Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Dan Akee Collection

Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Marine Corps
- Service Unit/Ship: 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division
- Location of Service: Iwo Jima; Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands); Marshall Islands; Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Sergeant Major
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/52555
Born on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, Dan Akee was sent at age six to a boarding school in nearby Tuba City. In 1942, he heard the Armed Forces were recruiting Navajos, but he couldn't pass the physical. Two years later, he volunteered again, passed, and became a member of the Code Talker team attached to the 4th Marine Division. He saw action on four Pacific islands, and by the last, Iwo Jima, he was starting to show the psychological effects of prolonged exposure to combat. After returning home, he had persistent problems with nightmares and took to drinking. When a doctor told him he had a liver disease that would be fatal, Akee stopped drinking and also turned to religion, becoming a minister in the Assembly of God church.
Interview / Recording
Transcript
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PlayWhy he chose to enlist in the Marines; since he was young, wanted to be in the service but not necessarily in a war; recruited for the secret code talker program; toughest part of training was learning the vocabulary of terms by heart; they could not carry any paper with them in the field. 00:02:04.7 - 00:05:10.7
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PlaySent from the U.S. with the 4th Marine Division directly into action on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands; after a rest in Maui, on to Saipan and Tinian; returned to Tinian 50 years later and saw many changes; after another rest in Maui, on to Iwo Jima; not being informed where they would go into combat each time; high casualties on Iwo Jima, including four Code Talkers; on Iwo Jima, he started to break down after all-night shelling; sent back to Maui, where he was at war's end; got to go home immediately, given the points he had accumulated serving in combat. 00:14:49.0 - 00:20:15.8
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PlayAfter the war, went to school on GI Bill; started having nightmares; tribe tried treating him with traditional medicines and a special ceremony, but that didn't work; took to drinking; doctor told him he had a fatal kidney disease and persuaded him to consider religion to get his life together; has been sober for 47 years. 00:20:20.0 - 00:26:18.2
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PlayDid not like the way he was treated in boot camp but came to understand how necessary the discipline was; did not think the Marines were discriminatory; Navajos had few adjustments to make to the physical demands. 00:31:49.5 - 00:34:16.2
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PlayLearning how to use radios was an important part of their job; anticipating needs of the unit. 00:34:40.6 - 00:35:48.6
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PlayHis unit's Japanese interpreter intercepting word of a nighttime banzai attack; the code talkers passing the word on so that the Marines were ready when the attack came at 3 a.m. 00:37:57.8 - 00:39:33.8
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PlayAnother Navajo, Samuel Holiday, mistaken by sentries for a Japanese; Akee teasing him that they would have to watch themselves now. 00:39:47.6 - 00:41:23.3
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PlayLanding with third wave on Iwo Jima and seeing corpses on the beach; his feelings about war: we should fight only to protect our own shores; unhappy about the current war in Iraq. 00:43:33.1 - 00:46:14.5
About this Item
Title
- Dan Akee Collection
Names
- Chalmers Ford, Don
- Fleming, Carol Ellison
- Navajo Code Talker's Project
- Akee, Dan
- Salomon, Warren C.
State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation
- Arizona
Headings
- - Akee, Dan
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Marine Corps.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- American Indian and Alaskan Native
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Marine Corps
- Service Unit/Ship: 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division
- Location of Service: Iwo Jima; Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands); Marshall Islands; Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Sergeant Major
- Dates of Service: 1943-1945
- Entrance into Service: Enlisted
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: The veteran served as a Navajo Code Talker.
Materials
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2009-08-04; 2009-08-04)
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-07-24; 2004-09-13)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/52555
Online Format
- image
- online text
- video
Additional Metadata Formats
Part of
Wars & Conflicts
Service Branch
Location of Service
- Iwo Jima
- Marshall Islands
- Pacific Theater
- Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
- Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands)