5/20/2010- Sires Applauds Weehawken Students’ Contribution To The Navajo Code Talker Foundation

For Immediate Release                                                 Contact: Erica Daughtrey

May 20, 2010                                                               201-222-2828

Washington, D.C. -- Today, Congressman Sires met with 32 students from Weehawken High School.  The students raised $1,000 through bake sales and presented a check to the Navajo Nation to assist them in the development of the Navajo Code Talkers Museum.  The Navajo Code Talkers Museum will honor the Navajo community and the contributions of the Navajo Code Talkers. 

“I applaud these students and commend their efforts in raising funds for the Navajo Code Talkers Foundation,” said Congressman Sires. “Through their fundraising, these students have educated others about the brave Navajo Code Talkers and the crucial role they played in our nation’s history.”

During the early months of WWII, Japanese intelligence experts were able to decipher every code the US forces devised.  To combat this, a civilian who had grown up on a Navajo reservation began a Navajo Code Talker test program.  The code was then modified and expanded to conceal war time messages, and the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy were never able to crack the code.

“The Navajo Code Talkers not only communicated and transmitted messages, but also participated in numerous battles in the Pacific.  It has been said that the taking of important battles such as the Battle of Iwo Jima could not have occurred without the assistance of the Code Talkers,” said Congressman Sires.  “I am proud that students in my district are highlighting the brave and important work of the Navajo Code Talkers.”

During the presentation, Representative Ben Ray Lújan (D-NM) joined Sires.  The Navajo Code Talkers Foundation is located in Window Rock, AZ and the Navajo Code Talkers Museum and Veterans Center Project will be built in New Mexico. 

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