[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 2 (Friday, January 4, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S23]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING GEORGE SMITH

 Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. President, just a few weeks ago 
our Nation commemorated Veterans Day. It is above all a day of 
remembrance and gratitude. A time to remember the courage and sacrifice 
of the brave men and women who have served our Nation in the Armed 
Forces. It is a day when we pay tribute to the heroes among us. And to 
those who are no longer with us.
  Today I wish to honor one of those heroes. On Tuesday, October 30, 
our Nation lost a great American, Navajo Code Talker George Smith. Mr. 
Smith was born on June 15, 1922, in Mariano Lake, NM, and was Salt 
People Clan, born for Black Streak Wood People Clan. In 1943, he 
enlisted with the Marines. He was trained as a Navajo Code Talker and 
achieved the rank of corporal while serving in the Pacific. Corporal 
Smith fought in battles in Saipan, Tinian, Ryukyu Islands. He also 
served in Okinawa, Hawaii, and Japan. His brother, Albert Smith, also 
trained as a Code Talker, and served with him.
  The Marines who constituted the Navajo Code Talkers were small in 
number, but monumental in significance. Their skills were crucial to 
American victory in the Pacific during World War II. They turned their 
language into an unbreakable code. In battle after battle, in the thick 
of ferocious combat, they used that code as a powerful weapon in 
securing Allied victory. Our Nation will never forget what George 
Smith, and his brother, Albert Smith, and all of their fellow Code 
Talkers accomplished.
  Their service is all the more poignant in that they fought for 
freedom in a world that did not always accord freedom to them. When 
America entered World War II, the U.S. government had only recognized 
Native Americans as citizens for 17 years. In some places, tribal 
members still did not have the right to vote. 45,000 of the 350,000 
Native Americans in the U.S. at that time served in the war. This 
tradition of military service by Native Americans continues to this 
day. Native Americans have the highest rate of service of any ethnic 
group.
  Mr. Smith was awarded the Congressional Silver Medal. After the war, 
Code Talker Smith returned home and dedicated himself to his family and 
community. He worked at Fort Wingate in disposing of old ammunition, 
and then as a mechanic at Fort Wingate Trading Post. Eventually, he 
went to Fort Defiance, where he served as a shop foreman. He later 
worked as a heavy equipment mechanic in Shiprock.
  Code Talker George Smith was blessed with a long life. When he passed 
away last month, he was 90 years old. He will be missed by his family, 
his friends, and his community, and he will always be remembered by a 
grateful nation. I extend my deepest sympathies to his family. We are 
forever in his debt. I hope that those who mourn him now will find 
comfort in all that he accomplished. His life made a difference. His 
invaluable service during World War II saved lives. Our Nation is free 
because of heroes like Code Talker George Smith.

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