[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H3940]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO AMERICA'S VETERANS AND TO DR. CARL GORMAN ON MEMORIAL DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all of us pause to 
remember the reason why we are preparing to take a break from our 
activities here in Washington, the reason why the highways will be 
filled with vacationers in just a couple of hours. The reason why has 
more to do with the history of this country than any type of 
chronological observance on the calendar, for we approach Memorial Day.
  Mr. Speaker, I have a special wish for this coming Memorial Day, that 
those who are wrapped up in the ball games at the beach and the fun and 
the activities that surround this time of year, that those who pause 
not even a New York nanosecond to remember the significance and the 
history of this holiday, I would ask that perhaps they would pause to 
remember and reflect on what we approach.
  In so doing, Mr. Speaker, I would remember one for whom this Memorial 
Day will carry a special significance, because he no longer walks among 
us. He passed away in February of this year. His name is Dr. Carl 
Gorman, one of my constituents from the Sixth Congressional District of 
Arizona.
  Dr. Gorman has a very interesting story, because Dr. Gorman, born in 
1907 in Chinle, Arizona, in the sovereign Navajo Nation, overcame many 
obstacles to have a chance to serve this Nation in the military.
  First and foremost, we should note that the Navajo Tribal Council in 
fact set the pace for this Chamber, for it was the Navajo Tribal 
Council in 1940, over a year before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, 
the Navajo Tribal Council passed a resolution asking the United States 
to enter World War II on the side of the Allies.
  Then following that attack, December 7, 1941, Carl Gorman, who was 
older than what would fit the profile, got a little creative about his 
age, said he was a younger man, drove all night to the Navajo capital 
of Window Rock to enlist, and he and 28 others formed an elite unit, a 
unit so elite that its activities were not declassified until 1968.
  Mr. Speaker, they were known as the Navajo Code Talkers. Dr. Gorman 
and his Navajo brethren went into the South Pacific using terms from 
their unique language, and so befuddled and confused the enemy that the 
code, the Navajo language, was never interpreted. That code was never 
broken, and it reigns as one of the great successes of World War II.

  The Marine Corps high command, in looking back at the activities of 
Dr. Gorman and his comrades, considered the Navajo Code Talkers heroes. 
They determined that the Code Talkers saved hundreds if not thousands 
of American lives because of the success in the South Pacific. Indeed, 
Mr. Speaker, were it not for the actions of Carl Gorman and the Navajo 
Code Talkers, our Marine Corps high command believes that perhaps the 
battle of Iwo Jima would have had a far different outcome.
  Like for so many who returned from World War II, life went on for 
Carl Gorman following that war. He went to art school in Los Angeles. 
He taught Navajo art at the University of California at Davis. He went 
on to work again in his home State down in Douglas, Arizona.
  But always and forever on this Memorial Day and those that follow, we 
should remember all our veterans, yes, those who fell on the field of 
battle, but those who continued to contribute to their Nation, like Dr. 
Carl Gorman. We honor his memory and those of all veterans this 
Memorial Day.

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