The Unsung Heroes of Iwo Jima

“Were it not for the Navahos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima,” Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division

It was from my father, who served in the Pacific during World War II, that I originally heard of the Navaho Code Talkers. While Pat Buchanan tries to claim it was only white men who won the war the truth is that many people, men and women, from all walks of life and of all races, were responsible for the success in both the European and Pacific fronts. As a small child I lived in New Mexico and that started my fascination with the Navaho people. This is the story of the brave men who risked their lives to help us win in the Pacific.

One of the biggest problems for the U.S. Armed Forces in the Pacific was communications. Japanese cryptographers were breaking our codes as fast as we could come up with them. Many of the Japanese code breakers had been educated in the United States and were familiar with American colloquialisms, slang terms and even profanity. This resulted in American battle plans being known to the enemy sometimes before they were even operational. We needed a code that could not be broken.

In spite of their treatment by the white man, the Navahos took an active part in World War I and World War II. In World War II 3,600 Navahos fought for their country. This represented one of the highest population of any ethnicity in the U.S. military. Most of the Navahos fought in the battlefields with ordinary soldiers. Over 10,000 Navahos worked in military factories during the war. 375 to 420 Navahos, however, worked as Code Talkers.

Philip Johnston was the son of Protestant missionaries and grew up on the Navaho Reservation and lived among the Navahos for 24 years. He was one of the few non-Navahos who spoke the language fluently. Johnston was a World War I veteran and knew that in that war that Native American languages, notably Choctaw, had been used in codes. He figured that the Navaho language was perfect for an unbreakable code since it was an unwritten language and included a number of words that, when spoken with varying inflections, may have as many as four different meanings and its verb forms are particularly complex. Its syntax and tonal qualities, not to mention dialects, makes it unintelligible to anyone without extensive exposure and training. With no alphabet or written form available for others to study it was a language that could only be understood by another Navaho. It has been estimated that only 30 non-Navahos could understand the language at the outbreak of World War II and none of those 30 were Japanese.

Philip Johnston, with the aid of four Navahos residing in the Los Angeles area and another who was already on active duty in Naval service in San Diego presented a demonstration to Major General Clayton B. Vogel, the commanding general of Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet and his staff. In simulated combat situations the Navahos demonstrated that they could encode, transmit, and decode three-line English messages in 20 seconds. The encoding machines in use at that time needed 30 minutes to perform the same tasks.

In May 1942, the first 29 recruits attended boot camp in Camp Pendelton in Oceanside, California. It was this first group that developed the code and a dictionary and numerous words for military terms. The initial code consisted of translations for 211 English words most common in military conversations. An additional 200 words were added making a total of 411 terms that needed to be memorized. The code was never written down and was always only spoken. Chester Nez was one of the original code talkers. He said, “Everything we used in code was what we lived with on the reservation every day, like the ants, the birds, bears. Thus the term for a tank was turtle, a tank destroyer was tortoise killer. A battleship was whale. A hand grenade was potato and plain old bombs were eggs. A fighter plane was hummingbird, and a torpedo plane swallow. A sniper was pick em off. Pyrotechnic was fancy fire.”

The Navajo Code Talkers took part in Guaalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, and Iwo Jimo. They took part in every assault the Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. They served in all six Marine divisions, Marine Raider battalions and Marine parachute units during the war. They had to prove their worth but once they did it became obvious that we would need them to win the war. The Navahos had an additional problem because many of the young recruits had trouble with thinking that the Navahos were Japanese. It was at Iwo Jima that any doubts anyone had about the Navahos were laid to rest. The six men attached to that Marine Division worked around the clock during the first two days of the battle and sent and received over 800 messages, all without error.

The Japanese chief of intelligence, Lieutenant General Seizo Arisue, said that while they were able to crack the codes used by the U.S. Army and Army Air Corps they were never able to break the Navaho used by the Marines. These were truly valuable people.

So what did these heroes have to look forward to? They weren’t given the right to vote in Arizona until 1948, in New Mexico until 1953, and in Utah until 1957. The world didn’t even know about them until 1968. Many feel that a factor in this was the fact that while the Code Talkers were risking their lives during the Second World War at home their children were being punished for speaking their native language. Finally however in December 1981 they were awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the President of the United States. The Navaho Code Talkers were the unspoken heroes of Iwo Jima and World War II.

