Code Talkers treated with ‘special day’

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Hundreds gathered at Veteran’s Park Tuesday to commemorate the first Navajo Code Talkers Day.

People from different cultures around the world want to pay their respects to the Navajo Code Talkers, said Michael Smith, who was master of ceremonies and the son of one of the original 29 Code Talkers.

Jeanne Whitehorse, secretary of the Navajo Code Talkers Association and daughter of a Code Talker, recalled a trip to Guam and how the people there mobbed the Code Talkers, kissing their hands and thanking them for their freedom.

The Code Talkers had a “willingness to serve” and helped to preserve the cause of freedom, said Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. in his opening address.

“On behalf of our land, on behalf of our people, on behalf of our government, I want to thank you,” Shirley said.

As they honor the Code Talkers, take a moment to offer a prayer for “our children who are still in harm’s way,” Shirley added.

The names of the Code Talkers present were read by Whitehorse ; they included Purple Heart winner Teddy Draper Sr. and Joe Kellywood and John Brown, two of the original 29 and owners of the gold medal. The other Code Talkers received silver medals.

The names of the deceased Talkers were also read off and a wreath was laid near the Code Talker statue in the park as “Taps” was played by the Marine Corps Band.

Code Talker Association President Keith Little said the Talkers were a group of men who “did something unique, something never done before.”

Even more than the unbreakable code they invented, they helped break down the barriers of discrimination, Little said. Prior to the Code Talkers, the Marines only accepted white males, he said.

When the Marines set up a place near Fort Defiance and put out the word that they needed soldiers, more than 600 young Navajo men responded, Little said.

“Some came with their rifles, came with their ammunition; many didn’t even speak English,” Little said. “They came and said ‘we want to go now, we want to fight the enemy’.”

Even though the surrounding states didn’t pass laws to allow Indians to vote, the Navajos stepped up to serve, Whitehorse said. Arizona passed an Indian voting law in 1945, New Mexico in 1948 and Utah in 1953, she said.

The federal government gave Indians the right to vote in 1924, after the Native American veterans made significant contributions during World War I.

“I was going to school at Fort Wingate and this Marine guy came there with a beautiful stripe on his sleeve,” recalled Code Talker Kee Etsicitty. He enlisted because “everybody else was doing it,” he said. Etsicitty was a combat veteran in the Pacific Theater of World War II, serving, among other places, on Guam and Iwo Jima .

To him, the Code Talker Day was “a special honor,” he said.

“I feel, in many years, that this is a celebration of ourselves, of our language, our way of life,” Shirley said. “The Code Talkers were right there in the fray, willing to sacrifice. As a result we have pride and culture.”

Shirley, who signed the legislation creating the tribal holiday, said it was “a special day.”

Only about four million of the 11 million WWII veterans are still alive. The Navajo Nation has about 12,000 veterans from various wars, Little said.

There has been some interest shown in building a museum to honor all Navajo veterans.

“That’s probably how it would happen – with a sacred hall to honor the Code Talkers,” Shirley said.

To the Navajos, there was never a question about serving the country, and their Nation, Little said.

“It is the mark of a Navajo warrior – of a Native American warrior – to protect their loved ones,” Little said.