KSJD Local News - March 19, 2025

Following a statement of “strong disappointment” from the Navajo Nation Council, the U.S. Department of Defense is reportedly planning to restore information about Navajo Code Talkers it has deleted from some websites. The Navajo Nation Council issued its statement on Tuesday in response to the removal of articles acknowledging the contributions of the code talkers from some military websites. The decision to pull the articles was part of the Trump administration’s campaign to eliminate references to anything involving diversity, equity, and inclusion from federally funded agencies. The code talkers’ efforts are considered a key part of the United States’ work in World War II. Recruited by the Marine Corps, they used a code involving the Navajo language to transmit information in the Pacific front. Because the language is complex, did not have a traditional alphabet, and was understood by very few people outside the Navajo Nation, the code was never broken. The original 29 Navajo code talkers reportedly received the Congressional Gold Medal, and later code talkers received the Congressional Silver Medal. None of the original 29 remain alive today. In a press release, Navajo Nation Speaker Crystalyne Curley said, “Erasing their extraordinary contributions from formal military history is not only disrespectful, it is dishonorable.”