[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 95 (Tuesday, July 10, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H3824-H3827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  AUTHORIZING ROTUNDA OF CAPITOL TO BE USED FOR A CEREMONY TO PRESENT 
    CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDALS TO THE ORIGINAL 29 NAVAJO CODE TALKERS

  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 174) authorizing the Rotunda of the 
Capitol to be used on July 26, 2001, for a ceremony to present 
Congressional Gold Medals to the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 174

       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Rotunda of the Capitol is authorized to 
     be used on July 26, 2001, for a ceremony to present 
     Congressional Gold Medals to the original 29 Navajo Code 
     Talkers. Physical preparations for the ceremony shall be 
     carried out in accordance with such conditions as the 
     Architect of the Capitol may prescribe.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Ney) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney).
  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, during the Second World War, the United States 
Government called upon 29 Navajo men from the Navajo Nation to support 
the military effort by serving as Marine Corps radio operators. The 
actual number of enlistees later increased to over 350.
  The Japanese had deciphered the military code developed by the United 
States for transmitting messages and the Navajo Marine Corps radio 
operators, who became known as the Navajo Code Talkers, developed a new 
code using their language to communicate military messages in the 
Pacific.
  Throughout its extensive use, the code developed by these Native 
Americans proved unbreakable. The Navajos were people who had been 
discouraged from using their own language. Ultimately, the code they 
developed using the same language would be credited with saving the 
lives of many American soldiers and several successful United States 
military engagements during World War II. It is an extreme honor to 
bring this legislation to the floor today authorizing a ceremony to be 
held in the Capitol Rotunda presenting Congressional Gold Medals to the 
original 29 Navajo Code Talkers. Their contribution to this Nation 
proved immeasurable.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. NEY. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Ney) for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I would simply like to congratulate the gentleman on his 
statement and say that we look anxiously towards that program which 
will be held later this month.
  I, last week, had the opportunity to meet with some people at MGM, 
and the motion picture which is going to be coming out on the work of 
the Navajo Code Talkers should be fascinating. I have the trailer 
upstairs. I have not seen it yet, but I know from the early reports we 
have seen that it will be a wonderful presentation of the work of these 
courageous people and the role that that they played during the Second 
World War.
  I would like to strongly support the effort that is being led by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), and it looks to me as if the gentleman 
from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) is also working on this. I believe that it 
should be a great motion picture and a wonderful ceremony here, and I 
thank my friend for the leadership role he has played on this.
  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman of the Committee 
on Rules, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), for his support 
on this important measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me begin by thanking the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Ney) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for their efforts in 
bringing House Concurrent Resolution 174 to the floor today.
  I introduced H. Con. Res. 174 on June 26, 2001, to authorize the 
Rotunda of the Capitol to be used on July 26, 2001, for a ceremony to 
present Congressional Gold Medals to the original 29 Navajo Code 
Talkers. This legislation will bring us one step closer to making the 
special and long overdue ceremony a reality.
  I would also like to thank the 14 Members on both sides of the aisle 
who joined as original cosponsors to this measure.
  During the 106th Congress, Senator Jeff Bingaman introduced 
legislation to honor the Navajo Code Talkers who played a pivotal role 
in World War II. I introduced the companion measure so that both 
Chambers could support these original 29 heroic men with the 
Congressional Gold Medal. In addition, a Silver Medal will be presented 
to the other Navajo Code Talkers who later followed the original 29.
  Thanks to Senator Bingaman's efforts, language was included in the 
last year omnibus bill to honor these men. This was an effort that I 
and many of my colleagues supported in the House. These Code Talkers 
will soon receive their long overdue recognition for their service and 
the honor they brought to our country and to their people. This is a 
historic moment for the Navajo Nation and for all World War II 
veterans.
  The medals that the President will present to these 29 men on behalf 
of Congress will express our appreciation for their dedication and 
service as Navajo Code Talkers. Of the 29 original Navajo Code Talkers, 
5 are still alive today. They are John Brown, Jr., of Navajo, New 
Mexico; Chester Nez of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Allen Dale June of West 
Valley City, Utah; Lloyd Oliver of Phoenix, Arizona; and Joe Palmer of 
Yuma, Arizona.
  Mr. Speaker, during World War II, the Navajo Code Talkers took part 
in many assaults conducted by the U.S. Marines in the Pacific. In May 
1942, the original 29 Navajo recruits attended Marine Boot Camp and 
worked to create the Navajo Code. The Navajo Code Talkers created 
messages by first translating Navajo words into English and then using 
the first letter of each English word to decipher their meaning. 
Because different Navajo words might be translated into different 
English words for the same letter, the code was especially difficult to 
decipher.

