More than a hundred Soldiers and other members of the Fort Irwin community gathered at Sandy Basin community center to celebrate Native American Indian Heritage Month on Nov. 25. Following a short video documentary about the World War II Marine Navajo code talkers, guest speaker Cpt. Sean Begaye of 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment talked about his grandfather's time, when young and middle-aged Navajo men volunteered to serve as code talkers in the Pacific theater during World War II, despite the "painful history Native Americans have endured, a history of violence, marginalization, broken promises, and upended justice."
Following Begaye's talk, Yakama/Tulalip Native American Terry Goedel then entertained the audience with an introduction to the motions and meaning of the hoop dance, an art developed by southwest Indian dancers.
The following are excerpts taken from remarks made by Cpt. Begaye. Before joining the Army, Begaye enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1998, serving as an aviation inventory management specialist, MOS 6042) and deploying twice to Iraq in 2005 and 2006, before being discharged as a sergeant in 2008. He then attended Arizona State University and was commissioned in the U.S. Army upon graduation, and currently serves as an assistance operations officer with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Irwin.
Begaye begins his talk by introducing himself in the Navaho language, then gave an English translation: "My name is Sean Begaye and I am a Sleep Rock Person, born for the Many Goats People. My maternal grandfather's clan is Yucca Strong on a Line People. My paternal grandfather's clan is One Who Walks Around. I grew up in Fort Defiance, Arizona."
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, many reservation Indians answered the call to serve. "Among the men who answered the call were men from the wind-swept mesas of Monument Valley, from small towns like Fort Defiance, Hard Rock, Nazlini Chile, Sheep Springs, Lake Valley, and many more.
"They were brought up in the warrior tradition like other Native Americans, with mythological stories of the Hero Twins who fought ancient enemy beings, and also oral stories of war against the Spanish, Mexican, and the Americans. They also heard stories of atrocities committed against their people, stories of a forced march 400 miles from their home in the dead of winter, where Soldiers abandoned old people and children who could not keep up. These men grew up in an era where the concept of "Kill the Indian, save the man," was incorporated into their classroom studies. At the boarding schools they attended, they could not grow out their hair, were told not to speak their language or pray in the ancient way, and were punished when they did.
"...Despite their history…they came in wagons, on horseback and on foot. Some…came with a variety of weapons, old muskets, and ancient hand guns, ready to fight Nazis and the Japanese. They were men like Albert Smith who was 15 years old. Others were as old as Carl Gorman who was 36 years old and signed affidavits saying they were older or younger, depending on the circumstance.
At the start of World War II, Japanese cryptographers who received their education and training in the United States were effortlessly breaking encoded allied messages. The Japanese use this weakness to their advantage and rapidly seized power in Southeast Asia and expelled Allied forces.
A World War I veteran named Philip Johnston who grew up on the Navajo Reservation recognized the need for a code and presented his idea to the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps was astonished by the speed and accuracy that the Navajo language offered.
"The first 29 Navajo Code Talkers who met the Marine Corps standard of fitness and the ability to speak, as well as write, in English and Navajo, helped develop a code based on the Navajo language. This code of over 500 phrases was committed strictly to memory....
"The Navajo men were treated no different than other Marines. When they joined, they went to the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego for eight weeks and then afterwards went to a special signal company where they learned the Navajo code [a set of several hundred Navajo words adapted for modern military use]. This training was very difficult and those that didn't make it were sent to the front to serve as infantry Marines....
"A Navajo man named Joe Shorty Yazzie [Begaye's grandfather] who served with the Marine Raiders later recalled being on the ships. 'When we were traveling on the ocean, sometimes, we Navajo men would get together and go down into the belly of the ship and would sing songs. We would sing Navajo Enemy Way songs. And this would give us strength and courage.'...
"The Navajo served in all major campaigns in the Pacific theater…Guadalcanal, Saipan, Guam, Pelieulu, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and many more battles....
"The Navajo code talker mission ended when the atomic bombs were dropped over Japan. With the end of their enlistments, the Navajo code talkers were told to never talk about the code. Many returned home to their beloved Navajo nation within the four sacred mountains, with no ticker tape parades and little fanfare. They simply tried to piece together their lives....
"In 1968 the Code was declassified. However, it would be many years before they were able to get recognition for their contribution. In 2001, the Navajo Code Talker finally received their recognition. The first original 29 who helped develop the Code received the Congressional Gold Medal….The other 400 or so ..received the Congressional Silver Medals. Today, in continuing the warrior tradition, many Native American people continue to serve in our nation's armed forces."
Social Sharing