National Ruler Day is celebrated every August 14th to commemorate the courage of Navajo Rulers who played a key role in the victory of the Allied forces during World War II.
In 1982, President Ronald Reagan designated August 14 as National Coder’s DayThe Navajo Code Talkers Act came into effect in 2000. In 2001, Navajo Code Talkers won the Congress Gold and Silver Awards.
Code Talkers refers to the elite team of the US Marine Corps who have developed unbreakable passwords in their native language.
From 1942 to 1945, Navajo Code makers participated in all attacks led by the United States Marine Corps, including Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu and Iwo Jima.
Code Talkers played a vital role in these actions and used their native language to communicate information via telephone and radio. The Japanese were unsuccessful in unearthing this information because they could never crack the code.
Although the exact number of Navajo Coders serving in the US Marine Corps is unknown, it is estimated that more than 400 Navajo were recruited during World War II. Only four Code Talkers are alive today-John Kinsel Sr., Samuel Sandoval, Thomas H. Begay and Peter MacDonald.
March, Governor of Arizona Doug Dusey Legislation was signed to make the National Navajo Law-Compliance Day a statutory national holiday on August 14 each year.
“Navajo Code Talkers are heroes of the United States. They have assisted in every major operation of the US Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater, using their native language to come up with an unbreakable code. More than 400 Code Talkers have responded to the call to serve our country, and Arizona is grateful for their commitment to protecting our country. I am proud to be able to sign legislation to make the National Navajo Code of Practice Day a statutory holiday, and I thank Senator Pesh Rakai for leading this initiative,” he said at the time.
Photo: AFP/TED ALJIBE
