WASHINGTON - During their tour of the U.S. Capitol, four Navajo Code Talkers were approached by tourists who wanted to shake their hands or simply say thank you.
When the group walked into the Rotunda, a tour guide led visitors in applause for the "Windtalkers," a reference to the 2002 Nicolas Cage movie based on the Code Talkers' World War II service.
Keith Little, president of the Navajo Code Talkers Association, promptly corrected the guide, saying they are Code Talkers, not Windtalkers.
Sixty-five years after the end of the war, these four men were in Washington to ensure that the recognition they received that day will live on in the form of a museum and veterans center in Northwest New Mexico.
"The Code Talkers are making a beachhead here on the soil of the District of Columbia," said Peter MacDonald, 83, one of the Code Talkers. "We are here to inform everybody that we want to preserve that legacy, not only belonging to Navajo, not only belonging to the United States Marine Corps, but belonging to all Americans, because this is an American treasure that needs to be preserved."
The group met with staff members of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other members of Congress who represent the area where the museum will be located.
On Veterans Day, 12 Code Talkers will ride in a parade in New York City on a float promoting "The Pacific," an HBO miniseries produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg that will air next year.
In Washington, members and supporters of the Navajo Code Talkers Foundation asked for funding and legislation to build the museum. The project is estimated to cost from $40 million to $50 million. The 208-acre site, which sits about 17 miles from Gallup, N.M., and two miles from the Navajo Nation Capital in Window Rock, Ariz., was donated by Chevron Mining Inc. The museum would include classrooms for teaching Navajo and a 13-mile trail that would teach the Code Talkers' history.
"We volunteered to save the American freedom and American liberty, and now we're looking for some volunteers to help us to preserve this American treasure," MacDonald said.
Fewer than 100 Navajo Code Talkers remain alive out of 400 who were trained during the war. Navajo Marines known as the "First 29" used the Navajo language to devise a code that was never deciphered by enemies.
"All our birds became airplanes, all our fish -- anything in the water -- became ships, and the animals that live on the earth also became war materials," said Frank Chee Willetto, 84.
Little called the First 29 "barrier breakers" because they went into the military at a time when minorities were segregated.
Although the Code Talkers are recognized now, it was different immediately after the war.
The Code Talkers were told to keep the code and their efforts secret. And they did until 1968, when the project was declassified. The Navajo Code Talkers were recognized in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan, and in 2001, the First 29 were given the Congressional Gold Medal by President George W. Bush.
"We were never to say that we used Navajo Code. We were told, 'You can tell your people whatever you want to, but don't ever mention the Navajo Code,'" Little said. Many Code Talkers were not "glory hounds," Little said, so it wasn't hard to keep the code a secret when they were simply following orders.
Mark Bolton, a Phoenix attorney who is working on the museum project, said there is an urgency to build and open the museum because five Code Talkers died in the last two months.
Bolton said they got a good reception.
"They recognized the incredible contribution the Code Talkers made in their service to their country and recognize the urgency of the project given the group's dwindling numbers," Bolton said.
Bill Toledo, 85, a Navajo Code Talker who saw the American flag raised at Iwo Jima, said a museum would be worthwhile.
"All of our records will be there, and many people can come to see our history," Toledo said.
The Code Talkers faced more dangers than some other soldiers.
A fellow Marine thought Toledo was a Japanese spy who had infiltrated the military. The other Marine threatened to kill Toledo and took him to the squad leader who clarified that Toledo was indeed a U.S. Marine. After that, Toledo was assigned a bodyguard.
Yvonne Murphy, secretary of the Navajo Code Talkers Association, traveled with the group. The daughter of a Code Talker who died in 2002, Murphy grew up knowing little about her father's service. She's fighting for recognition of the Code Talkers.
"I'm putting my efforts into this museum so that these stories are not forgotten," Murphy said. "These gentlemen made an indelible mark on history, and maybe the recognition is late in coming, but they deserve it."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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