This is sad. Last of WWII Comanche Code Talkers Dies

[texas1928]

OKLAHOMA CITY - 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.

Chibitty, who had been residing at a Tulsa nursing home, died Wednesday, said Cathy Flynn, administrative assistant in the Comanche Nation tribal chairman's office.

The group of Comanche Indians from the Lawton area were selected for special duty in the U.S. Army to provide the Allies with a language that the Germans could not decipher. Like the larger group of Navajo Indians who performed a similar service in the Pacific theater, the Comanches were dubbed "code talkers."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050721/ap_on_re_us/obit_chibitty

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. All I can say is

:patriot:

[biscodawg]

5. i second that motion! n/t

[ET Awful]

2. I wasn't even aware there WERE Comanche code talkers, I knew

of the Navajos and their service int he Pacific, but not the Comanche.

I learn something new every day.

[GOPisEvil]

3. Wow. There were Comanche Code-Talkers?

I thought they were all Navajo.

Hm. Learn something every day.

[blondeatlast]

12. Many, many different tribes, although it isn't as well known. Here's a

good short history on them.

http://members.tripod.com/~Quohadi/code.html

[madinmaryland]

4. I saw something on the History channel about them

They were amazing. I don't think they were ever decoded!

[texas1928]

7. They never could break the code.

Actually they just talked normally in their language. The enemy could never decifer it.

[AllegroRondo]

14. There was a bit more to it than that

(I saw a history channel show on it)

There were a lot of words that just wouldnt translate. For example, 'tank' became 'turtle', 'fighter plane' became 'hawk', etc.
They also created a phonetic alphabet by taking an english word that started with the letter, then translating it. For example, 'A' would be 'apple', translated to the Comanche word for 'apple'.

There were a couple cases of Comanches (or Navahos)in the US forces (but not with code-talker training) hearing the communications and trying to translate, but unable to do so. Of course, they were later trained as code-talkers.

[trotsky]

6. That *is* sad.

They were integral in destroying fascism in a very real way. To do that kind of favor to the government that essentially perpetrated a holocaust on them... so noble.

[LeftyDarthBrodie]

8. Are there any memorials

for the Native American code breakers who were so essential to our victory in WWII?

I could probably just do a Google search but I'm lazy.

[trotsky]

9. Found these

http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special12/articles/0425codetalkers25.html

http://www.uwm.edu/~michael/choctaw/mem2.htm

Donate to a Navajo memorial here:
http://www.lapahie.com/index.cfm

[LeftyDarthBrodie]

13. Thanks

maybe someday these brave heroes will get a memorial in D.C.

[Tsiyu]

10. .

:patriot:

[blondeatlast]

11. Salute to a true hero. Thank you, Charles Chibitty.

:patriot:

[indigo32]

15. A Hero

:patriot: