Navajo, so ironic. the code was in Navajo and for every letter in the alphabet they had a word. like for the letter G the code word would be goat then the Navajo word for goat. so every word they would say was written out by the first letter of they code word. so if they said snake, army, mountain, that would spell out sam. (just an example) when they returned home they didn't not get the welcome they deserved. they had to ride the bus to get back home. even their families didn't know what their job was. because they were not allowed to say what their job was. it took about 60 years after the war for them to be recognized for their service in 2001.

Navajo Code Talkers

Navajo Code talkers were once kids like us. hard to believe but they were. growing up was hard for them because as Keith Little said he was an orphaned and he thought he was a stranger to his own family. going to school was tough too, he was called dumb a lot. he also attended boarding school. he said that it was like a military school only they got punished. The Navajo language was frowned upon. at the boarding schools they tried to practically erasing their culture, language and just about everything else. until once the war began they all of a sudden are interested in the language. they(america) were technically hypocrites. about 1800 Native Americans fought in WW2  but only about 900 men returned . the code had to have the american alphabet, and the Navajo alphabet. there were about 420 words to be memorized. and only Navajo people could speak it. it worked very well because nobody could understand them except for the Navajo people. it helped them over all the radio work and was an all around great way to help win the war. The code talkers were not treated very well. they did not receive and medals, military help, veteran help. nothing. they were told to keep quiet for several months i believe. then even after that it took them several years to be awarded and recognized for their bravery.

Bataan Death March

During WWII 1800 New Mexican's from the National Guard were sent to the Philippines because commanders thought that the New Mexican soldiers would be beneficial in speaking to the natives of the islands since the language is a mixed Spanish form and most New Mexicans were fluent in Spanish. The reason Bataan is so widely remembered in Las Cruces today is because out of the 1800 that left to war, only 900 returned and they suffered in very dangerous conditions and cruel forms of punishment. Some of the cruel things they faced were the harsh and deadly attacks by the Japanese guards, unsanitary living conditions, and definitely a very large lack of food and medicine. The Bataan survivors are now in their 80s and 90s but they are still very respected, honored, and celebrated for their bravery for fighting for our country. I have met a Bataan survivor, Joe Sanchez, a couple of years ago... At that time I didn't know a whole bunch about how bad they had it but he clearly made it evident to me how bad he and his friends had it.. The way he told his story was almost like a movie in his mind that never would fade away, as he spoke I remember how he almost slipped into a whole different world. It makes me get a lump in my throat now that I realize that he isn't the same man he was before he went in to fight for his country.

The Bataan Survivors as of 2011 from New Mexico

The Bataan Death March... and Other Events

On December 8th, 1942, the Japanese bombed American bases in the Philippines, where American soldiers including New Mexicans were present. These soldiers had to face very difficult situations thereafter, including the Bataan Death March. They also had to go through ordeals such as extreme heat and malnutrition. This is the reason why Bataan is an important piece of history to the whole of New Mexico, and especially Las Cruces, where the Bataan Death March Memorial stands.

U.S. military personnel had to live through awful living conditions. Before the surrender to the Japanese, these conditions included disease, too little food, and ineffective defenses. After the surrender during the march, the soldiers had to experience extreme heat, too little food, and unprovoked beatings and killings. When the soldiers arrived at the camps, they also had to experience overcrowding, unappetizing and unsatisfying foods, and more disease. Many people died in these camps.

The Bataan survivors today are in their 80's and 90's. I have never met a Bataan survivor as far as I know, and I have not had a personal experience related to remembering the survivors.