belated: Last Comanche Code Talker Passes
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Found this while perusing the 1AUG Army Times.
"Charles Chibitty, the last survivor of the Comanche code talkers who used their native language to transmit messages for the Allies in Europe during World War II, has died. He was 83." -- Army Times
' "It's strange, but growing up as a child I was forbidden to speak my native language at school," Chibitty said in 2002. "Later my country asked me to. My language helped win the war and that makes me very proud. Very proud. " ' -- Army Times
' "I wonder what the hell Hitler thought when he heard those strange voices," he once told a gathering. '
...and...
' "We could never do it again," Chibitty told Oklahoma Today. "It's all electronic and video in war now." '
-- Army Times
It makes me proud to think that Americans, regardless of ethnicity or background, were able to contribute to a noble effort. It makes me even prouder to think that they were able to take their unique skills and put them to good use. Yes, we could never use Native American speakers during war again; there aren't nearly enough of them left. We might also not need to, as our electronic encryption of signals would make it an unnecessary redundancy, although I've heard of some Spanish speaking Americans who seem to defy the operational language of the Army in the name of signals security. But with what we needed at the time, it is that amazing American "can-do-ness" that we seem to continually attempt to recapture that these great men provided us.
He was a Comanche, he was a soldier, he was a Native American, he was an American.
CNN Link
Found this while perusing the 1AUG Army Times.
"Charles Chibitty, the last survivor of the Comanche code talkers who used their native language to transmit messages for the Allies in Europe during World War II, has died. He was 83." -- Army Times
' "It's strange, but growing up as a child I was forbidden to speak my native language at school," Chibitty said in 2002. "Later my country asked me to. My language helped win the war and that makes me very proud. Very proud. " ' -- Army Times
' "I wonder what the hell Hitler thought when he heard those strange voices," he once told a gathering. '
...and...
' "We could never do it again," Chibitty told Oklahoma Today. "It's all electronic and video in war now." '
-- Army Times
It makes me proud to think that Americans, regardless of ethnicity or background, were able to contribute to a noble effort. It makes me even prouder to think that they were able to take their unique skills and put them to good use. Yes, we could never use Native American speakers during war again; there aren't nearly enough of them left. We might also not need to, as our electronic encryption of signals would make it an unnecessary redundancy, although I've heard of some Spanish speaking Americans who seem to defy the operational language of the Army in the name of signals security. But with what we needed at the time, it is that amazing American "can-do-ness" that we seem to continually attempt to recapture that these great men provided us.
He was a Comanche, he was a soldier, he was a Native American, he was an American.
