Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
![Code Talker book Code Talker book](/sites/default/files/2022-09/code-talker-book-cover_1.jpg)
Bestselling author Judith Avila will be discussing her book, "Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII." Avila is the featured speaker for our annual Cryptorally cipher-solving competition event.
About the book:
His name wasn’t Chester Nez. That was the English name he was assigned in kindergarten. In boarding school at Fort Defiance, he was punished for speaking his native language as the teachers sought to rid him of his culture and traditions. But discrimination didn’t stop Chester from answering the call to defend his country after Pearl Harbor for the Navajo have always been warriors. His upbringing on a New Mexico reservation gave him the strength — both physical and mental — to excel as a marine.
During World War II, the Japanese had managed to crack every code the United States used, but when the Marines turned to its Navajo recruits to develop and implement a secret military language, they created the only unbroken code in modern warfare — and helped assure victory for the United States over Japan in the South Pacific.
Paperback editions of the book "Code Talker" will be available for purchase at this event for $10 (cash or check only). The author will be available to sign books at 2:45 p.m.
Author bio:
Judith Avila worked as a social worker, air traffic controller and computer consultant before discovering writing. She won the New Mexico Press Women Zia Award, New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, San Juan College — Four Corners Community Read Selection. Her "Code Talker" book has also been featured as National Public Radio’s (NPR) On-air Read and Audible’s Daily Deal. Avila grew up in Thornwood, New York and graduated from Westlake High School. She earned a BA from Duke University. She now lives in New Mexico, near Albuquerque.