Code Talkers honored by Air Force Band of the Rockies

FORT DEFIANCE—Approximately 300 spectators gathered in the Window Rock High School Field House to hear a musical tribute performed by the United States Air Force Band of the Rockies in honor of the Navajo Code Talkers. The performance, which was broadcast live on KTNN, took place on the evening of March 1, and received lively applause by people of all ages.

One of the more moving performances was a piece entitled, “The Navajo Code Talkers,” written with assistance from the Navajo Nation and specifically honoring the Code Talkers as American patriots. TSgt. Joseph Spaniola delivered the history of the Code Talkers in a voice over, crediting these 420 patriots with a crucial role in the Pacific.

“It would be difficult to imagine victory without these Navajo Code Talkers,” Spaniola read. “Their contribution is no less than monumental.”

Although the Code Talkers remained relatively unrecognized for their contribution after the was by the nation they risked everything to protect, Spaniola said, these brave men became a force for change back home on the reservation, “for education and Native American civil rights.”

Under the direction of Major Phillip C. Chevellard and Captain (select) Matthew S. Henry, the Band of the Rockies performed compositions and medleys which proved to be real crowd pleasers. The Band also recognized veterans from all branches of the service, especially the Code Talkers who attended the performance.

Lawrence Yazzie, a young serviceman, stood to thank the Code Talkers. “Thank you for the chance to wear this uniform,” he said. “I look at them and see myself 50 years from now. They look at me and see themselves 50 years ago.”

The concert, sponsored by the Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President, KTNN Radio, Channel 5 TV, The Navajo Times, The Navajo-Hopi Observer and Window Rock High School, was much appreciated by the Code Talkers, who left the field house wreathed in smiles and surrounded by their appreciative fans.

“We owe them everything,” one young Navajo said as he walked out into the night. “I only wish more of the Code Talkers could have lived to receive this recognition.”

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