Code Talker - Book Summary

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac Chapter 1: Sent Away Six-year-old Kii Yahzi is a Navajo Indian boy. He finds out that he will be sent to live at a mission school, where he will be taught how to live like a normal citizen of the United States. Chapter 2: Boarding School Arriving at the mission school is Kii Yahzi. Many other children his age from the Navajo community join him. Mr. O'Sullivan is the school's principle, but because he speaks English, none of the kids can understand him. Children must learn to speak English and cease using the Navajo language, according to John Benally, a Navajo man who addresses them in Navajo. Chapter 3: To Be Forgotten Every child who resembles a Navajo is taken completely apart; they are deprived of their hair, clothing, and jewelry. They all get uniforms in the military style. Every child receives an American name from a man named Mr. Reamer. Ned Begay is given to Kii Yahzi. Chapter 4: Progress Speaking in Navajo in front of a teacher is a grave mistake that Ned makes. Ned's mouth gets cleansed with soap by the teacher. Any student who does not speak English experiences this. Pupils who persist in speaking Navajo face punishment. Ned is starting to outsmart everyone in his classes. Chapter 5: High School When Ned is in high school, he starts to pay more attention to what everyday Americans go through. He finds out about their football, basketball, and baseball teams. He is still the most intelligent pupil. Ned can frequently visit his family because his home and high school are just a short distance apart. Chapter 6: Sneak Attack Following his enrollment in a geography course, Ned develops a keen interest in Japan. Upon close examination, he concludes that Japan is undergoing negative change. The Navajo Tribal Council vowed in 1940 to support the United States of America against its adversaries. The news of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor shocks the faculty and students at Ned's school. Chapter 7: Navajos Wanted War against all axis powers is declared by the Navajo Tribal Council. The majority of Navajo men who want to fight are rejected because they don't speak English well. It is quickly discovered that the military is looking for Navajos. The only people sought are Navajos who have attended mission schools. Navajo men between the ages of 17 and 32 are what they are looking for. Ned's parents won't allow him to misrepresent his age, even though he is only fifteen. He goes back to school and keeps studying. Chapter 8: New Recruits There were 29 Navajo men in the first group of men chosen. The code that those 29 men invented would be used by military code talkers for the duration of the conflict. In a short while, those Navajo people vanished. People all across the nation were waiting for answers, but none came until one of those men, Johny Manuelito, came forward to reveal the other 28 men's whereabouts. Chapter 9: The Blessing way When Ned goes back to see his parents, they permit him to enlist in the Marines and train to be a code talker. They bring him to an elderly Navajo singer who will carry out a holy ritual to keep him safe from harm. Similar to the majority of Navajo households, Ned's family embraces Catholicism. Chapter 10: Boot Camp Ned meets with First Sergeant Frank Shinn at Fort Defiance. Sergeant Shinn then sends him to Fort Wingate via bus. Ned takes his oath of office as a Marine at Fort Wingate alongside many other men. Ned receives instruction in combat techniques, weapon handling, swimming, and basic training at boot camp. Chapter 11: Code School Ned completes his platoon in the 297th. In the vicinity of San Diego, California, Fort Elliot received his platoon. John Benally and Johny Manuelito inform the Navajo platoon at Camp Elliot of their responsibilities. The Navajo Marines' job was to figure out the code that the original 29 members had written. The code's main goal is to make it simple for American soldiers to transmit messages across the battlefield while keeping the enemy from deciphering it. The code speaks in Navajo, using the same vocabulary as Ned did. Chapter 12: Learning the Code It was forbidden for Navajo code talkers to discuss the code with anybody outside of their group. They would spend the remainder of the war in the brig if this rule was broken. Navajos also learned how to send messages using radio equipment at Camp Elliot. Chapter 13: Shipping Out to Hawaii For further training, the Navajos at Camp Elliot were transferred to Hawaii. The Guadalcanal battle concluded six months later than anticipated. Chapter 