Bush awardsNative language codetalkers

[Richard LaFortune]

Navajo Code Talkers Receive Congressional Gold Medal

Mr. CAMPBELL: Mr. President earlier today I was
honored to join President Bush, four of the five
surviving Navajo code talkers, their families, and the
families of all the Code Talkers in a ceremony in
which the President awarded the Code Talkers the
Congressional Gold Medal.

The ceremony also included other members of Congress,
Indian tribal leaders, and dignitaries from around the
nation.

For far too many Americans, bred on cynicism and
hopelessness, these men remind us what real American
heroes are all about.

It is unfortunate that we could not have recognized
these men and their contributions sooner than this.

Think of this ~W just 77 years before World War II, the
grandfathers of these heroes were forced at gunpoint
with 9,000 other Navajos from their homeland and
marched 300 miles through the burning desert. For four
long years the Navajo people were interned at the
Bosque Redondo.

For these men and their comrades to rise above that
injustice in American history and put their lives on
the line speaks of their character and their
patriotism.

Just as the Japanese were never able to break the
Navajo Code, it is also a mystery why it took so long
for our nation to recognize the critical role the Code
Talkers played in achieving victory in the Pacific.

The answer may lie in the secrecy of their mission.

The Navajo Code Talkers took part in every major
assault the U.S. Marines conducted in the Pacific from
1942 to 1945. It was their duty to transmit messages
in their native language (Dine Bizaad) ~W a code the
Japanese were never able to decipher.

Mr. Phillip Johnston, the son of a missionary to the
Navajos and one of the few non-Navajos who spoke the
Navajo language fluently, was the individual
responsible for recognizing the potential of the
Navajo people and language and the contributions they
could make to World War II.

A World War I veteran who knew the value of secure
communications, Johnston was reared on the Navajo
reservation, and recommended the Navajo language be
used for this purpose.

The Navajo language is complex because it has no
alphabet or symbols and fit the military's need for an
"undecipherable code".

Johnston staged tests under simulated combat
conditions with the commanding general of the
Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet.

The tests demonstrated that Navajos could encode,
transmit and decode a three-line message in 20
seconds. After the simulation the Navajo were
recommended to the Commandant of the Marine Corps to
serve as Code Talkers. It was recommended that the
Marines recruit 200 Navajos.

In May 1942, the first 29 of the 200 requested Navajo
recruits attended boot camp. During this time they
developed and memorized a dictionary and numerous
words for military terms.

After the successful completion of boot camp, the Code
Talkers were sent to a Marine unit deployed in the
Pacific theater. At this duty station it became the
primary job of the Code Talkers to transmit
information on tactics, troop movements, orders, and
other vital battlefield communications over telephones
and radios.

The Navajos were praised for their skill, speed and
accuracy in communications throughout the War.

At Iwo Jima, Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division
Signal officer, declared, "Were it not for the
Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima."
Connor had six Navajo Code Talkers who worked around
the clock during the first two days of the battle
sending and receiving over 800 messages --- all
without error.

The Japanese, who were skilled code breakers, were
confused by the Navajo language. The Japanese chief of
intelligence, Lieutenant General Seizo Arisue said
that while they were at times able to decipher the
codes used by the other armed forces, they never were
able to crack the code used by the Marines and
Navajos.

American Indians and their commitment to this nation
can be described in one quote from David E. Patterson,
of the 4th Marine Division, "When I was inducted into
the service, one of the commitments I made was that I
was willing to die for my country~Vthe U.S., the Navajo
Nation, and my family. My [native] language was my
weapon."

I would like to thank the Navajo code talkers who
served in World War II for their dedication and
bravery to our nation.

They believed in what they fought for and were willing
to sacrifice their lives to create a communication
system that was unbreakable.

Without these brave men and their knowledge of their
language, the success of our nation's military efforts
in the Pacific would not have been possible.

I urge all Americans to thank these brave men for
their uncommon valor and dedication to a cause higher
than themselves.

I thank the chair and yield the floor.

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