Hundreds gathered to celebrate Navajo Code Talkers Day with the groundbreaking of the Navajo Code Talker Museum near the Navajo Nation capitol of Window Rock Sunday.
The public event honored and remembered the 400 Navajo Code Talkers who served in World War II and helped win the war by using the Navajo language to create an unbreakable code for radio communication.
This year marked the 80th anniversary of the creation of the Navajo Code Talkers and the first year the day was recognized as a legal state holiday.
Three Code Talkers remain today – Thomas H. Begay, John Kinsel Sr. and Peter MacDonald Sr. – and they were honored at Sunday’s ceremony.
MacDonald, who is the former chairman of the Navajo Nation, was joined by Gov. Doug Ducey, former Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis and Congressman Tom O’Halleran at the event, as well as Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Speaker Seth Damon.
Nez said the museum will “will tell the legacy of our Navajo warriors, and our children and grandchildren will have the opportunity to learn and remember how resilient we are as Diné people.”