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TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2003

"The Navajo language is spoken every day like English on the reservation. The only words I understood before I left for NAU were "sit still," "behave" and other common one-sentence phrases used in context with my behavior.

I never cared to learn the language until attending NAU.

But not caring quickly reversed into an appreciation for my people and my language after hearing a presentation by code talker Samuel Billison about how the language was used during World War II.

I felt that same appreciation when "Windtalkers" hit the silver screen.

Tears trickled down my cheek when I first heard actors Adam Beach, who is Saulteaux, and Roger Willie, a Navajo, use the language to relay geographical coordinates for Navy ships in the battle on Saipan, Japan."

Get the Story:
Special edition DVD a tribute to Navajo code talkers (The Great Falls Tribune 6/3)

Relevant Links;
Windtalkers - http://www.mgm.com/windtalkers

Related Stories:
Opinion: Not just Navajo code talkers (07/26)
Opinion: Windtalkers ignored true story (7/1)
Weak opening for Code Talker movie (6/17)
Windtalkers movie opens nationwide (6/14)