When he was a child, Joe Hosteen Kellwood was punished at his school on an Apache reservation for speaking in his native Navajo. The school was run by the US military and they wanted him to speak English. As it was, Mr Kellwood’s skills as a speaker of Navajo would prove of huge importance when he was recruited as military “code talker” - a small team of Navajo speakers who carried vital, naturally-encrypted messages. He served in the Pacific campaign and was awarded at least eight medals.
[Source: www.independent.co.uk] [ Comments ] [See why this is trending]