A virtual celebration is planned this Saturday to commemorate Navajo Code Talker Day. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey last year declared August 14th a state holiday, recognizing the hundreds of Navajo troops who used a combination of Dine language and code words to gain an advantage over Japanese troops during World War II. President Jonathan Nez says this year’s ceremony will be coordinated online due to the pandemic. In February of this year, veteran and former code talker Thomas Begay publicly received the COVID-19 vaccine; Begay survived the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima and later fought in the Korean War.
