NAVAJO CODE TALKERS REMEMBERED
Pima Elementary School, which my children attended while we lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, honored the grandfather of one of it's students on Veteran's Day in the early 1980's. He was a Code Talker and I wish I could remember his name. The Navajo grandfather discussed what he did in words the children could understand.
Only two Code Talkers remain alive today: Thomas H. Begay and former Navajo Nation Chairman Peter MacDonald. Sixteen-year-old Thomas talked his mother into letting him join the Marines. Fluent in Navajo, an oral language the U.S. had tried to eradicate, he joined the estimated 400-500 Code Talkers. In Flagstaff, 29 Navajos created the code IN 1942. For example, a fighter plane became a hummingbird or "da-ha-tih-hi".
known for the harrowing days of the Pacific battles, the Code Talkers "relayed essential intelligence during every major U.S. Marine Corps assault in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945, including Iwo Jima" where six men relayed 800 messages in the first 48 hours with no mistakes. "Later, 5th Marine Division signal officer Maj. Howard Connor would say, 'Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.'"
The soldiers returning home were not allowed to tell anyone, not even their families, what they did during WWII.
- In 1968, all Navajo Code Talker records were unsealed.
- In 1982, President Ronald Reagan declared August 14 to be National Navajo Code Talker Day.
- In 2001, President George W. Bush awarded Congressional Gold or Silver medals to each Code Talker. Purple hearts and Silver Stars were awarded after their missions were declassified.
- In 2021, Arizona began recognizing August 14 as National Navajo Code Talkers Day as a state holiday. A massive sculpture by Doug Hyde depicts a Code Talker in traditional attire and a flute can be seen at Central Avenue and Thomas Road in Phoenix. The absence of military dress and WWII radio represents a communication of peace rather than war.
- In 2025, President Donald Trump ordered the removal of military content promoting DEI. The Defense Department deleted 1000s of pages honoring contributions by women and minorities, including any reference to Navajos. After public outcry, pages about the Code Talkers were restored.
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Resources:
Navajo Code Talker Memorial, https: //www.visitphoenix.com/stories/post/military-veterans-memorials/
"'It's about the power of the language' Navajo Code Talkers remembered for WWII heroism", The Arizona Republic, azcentral.com, Monday, August 17, 2026, pp. 1A,13A. https://enewspaper.azcentral.com/
"Pentagon restores histories of Navajo Code Talkers", Times News, tnonline.com, https://www.tnonline.com/20250320/pentagon-restores-histories-of-navajo-code-talkers/
