[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S10658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING AMERICAN INDIAN CODE TALKERS

  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I wish to speak today of the Code Talkers 
Recognition Act, which passed the Senate last week with 79 cosponsors. 
This bill would present commemorative medals to Sioux, Comanche, 
Choctaw, Sac and Fox, and any other Native American code talkers that 
served during World War I and World War II in recognition of the 
contributions of their service to the United States.
  Earlier this summer, I, along with Senator John Thune, were able to 
present Clarence Wolf Guts, our last remaining Lakota code talker, with 
a star quilt on behalf of the National Indian Education Association. 
Mr. Wolf Guts is now 83 years old and is of Oglala and Rosebud descent. 
Mr. Wolf Guts attended St. Francis Indian School in Marty, SD, and 
spent most of his life living on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He now 
lives in a state veteran's home in Hot Springs, SD.
  In his late teens, Mr. Wolf Guts enlisted in the Marines and served 
as a radio operator during World War II. He has become a spokesman 
among tribal elders and traditional leaders about the importance of 
keeping native languages alive for future generations. He is very proud 
to be a veteran, a full-blooded Lakota, and a Lakota speaker.
  Earlier this year, another Lakota code talker, Charles Whitepipe, 
passed away. Mr. Whitepipe, a Sicangu Lakota from the Rosebud tribe, 
valiantly served in the Army as a Code Talker in World War II. He 
served as a ``Forward Observer'' on Japanese-held islands in the South 
Pacific, communicating by radio with a ship-based partner, using the 
Lakota language to direct artillery fire from ships at sea onto the 
islands.
  Other Lakota code talkers that will also be recognized in this 
legislation include Eddie Eagle Boy, Simon Brokenleg, Iver Crow Eagle, 
Sr., Edmund St. John, Walter C. John, John Bear King, Phillip 
``Stoney'' LaBlanc, Baptiste Pumpkinseed, and Guy Rondell.
  During World War II, these men were Army radio operators who used 
their native Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota dialects to transmit strategic 
messages to foil enemy surveillance in both the Pacific and European 
theaters. There is no doubt that the bravery and the courage of Mr. 
Whitepipe and Mr. Wolf Guts, as well as the other code talkers, helped 
to make the United States the free and proud place it is today. While 
Navajos have received the most recognition, it is important to remember 
that members of at least 17 other tribes also served as code talkers in 
World War I and World War II.
  The syntax and tonal qualities of the native languages were so 
complex that no message transmitted by any code talker was ever decoded 
by the enemy. However, for the code talkers who returned home, there 
were no parades or special recognition, as they were sworn to secrecy, 
an oath they kept and honored but one that robbed them of the accolades 
and place in history that they rightfully deserved.
  The accomplishments of the code talkers were even more heroic, given 
the cultural context in which they were operating. Subjected to 
alienation in their homeland and discouraged from speaking their native 
languages, they still stepped forward and developed the most 
significant and successful military code of their time. That spirit of 
military service continues today. Native Americans make up a higher 
percentage of servicemen and servicewomen in the Armed Forces than any 
other ethnic group in America. They have served with honor in all of 
America's wars, beginning with the Revolutionary War and on through our 
current operations in Iraq.
  I commend the work of Senators Inhofe, Grassley, Harkin and Thune for 
their work in moving this bill forward, as well as the leadership of 
the Banking Committee, Senators Shelby and Sarbanes. It is now time to 
honor all of our native code talkers that have contributed to the 
safety of our Nation.

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