Alcorn McBride audio and video players are being used in an exhibit about the Choctaw Code Talkers – native Americans whose language was used in World War I to thwart German eavesdroppers.
The story, which had been lost to history until recently, is told at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Capitol Museum in Tuskahoma. A refurbished gallery in the museum is dedicated to ‘the original Code Talkers’, members of the Choctaw Nation who served in the 142nd and 143rd Infantry Regiments of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. More than 20 years before the celebrated Navajo Code Talkers of World War II, these soldiers used the Choctaw language to foil the Germans who were intercepting Allied communications on the Western Front in 1918. Discouraged from speaking their native language at home, the Choctaw were credited with helping to ensure an Allied victory during the war.
The gallery features a kiosk with a 55in screen that displays a 20-minute video about the Codetalkers, told through archival imagery and the recollections of their descendants. Pushbuttons activate the video, and a ‘field telephone’ with buttons enables visitors to listen to Choctaw field commands and an English translation. Alcorn McBride’s HD DVM8500 video player operates the display while the Digital Audio Machine AM4 A/E digital audio player, with built-in amp, operates the phone.
Ko-Kwow Arts and Exhibits constructed the exhibit and Media Matrix installed all the components for audio and video playback here at the North Bend facilities of Ko-Kwow. “Once again we turned to Alcorn McBride equipment for reliability and ease of operation,” said Media Matrix owner Vinnie Cavarra. “In addition, everyone at the company has been wonderful to work with and helpful with any and all technical issues.”
The exhibit designers for the Choctaw Code Talkers were Larry Watson and Peggy O’Neal of Ko-Kwow, North Bend, Oregon.
