    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [July 26, 2001]
    [Pages 917-918]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 917]]

    Remarks on Presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to Navajo
    Code Talkers
    July 26, 2001

        Thank you very much. Today America honors 29 Native Americans who,
    in a desperate hour, gave their country a service only they could give.
    In war, using their native language, they relayed secret messages that
    turned the course of battle. At home, they carried for decades the
    secret of their own heroism. Today we give these exceptional marines the
    recognition they earned so long ago.
        I want to thank the Congress for inviting me here, Mr.
    Speaker. I want to thank Senators
    Campbell, Bingaman, and Johnson and Congressman
    Udall for their leadership. I want to thank
    Sergeant Major McMichael--distinguished
    guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Washington, DC.
        The gentlemen with us, John Brown, Chester
    Nez, Lloyd Oliver,
    Allen Dale June, and Joe Palmer, represented
    by his son Kermit, are the last of the
    original Navajo Code Talkers. In presenting gold medals to each of them,
    the Congress recognizes their individual service, bravely offered and
    flawlessly performed.
        With silver medals, we also honor the dozens more who served later
    with the same courage and distinction. And with all these honors,
    America pays tribute to the tradition and community that produced such
    men, the great Navajo Nation.
        The paintings in this rotunda tell of America and its rise as a
    nation. Among them are images of the first Europeans to reach the coast
    and the first explorer to come upon the Mississippi. But before all
    these firsts on this continent, there were the first people. They are
    depicted in the background as if extras in the story. Yet, their own
    presence here in America predates all human record. Before others
    arrived, the story was theirs alone.
        Today we mark a moment of shared history and shared victory. We
    recall a story that all Americans can celebrate and every American
    should know. It is a story of ancient people called to serve in a modern
    war. It is a story of one unbreakable oral code of the Second World War,
    messages traveling by field radio on Iwo Jima in the very language heard
    across the Colorado plateau centuries ago.
        Above all, it's a story of young Navajos who brought honor to their
    nation and victory to their country. Some of the Code Talkers were very
    young, like Albert Smith, who joined the Marines at 15. In order to
    enlist, he said, ``I had to advance my age a little bit.'' At least one
    Code Talker was overage, so he claimed to be younger in order to serve.
    On active duty, their value was so great and their order so sensitive
    that they were closely guarded. By war's end, some 400 Navajos had
    served as Code Talkers; 13 were killed in action, and their names, too,
    are on today's roll of honor.
        Regardless of circumstances, regardless of history, they came
    forward to serve America. The Navajo code itself provides a part of the
    reason. Late in his life, Albert Smith explained, ``The code word for
    America was `Our Mother.' `Our Mother' stood for freedom, our religion,
    our ways of life, and that's why we went in.''
        The Code Talkers joined 44,000 Native Americans who wore the uniform
    in World War II. More than 12,000 Native Americans fought in World War
    I. Thousands more served in Korea, Vietnam, and serve to this very day.
    Twenty-four Native Americans have earned the highest military
    distinction of all, the Medal of Honor, including Ernest
    Childers, who was my guest at the White
    House last week. In all these wars and conflicts, Native Americans have

    [[Page 918]]

    served with the modesty and strength and quiet valor their tradition has
    always inspired.
        That tradition found full expression in the Code Talkers--in those
    absent and in those with us today. Gentlemen, your service inspires the
    respect and admiration of all Americans, and our gratitude is expressed
    for all time in the medals it is now my honor to present.
        May God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:41 p.m. in the rotunda at the U.S.
    Capitol. In his remarks, he referred to Sgt. Maj. Alford McMichael,
    USMC, who represented the U.S. Marine Corps.