Rum, Romanism and Rebellion

This is the first I heard about this. Here is the press release that I just got from Ann Kirkpatrick’s office:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick today released the following statement mourning the loss of Willie K. Begay, a Navajo Code Talker from Pinon who passed away Monday at the age of 88:

“I was deeply saddened by the news that we have lost yet another of the Code Talkers who did so much for this Nation. My heart goes out to Mr. Begay’s friends and family.

“It is fitting that Willie Begay passed away on Navajo Nation Memorial Day, a day set aside to recognize those Diné who sacrificed so much to keep us safe. However, we owe him and all those who provided such heroic service a debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid by just one day to honor their memory.

“We must do much more for Diné fighting men and women. In honor of Mr. Begay and his fellow Marines, I will continue my work to help Veterans across Navajo Nation and in rural areas nationwide.”

BACKGROUND:

Begay, whose death at the age of 88 was announced yesterday, was the third Navajo Code Talker to pass away in less than two weeks. John Brown, Jr., an original Code Talker and a resident of Crystal, New Mexico, passed away at the age of 87 on May 20. One week later Thomas Claw, a Parker resident who was born in Chinle, Arizona, lost his battle with cancer, also at the age of 87.

Though long forgotten by this country, the Navajo Code Talkers were a critical part of our war effort in the Pacific Theater from 1942 to 1945 and later in the Korean War. The code, originally developed by a group that included Brown, used the Diné language to allow our military to communicate without risk of enemy forces intercepting our secrets. The lack of knowledge of the language by non-Navajo made the code virtually indecipherable to the Japanese.

Despite their successes and their bravery at battles from Guadalcanal to Okinawa, the story of the Navajo Code Talkers remained largely unknown for many years. The code was not declassified until 1968, and their contributions were not recognized for decades afterwards.

Finally, on July 26, 2001, President George W. Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medal to the 29 original Code Talkers in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Mr. Brown spoke on behalf of the Code Talkers at the event. More than 200 other Code Talkers were later honored with the Congressional Silver Medal in a November, 2001 ceremony in Window Rock.

Rep. Kirkpatrick, who represents Navajo Nation, honored the lives and service to country of Brown and Claw in a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday. She quoted Brown’s speech at the Rotunda, saying that she hoped that for “’as long as the grass shall grow and the rivers flow’… we remember to honor the memory of Mr. Brown, Mr. Claw and all those Diné who served our nation.”