A Common Sense Approach to Health Care

There are two parts to health care. Part one is treating those who are sick and part two is preventing people from getting sick in the first place. Unfortunately part two isn’t covered by most health insurance. It is often excluded as “preventative” medicine. The rational companies use is that you aren’t sick and they are paying to get people well and you aren’t sick but trying to keep from getting sick. It is a classic Catch 22. What health care reform really needs is a common sense approach. We have to cover people who are sick but it also makes sense to keep people from getting sick in the first place.

One of the hardest things to try and get insurance companies to pay, and this includes government run programs, is diabetic counseling. Diabetes can bring on a whole slew of other problems if it isn’t kept under control. To try and help meet the needs of family and friends I went onto the Internet and found recipes and information on eating with Diabetes. I put together a 268 recipe cookbook from appetizers through desserts along with information on how to covert regular recipes into diabetic friendly ones. That is the type of information that needs to be available in counseling. Diabetics need to know how and what type of exercises to do. It even affects the type of clothing that you should wear. How to live with diabetes should be covered by health care.

We scrambled at work the other day trying to find help for a woman who had had multiple heart attacks and needed a heart monitor but it wasn’t covered by Medicaid. I live with a mother with a bad heart. People with bad heart should be monitored so that in the event of trouble starting they can be treated immediately. If you can catch the problem before it goes into a full fledged heart attack you can give people a better chance of a quality life. As with diabetics, heart patients also need to know how to eat and exercise. They need the counseling on how to adjust their life styles to compensate for the medical problems.

Stress is causing major problems in our lives and affecting our health. We need counseling to show people how to relax, how to eat, how to get a good night’s sleep without drugs. Many overly stressed people over eat or drink too much to cope. They need to learn how to eat healthy and not rely on drink or drugs to get through the stress.

Obesity is an epidemic where I live in the Midwest. You can find 3X and 4X sizes everywhere but just try finding a 4 or even a 6. The way people cook out here is contributing to the weight problems. In spite of being in the middle of farm land people still don’t know how to cook right. Obesity causes so many health problems. People need the counseling and the exercise classes to learn how to take off and keep off the excess weight that is ruining their health.

So much of keeping people healthy comes down to education. People need to know how to eat right, exercise right, monitor and care for their stress levels. A common sense approach to health care reform has to have preventative medicine at its core. It is something that is not being covered by many health insurers now. The money saved in keeping people from getting sick would allow better treatment of those who are sick. Health care needs to start emphasizing not getting sick to start with.

Being in Charge

“Living life tomorrow’s fate though thou be wise,
Thou canst not tell nor yet surmise;
Pass, therefore, not today in vain,
For it will never come again.” Omar Khayyam

When looking through my Dad’s books for something to read many years ago I came upon his books by Omar Khayyam. The above quote became a favorite of mine. I have always felt each day should be lived to its fullest because we do not know how many days we have before us. I know my Dad had many plans on what he was going to do on that May morning when top of his list was to plant a new bush where the other one was dying. He had a fatal heart attack that morning and was dead before he hit the ground. Time can be very short but at the same time it can stretch beyond belief. Just ask any child how long it is until Christmas, or their birthday, or until you are really going to take the to see the new Harry Potter movie.

Last weekend I was put in charge. That is what the repairman told me. My Mom had put me in charge. Of course I think she just meant the of the house but then I have been in charge of helping to “make it so” for her since I moved in to help take care of her several years ago. I’m the one who does the research to find repairmen for her. I find the information for her stocks and investments. I get her the forms necessary to get the money back from unscrupulous roofers who try and take advantage of the fact that she is a widow and that Dad always was in charge of things like that.

However it started me thinking this being in charge bit. If I were in charge of other things what would be my agenda? Well where I work it would be that the troublemakers are out of a job. I would cut unnecessary waste and the huge salaries of people who don’t deserve them and help more of the people without insurance.

If I were in charge of this town the first thing going out the window is the local newspaper which is incapable of proof reading, getting their facts straight, or writing anything worth reading. The comics aren’t even ones that people would like to read. We can use the current papers as compost or even pack down inside the pot holes that are all over town. That is the first thing to be fixed before we lose any more cars down the black holes. They are large enough to eat a VW Bug.

If I ruled the country we would have universal health care for everyone including the single payer insurance. Being in a job where I have to deal with many different insurances I love the idea of throwing all the idiots out and having only one to deal with. Next up would be making sure that all people have the same rights. If we are truly going to follow the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal” then we better make sure that it includes the GBLT community. They need to be able to openly serve their country in the Armed Services and they need to be able to enter into marriage contracts and adopt children if they want.

