This Thursday, July 3rd, in a special Independence Day weekend show, Wisconsin Public Radio’s Route 51 features an encore presentation of our interview with Chester Nez, the last of the Navajo code talkers, whose native language produced an unbreakable code that helped defeat the Japanese in World War Two. Nez served on the front lines of Guadalcanal, Guam, Bougainville and other islands in the Pacific. He appeared on Route 51 on November 14, 2013, following an appearance at UW-Marathon County coordinated by central Wisconsin’s A Walk in their Shoes lecture series. That day, host Glen Moberg interviewed Chester Nez, his grandson Latham Nez, and his publicist Judith Schiess Avila, who helped him with his autobiography, Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. The program also features analysis by Walter John Chilsen, World War II veteran, former State Senator, and Hall of Fame broadcaster; and James Campbell, co-director of the Wausau based Never Forgotten Honor Flight program. Chester Nez died on June 4th at the age of 93.
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