60 pages • 2 hours read
Judith Schiess Avila, Chester NezCode Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2013A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 12-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 12 Summary: “The Secret Code Passes Muster”
In early November 1942, Nez and his fellow code talker Roy found themselves in foxholes on Guadalcanal, enduring nightly bombing raids from Japanese aircraft nicknamed “Midnight Charlie.” The code talkers carried standard military equipment plus medical supplies, including sulfur powder for wound treatment.
Lieutenant Hunt, who was initially skeptical of the Navajo code, conducted a test comparing it to the traditional “Shackle” code system. A message estimated to require four hours using the conventional method took the code talkers only two and a half minutes to transmit accurately. This demonstration convinced Hunt of the code’s effectiveness, though some communication officers initially mistook the Navajo transmissions for enemy broadcasts.
The code talkers established protocols for their messages, including identifying phrases and time stamps. They developed contingency plans for capture scenarios and coordinated with runners who delivered combat information from the front lines. Their messages enabled precise artillery strikes against enemy positions, though they frequently needed to relocate to avoid becoming targets themselves.
Working in pairs, the code talkers operated their radios continuously for extended periods, often exceeding 24 hours without rest. They transmitted crucial information about troop movements, casualty numbers, and supply needs while maintaining perfect accuracy despite exhaustion and combat conditions. The complex terrain of Guadalcanal made their role particularly vital for coordinating artillery support without endangering American troops.
The success of the code talkers’ system proved especially valuable in close combat situations, enabling rapid communication that the previous encryption methods could not match. Their ability to transmit precise coordinates and immediate battlefield intelligence significantly enhanced the effectiveness of American military operations in Guadalcanal.
Chapter 13 Summary: “We Must Take Mount Austen”
Nez describes the grueling battle for Mount Austen on Guadalcanal, focusing on the psychological and physical toll of prolonged combat. The First Marine Division faced dual adversaries: exhaustion and Japanese forces. Nez depicts the signs of mental deterioration among soldiers, including disconnected speech patterns and vacant stares, indicating severe battle fatigue.
The difficult conditions included continuous rain and widespread malaria. The Marines found brief respite in shared moments of camaraderie, drinking military-issued beer and creating improvised alcohol. The code talkers worked in pairs to maintain accuracy in their vital communications, supporting each other through extended periods of sleep deprivation.
Relief arrived in December 1942 when Major General Alexander Patch assumed command. The Second Marine Division, joined by their Sixth Regiment, remained to continue operations, while the First Marine Division departed for rest and recuperation in Australia. The code talkers received recognition for their successful work, as their transmissions remained unbroken by Japanese forces.
Chapter 14 Summary: “Bougainville”
The invasion of Bougainville began on November 1, 1943, as part of Operation Cartwheel. This two-pronged offensive aimed to neutralize the Japanese naval base at Rabaul, New Britain. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz directed Allied forces through the Solomon Islands toward Bougainville, while General Douglas MacArthur led forces along New Guinea’s northeast coast.
The Marines encountered treacherous landing conditions at Cape Torokina, with hazardous black sand and scattered quicksand. Despite these challenges, the U.S. forces successfully captured the cape due to the Japanese concentration of forces at the northern and southern airfields. The American strategy of misdirection proved effective, as preliminary bombardments led the Japanese to expect landings at either end of the island.
The Japanese mounted a significant counteroffensive in March 1944 under General Hyakutake, leading to 17 days of intense combat. Despite fierce resistance, including hand-to-hand fighting, the American forces maintained control of their three newly constructed airfields at Torokina. The battle resulted in over 1,000 American and 7,000 Japanese casualties, with the Americans securing Bougainville by April 1944.
Chapter 15 Summary: “Onward to Guam”
After Bougainville, the Third Marine Division regrouped on Guadalcanal, which had been transformed into a training base. The code talkers expanded their vocabulary to accommodate new weapons and tactics, including terms for innovations like the bazooka, which they coded as ah-zhol (stovepipe in Navajo).
The invasion of Guam began on July 21, 1944, following 13 days of preliminary bombardment. The Third Marine Division landed north of Apra Harbor to capture the Japanese naval yard, while the Army’s 77th Division and First Provisional Marine Brigade landed to the south to secure the Orote Peninsula and its airfield.