                              {time}  1545

  The use of Native American languages in coded military communications 
was not new to World War II. Choctaw Indians, for example, served as 
Code Talkers in World War I. The idea of using Navajo as code in World 
War II came from a veteran of World War I, Phillip Johnston. Johnston 
knew of the military's search for a code that would withstand all 
attempts to decipher it. He was also the son of a missionary, raised on 
the Navajo Indian Reservation, spoke fluent Navajo, and believed that 
the Navajo language was the answer to the military requirement for an 
indecipherable code, given that it was an unwritten language of extreme 
complexity.
  The Navajo Code Talkers served in all six Marine divisions, Marine 
Raider battalions and Marine parachute units. They transmitted messages 
by telephone and radio in a code derived from their Native language, a 
code, I may add, that was never broken by the Japanese. The Navajo code 
remained so valuable that the Department of Defense kept the code 
secret for 23 years

[[Page H3825]]

after World War II. Therefore, the Code Talkers never received the 
recognition they deserved.
  The ceremony on July 26 will at long last pay full tribute to the 
brave Americans who used their Native language to help bring an end to 
World War II in the Pacific. I would also like to mention that a 
separate ceremony is being planned for later this fall in Arizona or 
New Mexico to present a silver medal to each man who later qualified as 
a Navajo Code Talker.
  In closing, let me say that the Navajo language imparts a sense of 
feeling, history and tradition to all the Code Talkers who served 
valiantly in World War II. To the five Code Talkers who are with us 
today, to their families, and to those who are with us in spirit, I say 
a few words in Navajo, which I will translate.
  Dine bizaad chooz' iidgo silaoltsooi niha nidaazbaa
  Aadoo ak'ah dadeesdlii.
  Nitsaago baa aheeh daniidzin.
  Ahehee.
  Which in English translates to, ``Let me express my deep gratitude to 
the Navajo Code Talkers who provided and helped to develop an ingenious 
code based on your language, and became the communications link to and 
from the front lines of the Allies in the Pacific War.'' Through the 
Navajo Code Talkers' bravery, their sacrifice, and the unbreakability 
of the code, the United States military was able to communicate with 
one another.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I urge my colleagues to come 
together and support this resolution, support our Navajo veterans and 
every veteran who sacrificed their very lives for the liberties and 
freedoms we enjoy today.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Kildee), the cochair of the Native American Caucus, who has also been a 
staunch leader on Native American issues in this body for many years.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Concurrent 
Resolution 174, the resolution sponsored by the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Udall), that authorizes the use of the Capitol Rotunda on 
July 26, 2001, for a ceremony to present the Congressional Gold Medal 
to the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers.
  I am honored to have been an original cosponsor of H.R. 4527, the 
legislation sponsored by my good friend the gentleman from New Mexico 
(Mr. Udall) that authorizes the President of the United States to award 
the gold medal on behalf of the Congress to each of the original Navajo 
Code Talkers.
  I also want to acknowledge the work of Senator Jeff Bingaman for his 
efforts in getting the Senate version of the bill included in the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2001.
  Mr. Speaker, awarding these medals to the brave Navajo men that 
served this country at a time of war by using the Navajo language to 
develop a unique and unbreakable code to communicate military messages 
in the Pacific is long overdue.
  The United States Marine Corps recruited and enlisted 29 Navajo men 
to serve as Marine Corps radio operators. These men are referred to 
today as the Navajo Code Talkers. The number of Code Talkers would 
later increase to over 350. So successful was the code that the Code 
Talkers were sworn to secrecy, an oath they honored until 1968, when 
the Department of Defense declassified the code.
  Mr. Speaker, the heroic efforts of these men saved the lives of many, 
including probably my own brother Kenneth Robert Kildee, and hastened 
the end of World War II in the Pacific theater.
  I ask my colleagues for their support of this resolution so that 
Congress, through the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal, can 