Our schools need to be changed to where the purpose of school is to learn and not to have the teachers baby-sit. We need an education to help us meet the challenges of the 21st century. We need more scientists. There has to be a cure for cancer out there and we need to find it. We need to be ecologically sound and clean up and keep clean our little fragile blue green world.

If I am going to be in charge I have one final word. Mars. Yes the red planet. We made it to the moon and now we need a manned space program to get us to Mars. I’m sure if we approach him right we could get Marvin to let us visit his home planet.

So if I’m in charge I better get going and act like all those honey bees buzzing around out flowers and get busy myself.

Future Scientists

A sight I will always remember is the night sky on a trip where the car had broken down on a vacation but we were where there was no light pollution to stop the view of the stars. The stars and what is out in space has long fascinated me and the view of the sky that night will always be with me. Ever since I was a child my fascination of outer space has been a driving force in my life. My reading has leaned towards science fiction for recreation and books on space for fascination. My art in recent years has been heavily influenced by outer space. I have a whole gallery dedicated to it in my website Space the Final Frontier.

I loved Carl Sagan’s Cosmos and the enthusiasm it generated for young people to learn and reach for the stars. One of the most fascinating parts of that show for me was the discussion of black holes. That led me to the work of Stephen Hawking. I devoured his book A Brief History of Time. I remember once my Dad trying to explain Einstein’s theory to my Mom on the effects of space travel and time. He demonstrated the red and blue shifts to her and time slowing and speeding up by how fast he walked. It made me realize that science can be explained and understood by anyone.

One of my favorite discoveries a few years ago was a program that featured Dr. Brian Greene and opened up the world of the string theory to me. Talk about science fiction meeting science fact! Again we had a scientist explaining science in a way that it could be understood by anyone.

The real secret though to getting science into a person’s life is to be able to excite their imaginations. I worked with a lot of young people when I was doing science fiction conventions and when I ran my own convention I had scientists there in addition to media guests. Fire up the imagination and you can lead a child into the world of outer space. It is what NASA is going to need to do if they want to survive. For me the Hubble spacecraft is one of the most exciting inventions of our modern age. I can look at pictures from Hubble for hours. The magazine National Geographic has always been one of my windows to outer space.

I may not be a scientist but I use my love of outer space and my art to try and fire imaginations. One of my favorite shows has always been Doctor Who for just plain sheer fun. Even it can inspire me like when in one episode the Doctor showed the beginning of our solar system and when the show was over I did the picture In the Beginning. National Geographic inspired me when the talked about the moon Enceladus and I wanted to see what the view from the moon looked like so I did the art work. Find a way to inspire a young person and we will have our future scientists. I have inspired my grandnephew Tristen. He is my future scientist.

Thoughts On A Sunny Day

“There is no fire like greed, no crime like hatred, no sorrow like separation, no sickness like hunger of heart, and no joy like the joy of freedom.” The Dhammapanda

There are times when going to work that I feel I would be better off attending pre-school. The children would be more mature then some of the coworkers I have to deal with each day. You know things are bad when your boss calls a meeting to let you know she will be off for three days to attend to her sister’s funeral and that she expects the office to get along and not fight or cause problems or call her at home. I have never worked in a place with such back stabbing and active attempts to hurt other people. I have to wonder if this is part of an epidemic of hatred that is sweeping this country.

I have read in disbelief as people who proclaim themselves to be Christians will use the most racist terms to tear others down. I have heard these so called Christians gossip and tear down fellow workers behind their backs. I have watched as they monitor every little mistake and run into the boss trying to get someone in trouble. I have read enough rants about wanting our President to fail, about how Senator Franken looks like a clown, about how it is okay to kill a doctor, etc. I have read more “apologies” about having affairs with “soul mates” and how it is against God’s will while continuing to carry on the affair. I have then read in disbelief about how these self proclaimed Christians are better then the people of the liberal side of politics because they don’t spew attacks and hatred. They follow God’s laws. The law they seem to forget is the one Christ gave “thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” There are no qualifiers in that statement. Christ meant everyone.

