Thursday, June 24, 2010

Last WWII Lakota Code-Talker Dies

Governor asks that flags fly at half-staff to honor code talker | argusleader.com | Argus Leader

Although the Code-Talkers from the Southwestern Tribes are better known, 11 soldiers from South Dakota's Plains tribes, speaking the Lakota (Western), Nakota (Central) and Dakota (Eastern) dialects served in WWII.

The Native languages, being oral rather than written, were indecipherable by the Germans and Japanese, so Code Talkers could transmit messages without worries about interception.

This week, the nurse from the famous Times Square "kiss" photo also died. The WWII generation is leaving us pretty quickly now - may we find ways to maintain memories and learn lessons from them.

3 comments:

David Handy+ said...

Fascinating. I knew about the Navajos being used this way, but didn't realize that the Sioux had been "code talkers" too in WWII.

Alice C. Linsley said...

That was a great generation. They knew what it means to work for the common good. They were patriotic. They knew how to sacrifice and they were very inventive when it came to fixing broken things or improving old technologies.

TLF+ said...

David+, I was surprised, too. Perhaps the Navajo talkers were simply the most numerous. Wonder if other tribal groups (Northeast, Southeast) provided talkers as well?

Alice, it is so apt that some social commentaries describe them as a "builder" generation. Institutions, communities, gadgets... you name it. They certainly build churches across the country.