finally express the gratitude of an entire Nation to these brave men 
for the contributions they made during a time of war and the valor with 
which they served their country.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the 
gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I certainly would like to thank the 
original sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from New Mexico 
(Mr. Udall), for his leadership and for bringing this legislation to 
the floor. I would also be remiss if I did not express my gratitude to 
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), the chairman of the Committee on 
House Administration, for his support, and also the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the ranking member of the Committee on House 
Administration, for his support in bringing this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, as a former student of Brigham Young University, it was 
my privilege to know many students who are Americans of Navajo descent. 
If I could, I would like to say a fond hello in Navajo, Yateeh.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored as an original cosponsor to speak today in 
support of House Concurrent Resolution 174 to authorize the use of the 
Rotunda of the Capitol to be used later this month for a ceremony to 
present Congressional Gold Medals to the original 29 Navajo Code 
Talkers, a ceremony that is certainly long, long overdue.
  Mr. Speaker, the idea of using an Indian language as a code was first 
tried during World War I by the Canadians. The Canadians used Choctaw 
Indians in their effort, but the experiment was not successful. The 
failure of this effort is attributed to the Indians knowing very little 
English and there being no equivalent terminology for the military 
terms.
  The next effort to use an Indian language for a code during wartime 
was made by the Americans in World War II. The origin of this effort is 
credited to Phillip Johnston, who was the son of missionaries who did a 
lot of work among the Navajo Indians. Mr. Johnston brought their idea 
to the U.S. Marines in California. Because of the bad experience during 
World War I, still our government was very reluctant to be receptive to 
this kind of an idea.
  Eventually the supporters of the Code Talkers prevailed, at least 
enough to conduct a test. Two Navajos were sent into one room, and two 
were put in a second room without visual contact. A message was given 
to the Navajos in the first room, and they were instructed to translate 
the message and send it to the other room. The three-line message was 
encoded, transmitted and decoded in 20 seconds. Encoding and decoding 
the same message by machine took 30 minutes, and the viability of using 
the Navajo for military encryption became readily apparent.
  Nevertheless, there was still some resistance to using American 
Indians to transmit military messages. An authorization was given to 
recruit only 30 Navajos for a pilot program. Recruiting potential Code 
Talkers and getting them through military training was not easy. Most 
Navajo did not speak English, and they were all coming from a very 
different culture.
  Parts of their training, such as long runs in the hot sun or 
surviving in the desert with one canteen of water, came quite naturally 
to them. Other parts of the training, such as certain aspects of 
military discipline and the maintenance and repair of radio 
transmitters and receivers, were somewhat alien to them.
  In constructing a code, the Navajo had to take several things into 
consideration. The code would have to be memorized. It would then be 
used in periods of conflict when tensions were running high and 
transmissions could be difficult to hear clearly because of static, 
close-by rifle fire and explosions.
  With those constraints in mind, the Navajo used four basic rules in 
developing this code: 1. Each code word must have some logical 
connection to the actual word; 2. Each code word should be unusually 
descriptive or creative; 3. Each code word should be short; and, 4. No 
code word should be easily confused with another.
  While developing the code, the Navajo were placed in battle 
simulations, and transmissions were monitored by military code breakers 
and Navajos who did not know the code. No one broke the code during 
these tests.
  Mr. Speaker, the first 30 Code Talkers were sent into battle, and the 
pilot program was a success. Eventually 350 Code Talkers were employed 
in battle, including the battles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo 
Jima and Okinawa. At Iwo Jima alone, the Navajo

