This week I watched Windtalkers.
It is about two marines that are assigned to “babysit” to Navajo code talkers. Joe Enders (one of the marines) had a terrible experience earlier in the war when all the men he was with died in an attack, aside from him. The attack severely damaged one of his hears, leaving him out of balance and hard of hearing. He is then assigned to the Navajo position and goes to Saipan.
The code talker he is protecting is Ben Yahzee. Yahzee and Charlie Whitehorse (the other code talker) go out into the field and save many lives in the first battle. Yahzee puts on a Japanese uniform and crosses the line to get to a radio. He tells the Americans the position of the Japanese and “saves the day”.
Back at headquarters, a surprise attack is launched by the Japanese and Ox (other “babysitter”) is killed. Enders’ orders are to protect the code; the Navajos can’t be captured and interrogated. When Whitehorse gets caught and is being taken away, Enders makes the tough decision to throw a grenade at him and the Japanese. Whitehorse is lost but the code is not. Yahzee is very upset and angry at Enders for doing this.
The marines move to a new position and find themselves in a minefield. Heavy fire is aimed at them and it comes down to only four marines left, two being Enders and Yahzee. Yahzee loses his radio, but he gets in back in time to call for air reinforcements. Enders and Yahzee have both been shot a couple of times, but Enders is able to carry Yahzee to a safer place. Enders was shot in the process, and he dies shortly after. Enders is able to tell Yahzee that he is sorry about Whitehorse and was only trying to protect the code.
After the war, Yahzee returns to his family and tells his son stories about Enders and how he saved Yahzee’s life. He performs a respect ritual for him.
The Navajo code was never broken during World War II, and it was an important part of the war.
Joe Enders and Ben Yahzee
This movie was inspired by a true story. I liked it because it had life lessons and things like that in it. Enders learned what friendship was, and he really was a good marine even though he lived through some tough things. Yahzee learned to forgive, and he was able to pass on his stories to his son.
Comments
Great job!!