One of the greatest attacks of hypocrisy in my own life has happened at work. We have a lovely young lady who has desperately wanted to be a mother. She and her husband have been trying for years. She just found out she was pregnant but was afraid to let the office know. We have one person in the office who because of miscarriage can’t have any more children. This woman is a bitter person who yells and swears at her husband and the child she has. She is always trying to get people fired. Her ego knows no bounds. She has let it be known if the lady trying for a child becomes pregnant she will leave the office. She is currently trying to get a transfer but her reputation proceeds her and no one wants her. We are all hoping she makes good on her promise and just quits. It would solve a major source of trouble in the office and make going to work a lot easier.

I have always felt when you spew out hatred you damage yourself in the process. I do call myself a Christian because I try and follow the commandment “that shalt love thy neighbor.” For me those are words to live by. I don’t always succeed but I am also human. I let the lady who is pregnant know how happy I am for her. As soon as we find out if it is a by or a girl I will get the crochet hooks and baby yarn out and make her an outfit. I let my elderly mother know each day I love her and try and get out and take photographs of flowers to brighten her day.

I do the best I can to be the best me I can. I try and do what I can to open minds and push the people I vote for to care for this planet and its people. I push my two major causes which at the moment is the environment and health care. I try to remember to do it without being strident and obnoxious.

Rainy Day

One of the things about technology that I don't like is how when you need it the most it breaks down. My old stand by digital camera decided to give up the ghost just as my mother was asking for pictures of her Rose of Sharon and golden trumpet flowers. A quick trip to Wal-Mart and a couple hundred dollars later I came home with a Cannon Power Shot A2000IS. Nice little camera. Got some shots of her flowers and of course of her Pixie. One happy mother. Nice way to brighten up a rainy day.

Happy Birthday

Today is mother’s 83rd birthday. Over the last couple of years I have watched as she has become increasingly frail. She is down to 94 pounds now and is all skin and bones. She is definitely slowing down as her heart becomes increasingly worse. She can not go as she used to and it frustrates her.

I am thankful that Pixie wandered into our home three years ago. That little cat has done wonders for my Mom. Pixie’s favorite nap place in my Mom’s lap. Mom will sit down for longer then she planned because Pixie is comfortable on her lap and she doesn’t want to disturb her. Pixie also makes her laugh with her nose bonks and wanting to be petted and begging for treats. She will race around the house chasing her imaginary friend cracking Mom up.

Mom’s hearing is definitely going but she doesn’t want to acknowledge it. I find myself having to practically yell before she can understand. Sometimes she is asking what before I can get a sentence out and I have to repeat it louder. It is frustrating to have to yell but she has always been sensitive about her hearing and even when Dad was alive ten years ago she didn’t want to admit her hearing was going. So I just talk louder and plan on repeating myself several times until she understands.

She is becoming forgetful. For the last two nights I have had to go down and see what was wrong with her CD player. For two nights in a row I have had to put the CD in the right way. I patiently explain to her that the label side needs to be up and the silver side down before it can play. I imagine I will have to do this from now on. For some reason she can no longer remember which was the label goes.

But in the last year or so I have noticed a mellowing in her. I guess the shock of finding out that her daughter and granddaughter were both Democrats and voted for Obama has tempered her view that the Republicans were always right and the Democrats were always wrong. She has noticed the state of the economy and realized that it was her party in control that saw the decline of her savings. She actually voted for our mayor even though she ran as a Democrat because she really likes Sue Murray. She is making my brother turn Fox News down or change channels when I am in the dining room trying to eat my supper because she knows that his extreme right wing politics upset me. He will never change his politics but at least he has learned to keep quiet around me because I am an Obama supporter and I don’t care to listen to people who want our President to fail.

My mother though still has the capacity to surprise me. Lately I have been purchasing some CDs from Amazon from singer/actor John Barrowman. I discovered him originally after watching "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" and then discovering he got his start in musical theater. Musical theater is one of my big loves. I was playing a selection from his CD “Reflections on Broadway” called “Tell My Father” because it was from a show about the Civil War and her Grandfather fought in that war. Her own Mom was so proud that her Dad was a Yankee Civil War Veteran. I was telling Mom that my friend at work and I were joking and saying that it was such a waste for women that Barrowman is openly gay. She shocked me when she said “well as long as he is happy it is okay.” My mother is a staunch conservative Catholic and she has realized that gays are human beings. It is quite a big step. I guess having a liberal daughter with a lot of gay friends is rubbing off. ;-)

So happy birthday mother. You are 83 years young today and of course Pixie, the little cat that Mom decided gets to share her birthday since we don’t really know when she was born except sometime in early July.