[[Page H3826]]

Code Talkers passed over 800 error-free messages in a 48-hour period.
  The bottom line, Mr. Speaker, is that thousands of lives of our 
soldiers, sailors and marines were saved due to the outstanding job our 
Navajo Code Talkers made as part of our war effort during World War II, 
especially in places I had previously mentioned.
  About 4 years ago, Mr. Speaker, I was privileged to travel with the 
late Senator John Chafee from Rhode Island to represent the Congress at 
a special ceremony whereby our government had authorized construction 
of a parliamentary building for the Solomon Islands Government as a 
gift from the people of the United States to commemorate one of the 
most fierce battles that took place in the South Pacific, the battle of 
Guadalcanal, where thousands of Marines lost their lives, and the late 
Senator John Chafee was among the few 19-year-old Marines who fought in 
that terrible battle. It was a moving experience for both Senator 
Chafee and I to visit the remnants of that terrible conflict. The 
Navajo Code Talkers were a critical part of our success in winning the 
war in the Pacific.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that 29 of the original Code Talkers will 
be recognized later this month for their work. Because of the secrecy 
placed on the program, the valor the Navajo displayed during World War 
II was not recognized for decades. Their code was finally declassified 
in 1968, and it was only declassified then because electronic equipment 
had been developed that would be sufficient to meet military needs. The 
Navajo Code Talkers were also used in Korea in the 1950s, and even in 
Vietnam in the 1960s.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico, Mr. Udall, 
for his leadership in bringing this legislation, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson).
  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise 
today in support of this resolution and in support of the valiant men 
who served their country in World War II. Those men, known today as the 
Navajo Code Talkers, played a key role in our Nation's victory in that 
great war.
  Mr. Speaker, it was the cryptic language of the Navajo that was 
essential in the U.S. Marine takeover of vital areas like Guadalcanal, 
Tarawa, Peleliu and Iwo Jima. Well-known to the Code Talkers are the 
words of Major Howard Connor, who said, ``Without the Navajos, the 
Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.''
  Today, we open up our Nation's Capitol to the few surviving Navajo 
Code Talkers. Later this month, the President will give them an honor 
long overdue. Mr. Speaker, only 5 of the original 29 Code Talkers are 
alive today. I am proud to say that one of those, Mr. Allan Dale June, 
lives in my home State of Utah. Mr. June, like so many others during 
World War II, sacrificed years of his life for the love of his country.
  I would ask that all Members of this body join me today in thanking 
these men for their service. These medals, which can never fully 
compensate these men for their sacrifice, will at least ensure that 
their heroic deeds will never again be forgotten.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me just once again thank the chairman for his 
leadership on this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank the ranking member, the gentleman 
from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), for his dedication to this issue, and also 
the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for his tremendous support of 
a very important issue.
  Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 
174, authorizing a ceremony in the Rotunda of the Capitol to present 
Congressional Gold Medals to the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers.
  At the start of World War II, operations in the Pacific were 
compromised because the Japanese were breaking U.S. radio codes. Philip 
Johnson, the son of a missionary to the Navajos and one of the few non-
Navajos, who spoke their language fluently, suggested using Navajo for 
secure communications.
  In the 1940s, Navajo was an unwritten language and is extremely 
complex. It answered the military requirement for an indecipherable 
code. Its syntax and tonal qualities make it unintelligible to anyone 
without extensive exposure and training. It has no alphabet or symbols, 
and is spoken only on the Navajo lands of the American Southwest.
  In 1942, Navajo men were recruited by the Marines to be radio 
operators, called Navajo Code Talkers. Most of them were barely out of 
high school and from the reservation just north of Gallup, New Mexico. 
The Navajo Reservation is about the size of the state of West Virginia 
and is located in my state of New Mexico and extends into Arizona.
  The Navajo radiomen served from 1942 to 1945, and often the code 
talkers were in the forefront of the bloody battles of the Pacific. The 
Japanese never broke the Navajo code or captured a Navajo Code Talker. 
The code talkers are credited with saving thousands of American lives.
  The Navajo Code Talker's work remained classified until 1968 because 
the Pentagon was unsure whether the Navajo Language might be needed 
again.
  The Navajo Code talkers played an important role in winning the war 
in the Pacific. They deserve our thanks and support.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H. Con. Res. 174 
today to authorize the use of the rotunda to honor and celebrate the 
heroic work of the Navajo Code Talkers. I thank my colleague from New 
Mexico, Mr. Tom Udall, for sponsoring this resolution.
  During World War II, about 400 Navajo tribe members served as code 
talkers for the United States Marines. They transmitted messages by 
telephone and radio in their native language--a code that the Japanese 
never broke. Navajo is an unwritten language of extreme complexity and 
one estimate indicated that fewer than 30 non-Navajos could understand 
the language at the outbreak of World War II. Navajos demonstrated that 
they could encode, transmit and decode a three-line message in English 
in just 20 seconds. Machines of the time required 30 minutes to do the 
same job.
  This resolution does great justice by recognizing the contributions 
of these great people to our nation's collective security and history.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, in May 1942 twenty-nine Navajos entered 
boot camp and later went to Camp Pendleton to develop a code that used 
the Navajo language as its basis. They worked at finding new words or 
meaning for military terms, which had no actual Navajo translation as 
well as an alphabetical way of spelling out other words. So began the 
career of the Navajo Code Talkers who were the secret weapon of the 
Marine Corps against Japan. Their unbreakable code would play a vital 
part in the United States ability to win World War II.
  The man credited for the idea of a code based on Navajo language goes 
to Philip Johnston, an engineer in Los Angeles. His father had been a 
Protestant missionary; therefore, as a child he moved to a Navajo 
reservation where he grew up and learned the culture and the language. 
Knowing that the Navajo language had been orally handed down through 
the centuries was Johnston's main argument for this code. He argued 
that it was a system that would not have to be changed on a regular 
basis, and because it had never been written down it could not result 
in falling into the hands of the enemy.
  Ironically, Navajos were subjected to alienation in their own 
homeland and discouraged from speaking their language yet they still 
came willingly forward and used their language to defend their country 
and help develop the most successful military code of the time.
  The code was such a success that the Department of Defense kept the 
Code secret for 23 years after World War II. It was finally 
declassified in 1968. The Code Talkers had been sworn to secrecy, an 
oath they kept and honored. Imagine these unsung heroes returned home 
with no special recognition for what they had accomplished and sadly 
over the years some have died never receiving the honor and accolades 
that they so deserved.
  The time has come for us to recognize the Navajo Code Talkers with a 
Congressional Gold Medal--the most distinguished honor a civilian can 
receive. It is for that reason I support House Concurrent Resolution 
174, authorizing use of the rotunda to present Congressional Gold 
Medals to the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers. This honor has been a 
long time in coming.
  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) that the House suspend the rules and 
agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 174.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of

[[Page H3827]]

those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________