NAVAJO 'WORD WARRIORS' GET THEIR DUE.Byline: DENNIS MCCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Ask Tom Begay and Alfred Peaches how old they are, and they tell you they don't really know. Around 76, they figure. ``My parents didn't go to school, read or write,'' Begay says. ``They weren't sure exactly when I was born.'' ``My parents just guessed at a date,'' Peaches agreed Wednesday, as he packed his bags. That's how it was back in the 1930s and '40s on Navajo Indian reservations in New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). and Arizona, where Begay and Peaches were raised. Every kid's parents were dirt poor and uneducated. But these young Navajo boys, who came of age during World War II, turned out to possess something the richest people in this country couldn't buy or learn - an unwritten LAW, UNWRITTEN, or lex non scripta. All the laws which do not come under the definition of written law; it is composed, principally, of the law of nature, the law of nations, the common law, and customs. language. It was to the Navajo reservations - where kids like Begay and Peaches didn't even know for sure how old they were - that the greatest minds in the country went nearly 60 years ago to find something they couldn't find themselves. A secret code the Japanese wouldn't be able to break as they fought U.S. Marines on islands and atolls in the South Pacific. ``The Navajo language Navajo or Navaho (native name: Diné bizaad) is an Athabaskan language (of Na-Dené stock) spoken in the southwest United States by the Navajo people (Diné). is unwritten, the only one that cannot be spoken unless you were born here and used it from early life,'' Begay said in a phone conversation as he prepared to drive to the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. from his home on the Navajo reservation in Window Rock, Ariz. Begay, Peaches and their wives are being put up in a local motel for a couple of days by the League of U.S. Marine Corps Combat Veterans, which will honor them Friday at Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor, land-locked harbor, on the southern coast of Oahu island, Hawaii, W of Honolulu; one of the largest and best natural harbors in the E Pacific Ocean. In the vicinity are many U.S. military installations, including the chief U.S. Day memorial ceremonies. Just as many other young men did in this country back on Dec. 7, 1941, those on the Navajo reservations went to their local recruitment office and enlisted in the service. Raising their right hand, they swore they were 17 years old - not caring whether it was true when they signed up. So when the Marines landed at Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (ē`wō jē`mə, ē`wô), Jap. Io-jima, volcanic island, c.8 sq mi (21 sq km), W Pacific, largest and most important of the Volcano Islands. Mt. , it was young Navajo men like Begay and Peaches on the radios from different locations on the beaches, relaying information about the enemy's positions and firepower in a code the Japanese never did break. ``There's no telling how many Marines in World War II owe their lives to these Navajo Code Talkers,'' said Sam Cordova Cordova, Spain: see Córdoba. , commander of the USMC Combat Veterans. ``They deserve all the attention and credit they are finally getting after all these years,'' he said. Next June, a major movie - ``Windtalkers,'' starring Nicolas Cage - is scheduled to be released, telling the story of the Navajo Code Talkers who served in the Marine Corps as radiomen, talking a language only they knew. ``During the first 48 hours while we were landing and consolidating our shore positions, I had six Navajo radio networks operating around the clock,'' said retired Maj. Howard Conner, signal officer of the Fifth Marine Division at Iwo Jima. ``In that period alone, they sent and received over 800 messages without an error. Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima,'' he said. The Code Talkers - ultimately about 420 young Navajo men who served in World War II - memorized specific Navajo words for each of the 26 letters in the English alphabet The modern English alphabet consists of the 26 letters[1] of the Latin alphabet: Majuscule Forms (also called uppercase or capital letters) A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Minuscule Forms (also called . Nothing was ever written down. When the war ended, the men went back to their reservations with orders not to tell anyone about the code in case it had to be used again in another military conflict. It never was. ``It feels good, after all these years, to have people come up to us and thank us,'' Peaches said. ``Most of the country never even knew we existed.'' Peaches and a few other Code Talkers - about 200 of them are still alive - had just returned last week after being honored in a Rochester, N.Y., ceremony. If you want to meet the guys and honor them personally, stop by the ceremony at 1 p.m. Friday at the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center, 6337 Balboa Blvd., Encino. Earlier Friday, at 10 a.m., American Legion American Legion, national association of male and female war veterans, founded (1919) in Paris. Membership is open to veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Post 193 will hold its sixth annual Veterans Memorial Service at Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks Veterans Memorial Park, 14201 Huston St., Sherman Oaks. Representatives from the Pearl Harbors Survivors Association as well as other veterans organizations will be there, along with guest Congressman Brad Sherman Bradley J. "Brad" Sherman (born October 24 1954) is an American politician. He has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing California's At-large congressional district. , D-Woodland Hills. But the real guests of honor will be the two guys who fought City Hall six years ago to make this long-overdue memorial happen for all vets in the Valley - Bob Myers and Norman Berney. The two World War II vets dug up some old records that showed that the land for the public park that runs along Van Nuys Boulevard had been turned over to the city more than 50 years ago by veterans groups with the proviso A condition, stipulation, or limitation inserted in a document. A condition or a provision in a deed, lease, mortgage, or contract, the performance or non-performance of which affects the validity of the instrument. It generally begins with the word provided. that a war memorial to all service veterans be erected. It never happened. Bob and Norm, as I detailed in a 1996 column, went to war with the city and made it happen. They didn't talk in any code. They talked in plain English Plain English (sometimes known, more broadly, as plain language) is a communication style that focuses on considering the audience's needs when writing. It recommends avoiding unnecessary words and avoiding jargon, technical terms, and long and ambiguous sentences. . A promise is a promise, they said. Build the damned thing. And the city did. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Sam Cordova, left, and Joe Strifler will host Navajo Code Talkers on Friday at the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center in Encino. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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