Code Talker: Chapter 25 Summary & Analysis

After everything they’ve survived, most of the marines think that taking Iwo Jima will be a piece of cake. But it turns out to be “the worst nightmare of all.” Ned says this wasn’t their commanders’ fault. The island had been relentlessly bombed for days before the landing invasion; it should have been sufficiently “softened up.” But Command didn’t know how deeply the Japanese were dug in and how well supplied they were. In fact, later, the marines discover that some of the food the United States had shipped as relief for the starving Japanese people had been appropriated by the Japanese military; it was stored in the caves on Iwo Jima.

An enormous naval fleet of 464 ships is sent against Iwo Jima. There are four command ships, each with a Navajo code talking team. False messages are sent via Morse code to trick Japanese monitors, but all the important communication takes place through the Navajo net. Seventy thousand Marines prepare to invade. The morning of the landing, Ned prays as usual with corn pollen. Instead of eating the traditional big breakfast marines are served before a landing, Ned stashes a steak sandwich in his pack—something he’s grateful for later.

When Ned gets his first glance at Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi, it makes the hair stand up on the back of his neck. Even after the naval bombardment and aerial bombing, the island remains silent, as if dead. Ned is part of the first landing wave, along with Smitty. He and Smitty feel as if they are one another’s good luck charms.

Iwo Jima means “Sulphur Island,” and as Ned’s landing craft approaches the island, he can actually feel volcanic heat emanating from it. Steam seeps from cracks, and the sand can burn a person’s hand. As Ned and the other marines step onto the island, they’re met with utter silence. It all feels eerily easy to Ned.