[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 24, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5262-S5263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING GEORGE B. WILLIE, SR.

  Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, I rise to honor George B. Willie, Sr., one 
of our last surviving Navajo code talkers, who passed away at age 92 on 
December 5, 2017. Mr. Willie was a humble man who never bragged and 
rarely talked about his uncommon feat.
  Mr. Willie was born near Sawmill, AZ. He was To Dich'iinii--Bitter 
Water--and born for Tabaaha--Near The Water Edge--and resided near 
Leupp when he passed away.
  Mr. Willie only had a seventh-grade education. He tried to enlist in 
1941, but was too young. He was finally able to join the Marines 2 
years later, when he was 17 years old. He served the Second Marine 
Division, 10th Battalion, from 1943 until 1946.
  As a marine, Mr. Willie was one of the 421 code talkers from the 
Navajo Nation. The original 29 Navajo code talkers developed a code 
based on their native language. At that time, there was no written 
language, and only about 30 persons outside of Tribal members 
understood Navajo. The code talkers were required to quickly and 
accurately translate and transmit messages about troop movements, 
tactics,

[[Page S5263]]

and the like through telephone and radio. At first skeptical, military 
leaders quickly learned to appreciate their skill and tremendous value 
to the war effort. The Japanese never broke their code.
  While the Federal Government relied on the Navajo language for 
military success, back home, it continued the longstanding policy of 
forbidding Native students from speaking their languages at Federal 
boarding schools.
  Mr. Willie served in the Battle of Okinawa, one of the last and 
deadliest battles of the war. In June 1945, the Americans and the 
British Pacific Fleet took the island after 82 days of battle. It was 
their last stop before the planned attempt to take the Island of Japan, 
which was preempted when the United States dropped the atomic bomb on 
Hiroshima on August 6.
  After coming home, Mr. Willie married Emma Gean Willie, and they had 
10 children. The code talker program was secret, and the code talkers 
were sworn not to tell anyone about their work. Even after the Federal 
Government declassified the program in 1968, Mr. Willie continued to 
honor his promise and did not tell family members he was a code talker 
until almost 30 years later. In 2001, Mr. Willie and his fellow code 
talkers were awarded the Silver Congressional Medal of Honor.
  Today I honor Mr. Willie, a true American hero.

                          ____________________