“The documentary tells the kind of hidden story of linguists working behind the scenes in most of the major historical events in the last 85 years,” explains Natela Cutter, Chief of DLIFLC Public Affairs. “We wanted to highlight the extraordinary stories we’ve heard over the years.”
The documentary will begin with the story of how the language program began in 1941 with the first students being of Japanese American descent called Nisei, or second generation Japanese American citizens. These brave men and women answered the call when their country asked them to serve during World War II, despite often being seen as potential enemies.
Shig Kihara, a Nisei graduate and later DLIFLC instructor, tells a story of John Aiso, the first instructor at the language school, after whom Aiso library has been named. In trying to convince Aiso to take on the monumental instructor position, Lt. Col. John Weckerling, tasked with setting up the school, told Aiso that his country needed him.
“This was the first time in John’s life that any person of authority in the United States had ever referred to America as ‘your country,’” said Kihara. “When John heard this, he had no choice but to say, ‘Yes, Sir, I’ll accept.’”
While reviewing the interviews and historical materials for the documentary, Cutter noted that what stood out was the remarkable talent of linguists and their profound understanding of language and culture, which brings a human touch to the profession.
“You have linguists like Eric Maddox, who interrogated the guy who led the military to Sadam Hussein’s hiding place. He talked about how important empathy was to his work,” Cutter said. “Or Jerry Coffman, who worked with Russians for nuclear threat reduction. He and his Russian counterparts talked about how they were doing this for future generations. That’s why we are using the theme of peace through linguistic readiness.”
Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of U.S. European Command, as well as a graduate of DLIFLC, explained the importance of DLIFLC graduates in his decision-making as the highest ranking U.S. officer in Europe.
“I start every single day with an intensive intelligence briefing, which relies heavily on the work of FAOs, relies heavily on the work of attaches, relies heavily on the work of linguists,” Cavoli said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about in peace time, in competition, in conflict, if we’re talking about operations, if we’re talking about military work, if we’re talking about intelligence, there’s a linguist and/or a FAO attached to the issue, and I depend on that person.”
The as-yet-untitled documentary will be released on the DLIFLC YouTube page in early 2026. You can watch the trailer by scrolling down this page.
