Code Talker: Chapters 24–29

by Joseph Bruchac
Based on the true story of Navajo code talkers, this novel recounts the exploits of Ned Begay, a sixteen-year-old Navajo soldier in World War II. Ned's language skills prove to be invaluable as the Americans work to send secret messages to help them in their fight.

Here are links to our lists for book: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–12, Chapters 13–17, Chapters 18–23, Chapters 24–29
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. harass
    exhaust by attacking repeatedly
    Each man will make it his duty
    To kill ten of the enemy before dying.
    Until we are destroyed to the last man,
    We shall harass the enemy.
  2. deserted
    forsaken by owner or inhabitants
    In fact, grandchildren, when we finally took that island and began exploring the deserted Japanese positions, we Marines found something that made us feel especially angry.
  3. pennant
    a flag that usually tapers and is longer than it is wide
    The Central Control vessel dipped her pennant.
  4. ricochet
    spring back; spring away from an impact
    But instead of bursting on impact, it bounced off, went spinning down, ricocheted off the next deck, and blew up far below.
  5. concussion
    any violent blow
    Speaking over the concussions of the exploding shells so close that the pressure in the air made it hard to breathe.
    A concussion is usually connected to an injury to the brain, but as the example sentence shows, it can also be any violent blow or shaking that can cause damage anywhere. Rather than suffering any concussions from the concussive force of the explosions, whirr of shrapnel, snap of Japanese rifles, and ping of bullets (note the use of onomatopoeia to emphasize the sounds of war), the code talkers keep their calm and their minds in order to deliver the urgent messages.
  6. casualty
    someone injured or killed in a military engagement
    Our victory was also purchased at an awful cost in American casualties: 6,821 Marines were killed and another 19,207 were wounded.
  7. isolated
    remote and separate physically or socially
    There were still caves and isolated emplacements holding out, but the battle had been won.
    An emplacement is a "military installation consisting of a prepared position for siting a weapon." Because the emplacements and caves were isolated, they might not have heard the official declaration of the end of the war. Or because they were less organized and had no superiors to answer to, they chose to continue fighting.
  8. armada
    a large fleet
    Our 1,600 ships were the largest armada in history, and the number of our troops was even bigger than the force that landed on the beaches of Normandy in Europe.
  9. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    There was a time when ominous words like those from Tokyo Rose had made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
  10. impending
    close in time; about to occur
    Most of us Marines were spending more time joking and talking about how the war had to end soon than worrying about the impending battle.
  11. sanction
    official permission or approval
    “I swallow my own tears,” he said, “and give my sanction to the Allied proposal.
  12. unconditional
    not subject to any restrictions or limitations
    Although the Japanese emperor was ready to offer unconditional surrender, not all of the military officers agreed.
    "Any Japanese defeat was too embarrassing for the military leaders to admit to their immediate superiors, much less to their divine emperor." Unconditional surrender made the defeat more embarrassing, because Japan had to accept all the terms outlined by the victors. But their only other choice was complete destruction, which they saw the Allies were capable of with the dropping of two atomic bombs.
  13. coup
    a sudden and decisive change of government by force
    There was even an attempted coup, but it failed.
  14. discharge
    release from military service
    Some code talkers stayed on in the Pacific after they were discharged.
  15. semaphore
    an apparatus for visual signaling
    642 code talker: Transmits and receives messages in a restricted language by radio and wire. Sends and receives messages by means of semaphores and other visual signals.
Created on Wed Dec 09 14:43:21 EST 2015 (updated Tue Jun 17 17:39:25 EDT 2025)

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