The Americans faced significant resistance, including a well-organized Banzai attack led by Lieutenant General Takashina. The Navajo code proved crucial in coordinating defensive responses and supply requests. By August 10, 1944, Japanese resistance officially ended, though isolated soldiers continued emerging from the island’s ridges for months afterward. The chapter emphasizes the stark contrast between American and Japanese treatment of prisoners and civilians, with Nez noting the proper care provided to Japanese prisoners and local Chamorro people by U.S. forces.
Chapter 16 Summary: “Peleliu and Angaur
In September 1944, Nez participated in Operation Stalemate, the American invasion of Peleliu, a small but strategically significant island in the Palau chain. The Japanese had fortified Peleliu with an intricate network of caves and tunnels that American reconnaissance failed to detect. Despite intense pre-invasion bombardment, the Japanese defensive positions remained largely intact when American forces landed.
The initial landing proved extraordinarily difficult. Nez and his fellow Marines faced intense fire while struggling through coral reefs and deep water to reach the beach. Once ashore, they confronted extreme conditions: temperatures reaching 110 degrees, severe water shortages, and constant enemy fire from concealed positions. The Americans gained control of the airfield but found it unusable due to continuous Japanese attacks from nearby ridges.
During a mission on the nearby island of Angaur, Nez and his fellow code talker Francis faced a dangerous encounter with their own forces. Two American soldiers mistook them for Japanese infiltrators in stolen uniforms and held them at gunpoint. Only the intervention of a communications officer, who verified their identities, prevented a potential tragedy. This incident highlighted the racial prejudices and dangers that Native American servicemen sometimes faced from their own comrades.
As combat continued, Nez witnessed horrific casualties among both American and Japanese forces. The Japanese defenders, commanded by Colonel Nakagawa, utilized their tunnel network effectively, making each advance costly for the Americans. The battle’s intensity prompted the deployment of Army units to reinforce the Marines. While American forces eventually secured the island, isolated Japanese soldiers continued fighting for years after the war officially ended.
The battle exacted a devastating toll: 1,500 Americans died, with 6,700 wounded or missing. Nearly 11,000 Japanese defenders perished. This conflict marked a significant point in Nez’s wartime experience, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Navajo code while revealing the brutal nature of Pacific island warfare. During this period, Japanese forces began actively trying to break the Navajo code, leading the Marines to assign bodyguards to protect the code talkers.
Chapter 17 Summary: “No Hero’s Welcome”
After leaving Peleliu, Nez returned to Guadalcanal to prepare for the invasion of Iwo Jima. However, having accumulated sufficient service points, he received orders to return home instead of participating in that battle. His journey back to civilian life began with a stay at a Naval Hospital in San Francisco, during which he struggled with what would now be recognized as post-traumatic stress disorder. In the hospital, Nez observed many fellow veterans suffering from similar psychological effects of combat, with some completely unable to function. The transition from constant combat readiness to civilian life proved particularly challenging, as he found himself startled by ordinary noises and plagued by intrusive thoughts.
Upon returning to New Mexico, Nez encountered discrimination despite his military service. A civilian administrator at a federal building reminded him that Native Americans could not vote in New Mexico, leading to a tense confrontation that highlighted the paradox of fighting for a country that denied him basic rights. After celebrating his return with his brother in Albuquerque for several weeks, Nez traveled home to his family’s traditional lands. His homecoming proved bittersweet, as he could not share the true nature of his wartime service due to the continuing secrecy surrounding the code talker program.
The psychological impact of combat continued to affect Nez after his return. His family recognized his spiritual imbalance, manifested through persistent nightmares and visions of deceased Japanese soldiers, and arranged for an Enemy Way ceremony, a traditional Navajo healing ritual. The four-day ceremony involved complex preparations, including obtaining personal items from deceased Japanese soldiers to serve as ritual objects. A hand trembler diagnosed the specific spiritual ailments afflicting Nez, and a medicine man conducted the intricate ceremony, which included sand paintings, chants, and communal participation. The ceremony succeeded in helping Nez process his war experiences and restore his spiritual equilibrium, demonstrating the enduring power of traditional Navajo healing practices.
