When Chester was a young boy, his mother passed away. Instead of a traditional American funeral, the family chose the Navajo way. None of the children were allowed to see their mother after she died, nor were they allowed to attend her burial. According to their tradition, the oldest males in the family dug the grave. The adult female relatives stayed with the body and prepared it for burial, but did not attend the burial themselves. The oldest male relative, Chester's grandfather, wore a breechcloth and placed the body in the grave. No one was told where the grave was (Nez 30-31). This seems very unusual in comparison to a traditional American funeral. At American funerals, there is a huge celebration of life, where family members will speak of their memories of the deceased. At the Navajo burial, they seem to try to forget the person and move on with their lives. Plenty of Americans practiced religion in their own way. In the boarding school that Chester attended, he was taught to be a devout Catholic. However, these new teachings caused confusion among the Navajo children. The students were taught only the white man's way at school, and only the Navajo way at home. Each culture saw the other as being wrong (Nez 62). Of course this confusion as a child would stay with him as he grew, and it even followed him into his time as a soldier. .
Chester Nez shared many experiences with other soldiers during the war, however, he saw that his experiences had a specifically Navajo way about them. Each Marine had to experience rigorous physical training. The Navajo men were accustomed to physical challenges, and the exhaustion that plagued many Marine recruits did not affect the Navajos (Nez 95). The Navajo men also worked hard at everything there were given to do. A Marine newspaper in San Diego, Chevron, highlighted their advancement and the praise they had been given. The Navajo men were also extremely comfortable on the shooting range.
