“Hundreds of courageous code talkers passed “YIL-TAS”–the Navajo word for code–during Word War II.” the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs posted on Twitter. “We celebrate these heroes on National Navajo Code Talkers Day.”
The first-ever virtual Navajo Code Talker Day celebration was held August 14, 2020, honoring more than 400 men who served as Navajo Code talkers during World War II.
“Arizona is proud to honor the more than 400 Navajo Code Talkers and their historic contributions to Allied victory in WWII,” said Governor Doug Ducey in a news release. “The Navajo Code talkers used their native language to develop an unbreakable code.”
According to the proclamation, the U.S. government called upon the Navajo nation to support the military effort by enlisting Navajo men to serve in standards communications units. As time went on, these men became known as “Navajo Code Talkers” and they served in every major operation involving the United States Marines in the Pacific Ocean.
“Hundreds of courageous code talkers passed “YIL-TAS”–the Navajo word for code–during Word War II.” the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs posted on Twitter. “We celebrate these heroes on National Navajo Code Talkers Day.”
The Navajo Code Talkers gave U.S. marines a critical advantage throughout the war, notably the victory at Iwo Jima where they successfully transmitted more than 800 messages without error.
A video posted to Facebook features Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald. He shared history about how the code was developed, and how it was used to help the Allied Forces bring about the end of World War II.
PART 1: Navajo Code Talker History by Peter MacDonald – National Navajo Code Talker Day 2020
PART 1: Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald shares a history of the Navajo Code Talkers with the Navajo People and the general public. Today, August 14, 2020, is National Navajo Code Talker Day and is hosted virtually by the Navajo Nation Council.
Posted by Navajo Nation Council on Friday, August 14, 2020
In 2015, on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and on Navajo Code Talker Day, Science Foundation Arizona partnered with Intel Corporation and Cisco Systems to announce the establishment of the Code Writers Education Initiative, a technology-based education curriculum for Arizona’s Native Americans.
On its website, Science Foundation Arizona said the Native American Code Writers program targeted Native American students and their teachers in order to teach computer science (CS) to 100 high school students yearly, across three reservations.
“The CS content is designed to help students think critically, problem-solve, and work with technology integration using app development, gaming, website design, multimedia, cyber security and robotics,” the foundation states.
Speaking to CIO magazine’s Sharon Florentine last year, Jolene Begay, an engineering technician at Intel who reportedly played an integral role in developing the Native Coders program, said a computer science curriculum was added to the schools’ coursework, and Intel funded the addition of computer science educators and a full computer lab at each site.
Navajo Code Talkers Day was established in 1982 and and in 2014, Arizona passed legislation declaring August 14 Navajo Code Talkers Day. This year, the Navajo Nation Council held online events to mark the day.
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