Code Talker and Navajo Marines of WWII

Question

by Joseph Bruchac

Instead of Tumon Bay, we went farther south. There we would have to cross the reef to land on two western beaches that lay below sheer bluffs. July 21 was set for the invasion, W-day, as our leaders named it. As the first light outlined the island I stood by the rail, watching. I’d managed to find a wooden box to stand on, so I wasn’t just looking at the backs of other Marines as sometimes happened.

“Hey, little fella, want me to boost you up on my shoulders?” a familiar voice said from behind me.

It was Smitty, of course. He sometimes kidded me about being so short, but I always had an easy answer: “Bigger guys make bigger targets.”

The next thing I knew, I was on an alligator rumbling over the reef. I could hear the roar of the LVT’s engines, the whap-whap-whap of small waves hitting the metal side of the boat, and the coral being crushed by the treads, sort of like the sound sugar cubes make when they are crushed between teeth.

Excerpt(s) from CODE TALKER: A NOVEL ABOUT THE NAVAJO MARINES OF WORLD WAR TWO by Joseph Bruchac, copyright © 2005 by Joseph Bruchac. Used by permission of Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

Question
Use the passage to answer the question.

What does the “alligator” mean in the context of the historical setting?

(1 point)
Responses

a cunning plan that stops at nothing
a cunning plan that stops at nothing - no response given

a low armored vessel
a low armored vessel - no response given

an animal enlisted in warfare
an animal enlisted in warfare - no response given

an attack pattern that catches the enemy in its “jaws”
an attack pattern that catches the enemy in its “jaws” - incorrect
Incorrect

Incorrect. The narrator refers to riding on the alligator as a physical object.
Remaining Attempts : 1
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Answer 1

In the context of the historical setting described in the passage, the term "alligator" refers to a low armored vessel, specifically the LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked). This type of vehicle was used in amphibious assaults during World War II to transport troops and equipment from ships to the shore. The passage describes the sounds and sensations of being in this vehicle as it makes its way over the reef, indicating its function as a means of landing on the beaches during the invasion. Therefore, the correct response is:

a low armored vessel.