October 19, 2006

Time-traveling boy meets codetalker

From a press release on the children's book Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame:

Navajo CodeTalkers are Forgotten Heroes of Iwo Jima, Says Author Michael ClassIn the chapter on World War II, Anthony sees six marines raise the American flag on Mount Suribachi. The six marines are the subject of the current motion picture, Flags of Our Fathers. Class recommends that parents take their high-school students to see the movie.

But, Anthony also witnesses something else on Iwo Jima.

"I was just in time to see six marines raise the American flag in the rocky ground of Iwo Jima's dormant volcano, Mount Suribachi," reports Anthony. "When the flag went up, the marines on the mountainside and the beach below gave a loud cheer, the U.S. Navy ships anchored offshore blasted their horns, and a coded message crackled on the radio of a marine standing near me. The message was: 'Ni-he da-na-ah-taj ihla.'"

The coded message that Anthony heard was in the Navajo language. The Navajo words meant: "Our flag waves."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

www.MagicPictureFrame.com