![]() ![]() ![]() Returning to his Navajo ways helped him to heal, and he went on to become an artist, living to the age of 93. He fought in the war until January 1945, when he came home, sick and traumatized by his military experience. Chester was one of 29 men who created the code, then went to the Pacific to serve as a Navajo Code Talker. In April 1942, Marine recruiters came to the school looking for Navajo speakers to help them create a code the Japanese couldn’t break. He lived a double life through his school years, speaking Navajo and practicing his religion at home, and speaking English and practicing Catholicism at school. If he spoke Navajo, his mouth was washed out with soap. Summary: When 8-year-old Betoli left his home and family in 1929 to go to Fort Defiance School, his hair was cut, his name was changed to Chester, and he was made to speak English. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |