He could say he had served.

He could describe training and travel and combat in general terms.

But the thing that had made his service distinctive — the code, the language, the reason the Marine Corps had specifically sought out Navajo men — was classified.

The silence was not abstract.

It had specific consequences for specific people.

In the postwar years, as veterans organized to seek benefits and recognition for their service, the story of what they had done was one of the most powerful arguments available for why their service had been particularly valuable.