Our Fathers, Our Grandfathers, Our Heroes... The Navajo Code Talkers of World War II
 
This is the visual story of one of history's most compelling chapters. This book is perfect for the avid historian or the casual collector. It can be shared with readers young and old, and includes a complete copy of the original and final Navajo Code used during the war.
 
From 1942 to 1945 the United States Marine Corps secretly recruited and trained approximately 400 Navajo men from the Four-Corners area to serve as communicators in the Pacific.
 
This was in a time when the official US goverment policy towards Native Americans was assimilation. Government funded schools forbid Native children from speaking their language. Conditions were harsh with small food rations, uniforms and a military style regiment to their days. Yet, when called to fight, the Navajo they proved to be among the best Marines to ever wear the Eagle, Globe & Anchor.
 
The photographs in this book were curated by Zonnie Gorman, the leading historian on the Navajo Code Talkers. Assembled and edited by the students and staff at Fort Wingate Indian School (where the First 29 Navajo Code Talkers began their journey), this book contains historical photographs of the men in their youth as well as historical documents of Marine Corps memos discussing the formation of the group. The photographs go on to follow the Code Talkers through the war and then after the war into the early recogntion and the eventual awarding of Congressional Gold and Silver Medals.