Navajo Code Talker Alfred K. Newman dies at 94 in New Mexico

[Behind the Aegis]

Source: Province (via AP)

A Navajo Code Talker who used his native language to outsmart the Japanese in World War II has died in New Mexico at age 94.

Navajo Nation officials say Alfred K. Newman died Sunday at a nursing home in Bloomfield.

Newman was among hundreds of Navajos who served in the Marine Corps, using a code based on their native language to outsmart the Japanese in World War II.

During World War II, Newman served from 1943-45 in the 1st Battalion, 21st Marine Regiment and 3rd Marine Division and saw duty at Bougainville Island, Guam, Iwo Jima, Kwajalein Atoll, Enewetak Atoll, New Georgia and New Caledonia.


Read more: https://theprovince.com/pmn/news-pmn/navajo-code-talker-alfred-k-newman-dies-at-94-in-new-mexico/wcm/805b3c4e-337e-45eb-8c43-b7302f9bf5d9

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Not much more information at the source. This man is one of the reasons we won WWII!

[BumRushDaShow]

1. Seems that the one who died back in 2014 was not the "last" as was originally reported

in articles at the time - e.g., https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/06/04/318873830/last-of-the-navajo-code-talkers-dies-at-93

I would not be surprised if there are perhaps some others still out there. Two others had died in 2018 - https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/06/13/one-of-the-last-navajo-code-talkers-has-died/
https://www.usveteransmagazine.com/2018/04/wwii-navajo-code-talker-roy-hawthorne-sr-dies-92/

At least one of the articles I found made this note -

As of 2016, there were about a dozen Code Talkers still living. The exact number of Code Talkers is unknown because their work was classified for years after the war ended.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2018/04/23/wwii-navajo-code-talker-roy-hawthorne-sr-dies-arizona-92/544509002/

R.I.P. to a TRUE patriot!

[Aristus]

2. Thank you, sir!

I would thank you in Navaho, but I don't know a word of the language. Which is one reason why your service and that of your fellow Marines was so valuable.

[turbinetree]

3. This is how you say Thank you

Ahéhee' Our Navajo word for today is Thank You. It's good to point out that the Navajo 'h' sound is a lot more exasperated when followed by a short (and a short high tone) 'e'. The second 'h' is less pronounced, or more in line with normal English usage.

[Aristus]

4. Thank you for the lesson!

Ahehee'!

[turbinetree]

7. If you are interested................

https://navajowotd.com/word/ahehee/




Wado..................Thank you

My mothers heritage and my culture......................Cherokee

https://cherokee.org/

[Staph]

8. You can also learn Navajo on Duolingo.

The lessons are available, but still in beta test.

https://www.duolingo.com/course/nv/en/Learn-Navajo-Online


(I have no monetary connection to the company, but I am learning Spanish through their app on my phone. Really painless language lessons!)

[turbinetree]

9. Wado------------Thank you .................did not know........................

[turbinetree]

5. Our hearts are sad another of one our Children of the Sun is now gone..................

http://childrenofthesunnativeculture.com/cosnc/?q=node/11

[BHDem53]

6. A true American hero.

Rest in peace.

[MFGsunny]

10. State of New Mexico and all the United States of America proclaim their profound gratitude.

[akraven]

11. Oh, that is sad. These were incredible men.

Fly away, Mr. Newman, to the new and better place.

[progree]

12. Easy-to-read background piece on the code-talkers

Easy-to-read -- interspersed with lots of pictures.

The incredible story of the Native American code talkers who outsmarted Japan during World War II

... At the beginning of US involvement in WWII, the Japanese were breaking every code the Americans came up with. In response, World War I veteran Philip Johnston suggested a novel idea to the US Marine Corpse in 1942 — using the Navajo language as a code.

Johnston was the son of missionaries, and had grown up speaking Navajo on the Navajo reservation even though he himself was not Native. He was inspired to use the Navajo language as a code after seeing Native Americans communicating with each other in the US Army during the First World War.

The Navajo language was the perfect language to use because it had no alphabet, and as a result, there were no materials the Japanese could use to learn it. The Marine Corps loved Johnston's idea, and began recruiting young Navajo men as code talkers.

More: https://www.businessinsider.com/who-are-native-american-code-talkers-trump-pocahontas-2017-11

Yes, it has "US Marine Corpse" in this otherwise excellent article.

[sinkingfeeling]

13. Rest in peace, American hero.

[alittlelark]

14. .....

[whistler162]

15. A couple of good books on the subject

https://www.amazon.com/Navajo-Code-Talkers-Nathan-Aaseng-ebook/dp/B002STNBM0/ picked this up a number of years ago when I went to see a movie called The Importance of Being Ernest, disappointing movie nothing about Ernest T Bess's life ;}. But, a good book.

Another interesting book on the subject. https://www.amazon.com/Code-Talker-Memoir-Original-Talkers-ebook/dp/B005ERIRHW/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talker


Interesting fact - the film Battle Cry featured Navajo Phonetalkers - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Cry_(film). The film was shot in 1955 while deeds of the Codetalkers was still a supposed secret.

[keithbvadu2]

16. No bone spurs.

No bone spurs.