14: The Enemies Veteran Marines share their knowledge of fighting the Japanese Army with Ned and his comrades. The five main fighting rules of the Japanese are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Always go on the offensive; Always obey without question or hesitation As much as possible, surprise the opposition. Never back down Never give up Chapter 15: Field Maneuvers In the Hawaii desert, the Navajo marines participated in a two-day training program. The challenge was to travel across a large desert in two days carrying only a single water canteen. To protect the airfields on the island of Bougainville, Ned's regiment was scheduled to be dispatched to the Soloman Islands. They had to practice storming beaches at Guadalcanal first. Chapter 16: Bombardment Ned met his longtime friend Georgia Boy prior to boarding the ship that would transport them to Bougainville. On November 1, 1943, the bombardment of the island would begin at 0600 hours. Chapter 17: First Landing On the day of the invasion, Ned's landing craft was ordered to head for the island at 07:15. The Japanese were silent for an extended period of time. The Japanese began to retaliate as soon as the Marines arrived on land. On the beach, Ned dug a foxhole and hunkered down inside. Chapter 18: On Bougainville The Marines established a base on the island over the course of two days. The Navajo people had never seen such hot, muggy, and mosquito-infested terrain. Ned finds out about Japanese banzai attacks and how to be ready for them with his friends. The Marines kept gaining territory. The threat posed by booby traps to US Marines was increasing. Equipment remnants that the Japanese had left behind were being placed to cause explosions. After receiving his first letter from home, Ned writes his parents a follow-up letter. Chapter 19: Do You Have a Navajo? Ned returns to Hawaii with the other Navajos in order to expand the code with new terms. Ned is concerned for his friends' safety because they were not returned to Hawaii and were not Navajos. Chapter 20: The Next Targets It was in the South Pacific that Ned met up with his friends again. The island of Guam became the task force's new goal. Taking Guam was essential if the United States was to make it to Japan's mainland. The island of Saipan was taken by other Marines. Chapter 21: Guam On June 18, the invasion of Guam was planned. Thirteen days passed before the invasion began. As a result, the Navy gained an additional thirteen days to bombard the island. Guam was in American hands by August 10. Chapter 22: Fatigue A Japanese sniper hits Ned in the shoulder. He was granted a brief vacation because he was injured while serving. Ned is beginning to experience the ailments and exhaustion of combat, much like the majority of other Marines. Chapter 23: Pavavu On the little island of Pavavu in the South Pacific, Ned is celebrating New Year's with his fellow Jarheads. As a code walker, Ned was privy to many military secrets, including those pertaining to the Manhattan Project. Chapter 24: Iwo Jima In order for the Marines to provide an emergency landing zone for American bombers, Admiral Chester Nimitz determined that the island of Iwo Jima had to be captured. The Japanese were now employing age-old military customs from hundreds of years ago because they were desperate to win the war. Chapter 25: In Sight of Suribachi Before the invasion, the island was under constant Navy bombardment for five months. 70,000 marines would be involved in the invasion. Iwo Jima's landing was extremely calm. Chapter 26: The Black Beach The Japanese ambushed the Americans, shocking them, after about thirty minutes. The Americans lost a great deal of Marines in the early days of the attack. U.S. Marines flew a flag at the summit of Mount Seribachi on the fifth day. May 16th marked the official end of the battle. Chapter 27: Okinawa Okinawa was invaded by the Marines. Before the invasion of Japan's mainland, this island was the last one to be taken. When the Marines learned that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had passed away, they were all taken aback. Chapter 28: The Bomb August 15, 1945, saw the formal surrender of Japanese Emperor Hirihito following the detonation of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Marines celebrated for several days. Chapter 29: Going Home Ned's worst nightmares came true when he got back to Arizona. He may have saved the nation from a terrible war, but he remained a Navajo, and for that, he was still hated by some. But despite everything, Ned never lost pride in his Navajo ancestry.