[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 1717]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING WILFRED BILLEY

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. President, last month the flags of the 
Navajo Nation flew at half mast, in honor of Wilfred E. Billey. Mr. 
Billey was one of the legendary Navajo Code Talkers. He died at the age 
of 90 on December 12. His passing is an occasion to reflect on a truly 
heroic life, and on the vital contribution of the Navajo Code Talkers 
to America's victory in World War II.
  Wilfred Billey was born on December 28, 1922, in Sanostee, NM. He was 
raised by his grandparents. In the summers, he herded sheep and farmed 
in the Chuska Mountains. In 1941, Wilfred was attending Navajo 
Methodist Mission School in Farmington when a Marine recruiter visited 
the school. Still a teenager, Wilfred would travel half way around the 
world with the all-Navajo U.S. Marine Corps Platoon 297.
  The Navajo Code Talkers turned their language into an unbreakable 
code. They would use the language of the Navajo people as a weapon to 
defend our freedoms. In battle after battle, in ferocious combat, they 
used that code time and again to help secure Allied victory. Their 
service was all the more remarkable in that they fought so bravely for 
freedom in a world that did not always accord freedom to them.
  Wilfred's journey would take him throughout the Pacific theater. He 
would witness some of the bloodiest, most brutal fighting of World War 
II at Tarawa, Saipan, and Okinawa. The code he spoke, however, would 
save countless American lives, and help lead to allied victory.
  Despite this work, this brave Marine never forgot those whom he 
believed to be the real heroes. His daughter, Barbara, in an interview 
with the Indian Country Today Media Network, recalled her father's 
humility. ``I'm not a hero,'' he said. ``The heroes are the ones we 
left behind.''
  While most Americans would learn about the battles at sea and on 
land, the story of the Navajo Code Talkers was kept a secret, until the 
true purpose of their service was revealed over 20 years later.
  In 2001, Congress honored Wilfred Billey and his fellow Navajo Code 
Talkers with public recognition and Congressional medals. Wilfred 
helped draft the words inscribed on the medals: ``The Navajo language 
was used to defeat the enemy.''
  Wilfred Billey defended our Nation during time of war and peril 
abroad, and he continued to serve by working to lead the youth of the 
Navajo Nation. He returned to New Mexico and obtained bachelor's and 
master's degrees, and embarked on a career as an educator. Wilfred 
worked for four decades in education, including at the Navajo Methodist 
Mission School, and as principal at Shiprock High School. When he 
retired, he continued to ranch and farm, and to advocate for and 
inspire others in his community.
  In Wilfred Billey's long and remarkable life, he exhibited impressive 
humility and unwavering service to his people, his community, and his 
country. If we look for exemplars of courage and commitment, we need 
look no further than Wilfred Billey and his band of brothers among the 
Navajo Code Talkers and the U.S. Marines. We are all forever in their 
debt.
  My wife, Jill, and I extend our sincere sympathy to Wilfred's family. 
He will be missed by those who knew him, and he will be forever 
remembered by a grateful nation.

                          ____________________