CUNY Podcasts

Early in World War II, Japanese intelligence had cracked every secret code the United States had devised. Seeking a different approach, the U.S. enlisted the help of 29 young Navajo men to form an elite unit — the Navajo Code Talkers. Using their Navajo language, they devised and spoke in a code in the Pacific battle theater that was never broken, protecting the advantage of secrecy for the U.S. military. Keith Little served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Code Talker from 1943 until after the end of the war, and joined Veterans Corner host Donald Buzney to discuss the legacy of the Code Talkers, his recent appearance on the HBO series “The Pacific,” and a new project — The National Navajo Code Talkers Museum & Veterans Center, which is currently under development. Little passed away on Jan. 3, 2012, soon after this interview was recorded.