https://www.economist.com/obituary/2024/12/05/john-kinsel-used-his-own-language-to-fool-the-japanese

 />Skip to content

  * Menu
  * Weekly edition
  * The world in brief
  * Search

Log in

  * Opinion

      + Leaders
      + Letters to the editor
      + By Invitation
      + Current topics

          o US elections 2024
          o War in Ukraine
          o War in the Middle East
          o The World Ahead 2025
          o Climate change
          o Coronavirus
          o The world economy
          o Artificial intelligence
  * Current topics

      + US elections 2024
      + War in Ukraine
      + War in the Middle East
      + The World Ahead 2025
      + Climate change
      + Coronavirus
      + The world economy
      + Artificial intelligence
  * World

      + The world this week
      + China
      + United States
      + Europe
      + Britain
      + Middle East & Africa
      + Asia
      + The Americas
      + International
      + A-Z of international relations
      + A-Z of military terms
      + A-Z of US politics
      + US election poll tracker
  * In depth

      + Science & technology
      + Briefing
      + Graphic detail
      + The Economist explains
      + Special reports
      + Technology Quarterly
      + Essay
      + Schools brief
  * Business & economics

      + Finance & economics
      + Business
      + Big Mac index
      + A-Z of economics
      + Economic & financial indicators
  * Culture & society

      + 1843 magazine
      + Culture
      + Obituary
      + The Economist reads
      + Christmas Specials
  * More

      + Podcasts
      + Newsletters
      + Video
      + The Economist app
      + SecureDrop
      + Subscriber events
      + Economist Education courses
      + Economist Enterprise

  * My Economist
  * Saved stories
  * Log out

  * Saved stories
  * Account
  * Log out

Search
[                    ]
Try AI-powered search

Obituary | The never-broken code

John Kinsel used his own language to fool the Japanese

One of the last Navajo code-talkers died on October 19th, aged 107

John Kinsel Navajo code talkerPhotograph: Michael A. Ruka, Winona
State University, Minnesota, 2010
Dec 5th 2024
Share

On the day John Kinsel came back from the second world war, his
mother immediately called in the medicine man. It was not to treat
his leg, though it had been broken in Iwo Jima, and on that leg he
had walked the last seven miles over the Arizona mountains to
Lukachukai and his family, lugging a suitcase so full of hard-to-get
cigarettes that he had bound it up with rope. The medicine man was
needed to re-initiate him into his community and tribe. To make him a
Navajo again.

This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition
under the headline "John Kinsel"

Obituary December 7th 2024

  * John Kinsel used his own language to fool the Japanese

[20241207_DE_US]

From the December 7th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition
Share
Reuse this content

Discover more

Celeste Caeiro at age 90 holds a bouquet of carnations during a
military parade to celebrate the Carnation Revolution's 50th
anniversary in Lisbon, Portugal on April 25th 2024

Celeste Caeiro's small gesture named a revolution

The Portuguese restaurant worker and single mother died on November
15th, aged 91

Frank Auerbach in his studio

Frank Auerbach aimed only at one memorable image

Britain's most obsessive figurative painter died on November 11th,
aged 93

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Baltazar Ushca extracts ice from the slopes of the Chimborazo
volcano, in Chimborazo province, Ecuador on November 16th 2007

Baltazar Ushca climbed Chimborazo twice a week

The last Ecuadorean ice-harvester died on October 11th, aged 80

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Quincy Jones ruled popular music for half a century

The producer, arranger and film-score writer died on November 3rd,
aged 91

Lily Ebert lived to share her story of Auschwitz

The Holocaust survivor and memoirist died on October 9th, aged 100

Fethullah Gulen tried to transform Turkey in the subtlest ways

The scholar, teacher and activist died on Ocrober 20th, aged 83

---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------

  * Subscribe
  * Economist Enterprise
  * Reuse our content
  * Help and contact us

Keep updated

  *  
  *  
  *  
  *  
  *  
  *  
  *  
  *  

Published since September 1843 to take part in "a severe contest
between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid
ignorance obstructing our progress."

The Economist

  * About
  * Advertise
  * Press centre
  * SecureDrop

The Economist Group

  * The Economist Group
  * Economist Intelligence
  * Economist Impact
  * Economist Impact Events
  * Working here
  * Economist Education Courses
  * Executive Jobs

To enhance your experience and ensure our website runs smoothly, we
use cookies and similar technologies.

Manage Cookies

  * Terms of Use
  * Privacy
  * Cookie Policy
  * Accessibility
  * Modern Slavery Statement
  * Sitemap
  * Your Data Rights

Copyright (c) The Economist Newspaper Limited 2024. All rights
reserved.