Chapters 12-17 Analysis
These chapters chronicle the brutal island-hopping wartime campaign from 1942 to 1945 that Nez and the other Navajo code talkers were part of. This included the battles of Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Peleliu, and others. Nez provides both strategic military insights and personal observations, detailing how the Navajo code proved instrumental in major operations. As he notes when quoting a Tokyo newspaper from after the war, “if the Japanese Imperial Intelligence Team could have decoded the Navajo message […] the history of the Pacific War might have turned out completely different” (228).
The tension between traditional Navajo life and modern warfare forms a unique framework for understanding the code talkers’ experience. The Advantages of Cultural Duality appear throughout the text in subtle yet profound ways. Nez describes carrying both modern military equipment and traditional medicine bags. He recounts how he “felt inside [his] ammo pouch. The packet of bullets was soaking wet. But they, too, would fire” (137). Then, “[inside] the medicine bag, [his] finger touched the pollen, a velvety-smooth powder. It hadn’t stayed dry—nothing had during the landing—but it was safe. Good” (138). This passage highlights his relief that the markers of his dual identity as an American soldier and a Navajo man—the bullets and the pollen—had both survived his grueling journey, emphasizing how both identities are equally important to him. This duality extends to language itself, with Nez switching between English, the classified Navajo code, and his native tongue. The memoir reveals how this cultural flexibility became a strategic advantage, allowing the code talkers to operate effectively in military contexts.
The harsh conditions of the Pacific campaign tested human endurance to its limits, revealing how The Navajo Heritage of Survival and Resilience shaped the code talkers’ experience. Nez describes the particularly grueling battle of Peleliu, saying: “Victory had cost the United States dearly. In terms of deaths per number of fighting men, Peleliu had the highest casualty rate of the South Pacific War” (22). He details the struggle of trying to survive without adequate water supplies, especially since “the coral rock that the island was made of seemed to absorb and magnify the heat” (209). Despite these arduous conditions, the code talkers maintained critical communications, even when they were under constant enemy fire. The memoir emphasizes both their physical and psychological endurance. Nez writes: “We’d been raised to suffer silently” (192). He portrays this stoic resilience as reflecting both military training and Navajo cultural values.
The complex relationship between Native American servicemen and the United States government underlies much of the narrative. Despite facing systemic discrimination back home in the United States, the Navajo code talkers embody Service Despite Marginalization and are unwaveringly dedicated to their mission. Upon returning home, Nez encountered a stark reminder of discriminatory attitudes toward Indigenous people when a civilian official told him, “You’re not a full citizen of the United States, you know. You can’t even vote” (231). The irony of this treatment is highlighted by military assessments of the code talkers’ service, such as Signal Corps Commanding Officer G.R. Lockard’s statement that “As general duty Marines, the Navajos are without peers… Navajos make good Marines, and I should be very proud to command a unit composed entirely of these people” (198). Nez presents many excerpts such as these, which provide a stark contrast to the treatment many code talkers received after the war.
Nez uses a distinct narrative voice that combines military precision with a storytelling approach that reflects Navajo cultural values. His descriptions of battle are full of visceral imagery. For instance, he writes: “Bullets hitting around us kept the level of noise high, but that didn’t keep us from hearing incoming messages” (142). He maintains his emotional distance while describing stressful events and stoically reports the details of both active combat and the aftermath, writing: “Still, our smell couldn’t begin to compete with the stench of dead bodies. In the heat, bodies began to decompose within a couple of hours, and despite liberal sprayings of DDT, the flies and maggots had a field day” (181).
As Avila mentions in the prologue, Nez’s style of storytelling—positioning his experiences as matter-of-fact details about his job—reflects not only his military training but also his cultural values. She says that “traditionally, Navajos are private people. They don’t seek praise or applause when one has simply done his duty” (14). Exemplifying this, Nez uses a measured tone even during moments of emotional revelation, such as his description of post-war trauma: “The Japanese enemy populated my dreams, continuing to plague me even when I was awake. Our invasions of hostile islands played like an endless film in my head, with me and my buddies exposed to enemy fire as we struggled toward the beach” (235). Meanwhile, the narrative architecture balances chronological progression with cultural context and personal reflection. Chapters move forward through major military operations while incorporating explanatory sections about code-talking procedures and Navajo traditions. This layered approach provides both historical documentation and cultural understanding.
