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Monthly Archives: July 2014

Comanche Code Talkers in WW 2

30 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by Marianne On a Mission in Uncategorized

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Comanche code talkers, DDay 70th anniversary, history, Native American, World War 2 history

I was reading an American Legion magazine and saw a story on the death of Chester Nez, last of the Navajo Code Talkers of the Second World War. These native Americans served with the US Marines in the Pacific Theatre, confounding the Japanese by sending coded messages in their native language. The code has never been broken.

When I visited the beaches of Normandy, France, in remembrance of the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Europe by Allied forces, I learned that another tribe of native Americans, the Comanche, also served as code talkers in their language. They were the only code talkers in the European theatre of war; apparently Hitler knew of code talkers in World War 1 and had been trying to learn the Indian languages in case the codes were used against his forces. He didn’t succeed; the languages are usually not written and use symbols instead of words. But the US knew of his efforts and code talkers were not used as extensively in Europe as they were in the Pacific.

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Not aware of this, I was surprised to see these men and their families at the memorial ceremony at Omaha Beach. The descendants of that small band of Comanche code talkers came to pay homage to their ancestors.

The Comanche families held a beautiful ceremony of their own at Utah Beach, where thirteen of their ancestors landed with the 4th Infantry. In full ceremonial dress, using the ancient language, they thanked the spirits and blessed the beach. Tourists from many countries watched, engrossed in the deeply respectful scene.

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The service the code talkers provided was invaluable. Particularly since the US government had tried to eliminate the Native American languages. Charles Chibbity, the recently deceased last of the Comanche talkers, said, “They tried to make us quit talking Indian in school, now they want us to talk Indian.” (www.defense.gov/specials/nativeam02)

But he went on to say, “I felt I was doing something that the military wanted us to do and we did it to the best of our ability, not only to save lives, but to confuse the enemy by talking in the Comanche language. We felt we were doing something that could help win the war.”

Present day officials at Comanche headquarters in Lawton, Oklahoma are trying to preserve the language by teaching it to children.

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This photo shows the original group of Comanche Code Talkers from WW II. The photo is from the Comanche Museum website. The first message from Utah Beach was sent by PFC Larry Saupitty: “Tsaak nunnuwee. Atahtu nunnuwee.” Translated, it says “We made a good landing. We landed in the wrong place.”

But they were in the right place, at the right time, and they demonstrated their loyalty and allegiance to the United States by their service, in spite of past harsh treatment.

On my bucket list was ‘want to meet a code talker.’ They’re all gone now, Navajo, Comanche, Choctaw…. But witnessing the Comanche descendants’ tribute is a privilege I will never forget. Thank you.

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Random Musings

12 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by Marianne On a Mission in Uncategorized

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funny things kids say, penn state, space exploration

I hate to mention this, but July is half over. Just saying.

About a week ago, I went to a very interesting program at Penn State’s Brandywine Campus, near Philadelphia. I was an administrator there some time ago and I get invitations to events every now and then.

The program focused on an initiative called Lunar Lion, and it’s the first ever university-led mission to the moon. More than 100 Penn State students from a range of academic disciplines are working together to change the future of space exploration.

The students–aerospace engineering majors, IT majors, communications majors, even law students–are designing and building a lunar lander. The craft will travel to the Moon and transmit high-definition photos and videos back to Earth. They will even tweet from the Moon.

The aim is to show that space missions don’t have to be controlled by governments–universities can help lower the cost and make space exploration more accessible.

Once the lander is on the Moon, it stays there forever. Amazing feat for these talented college kids!

If you donate to the project, you could have your name engraved in gold on the craft, immortalized forever. Other options are available.

There’s a lot more to Lunar Lion, of course. Visit rockethub.com/lunarlionpsu.

Stuff My Grandson Says:
So he’s lounging on the couch, nose in his IPod. I lean over to poke him a little and get his face away from the technology. He grins up at me.

“Close your eyes and say ‘I don’t like strawberry jam’.”

Ok, I close my eyes and give the line. I open my eyes.

He’s still grinning. “I don’t know why I said that. But you did it.”

Snap.

He’s driving with his dad. They pass a field where horses are grazing.
“Oh, look, horses. I wish they were wearing jackets. I like how they look when they wear jackets.”

?

Overheard:
Ryan: I get it. So when he’s jumping, you have to make the pumpkin come off the string and knock off the peanut’s hat. (It’s got to do with the video game Botanicula. That’s all I know about that.)

Mike (my son, commenting to his sister on something I said): Oh, I don’t know. I don’t understand mom. Sometimes I think retirement’s not good for her.

Well, it is. More musings later.

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Marianne Kirby Rhodes

Marianne Kirby Rhodes

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