thedrifter
03-11-05, 06:05 AM
Teddy Draper, a Navajo code talker during World War II, will be on Guam for several days before and after he goes to Iwo Jima for the 60 anniversary of that island's liberation this weekend. National Park Service superintendent Eric Brunneman says Draper, who was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart, will be sharing his experiences on Iwo Jima at several Guam schools and during a live teleconference to schools in the U.S. mainland.
"He's never talked about it before or since and yet he was interested enough to come back and so he's here now; we'll have him on Guam for the next week and he'll be on Iwo Jima with us," Brunneman explained.
During WWII the Marine Corps used Draper and other Navajo Indians to develop a special code based on the unwritten Navajo language to transmit American battle messages that were impossible for the Japanese to decipher. Draper, who has never returned to Iwo Jima since he left 60 years ago, turned down the offer to be in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the Marines raising the American flag on the summit of Mount Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima due to his secret position as a code talker.
Draper was instead was honored to have sent the coded message "we have raised the flag, we have taken the hill".
Ellie
"He's never talked about it before or since and yet he was interested enough to come back and so he's here now; we'll have him on Guam for the next week and he'll be on Iwo Jima with us," Brunneman explained.
During WWII the Marine Corps used Draper and other Navajo Indians to develop a special code based on the unwritten Navajo language to transmit American battle messages that were impossible for the Japanese to decipher. Draper, who has never returned to Iwo Jima since he left 60 years ago, turned down the offer to be in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the Marines raising the American flag on the summit of Mount Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima due to his secret position as a code talker.
Draper was instead was honored to have sent the coded message "we have raised the flag, we have taken the hill".
Ellie