2014-10-03 Monument Valley
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Samuel Tom Holiday, one of the remaining code talkers, is 90! JoAnn bought one of his books, 'Under the Eagle'. He signed it for us. Amazing story of the code talkers was made into the movie "Windtakers" (starring Nicolas Cage).66 viewsIt was a surprise stop on our way to Monument Valley to meet Sam Holiday. During WWII, the Japanese was able to break our coded transmissions. We countered by making complicated codes that take hours to encode and decode. It became almost impractical in the battle field. 29 Navajos developed a code that can be encoded and decoded in minutes. For this reason, we were able to win the island hopping battles that really shortened the war in the Pacific. It is said that the Navajo code saved many hundred thousands of life, if not millions, in the war. The effort was so secret that even after the war, it was kept secret for many years. Many Navajos in the war were not recognized, many didn't even receive veteran's benefits. Finally, the Navajo Code Talkers were awarded Congressional Gold Medals of Honor in 2000, and Congress passed the Code Talker Recognition Act of 2008 which expressed the nation’s gratitude for “the dedication and valor of Native American code talkers”.
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After JoAnn got off the wagon in Monument Valley, she had a picture with the guy who had been protecting the wagon train.61 views
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