When the Marine recruiting officer visits the Navajo reservation during World War II, fifteen year old Ned Begay wants to enlist to serve his country, but the Marine Corps rules state that you had to be seventeen. He enlists the next year, saying that he is "old enough to join." He has no idea why the Marines are recruiting Navajo Indians, but he soon learns that he will be a "code talker." Because the Japanese could crack all the codes the English speaking Marines could devise, it was decided to use the Navajo language as the secret code to convey information between the battalions and the headquarters. Young Ned participates in the amphibious Marine landings at several major islands in the Pacific: Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
Although Ned's story is fictional, it is based upon real stories told by Navajo Marines. I enjoyed learning about the bravery of both Navajo and white Marines as they stormed the beaches and endured Japanese assaults, and I am sure that many of my students will also enjoy this book.
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