ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – In honor of Native American Heritage Month, a local company gave employees a rare opportunity to hear firsthand from one of the last surviving Navajo Code Talkers.
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The legacy of the Navajo Code Talkers was declassified over two decades after the end of World War II. Now, only two are alive today. The Navajo Code Talkers are credited for major military successes in the Pacific during the war.
Peter MacDonald Sr., now 97, is the youngest surviving member, hailing from Arizona. He spoke to a crowd of PNM employees. “The commander in his official report said, ‘Without Navajo, Marines would never have taken the island of Iwo Jima.’ What a statement,” said MacDonald.
MacDonald joined the Marine Corps when he was just 15 years old after lying to the recruitment office about his age, having his older cousin, who was a Marine, sign a paper saying he was 17.
“Unfortunately, on Battle of Peleliu, September 15, 1944, he got killed. That was his third landing. I can never forget that. I can never forget all the friends and relatives that I have lost,” said MacDonald slowly. “And you who are veterans,” he said gesturing to the crowd, “You understand. All of us need to know and understand the kind of hardship and hell that every one of those veterans, you who are veterans– male and female, have gone through a lot and are still going through a lot.”
The room of people in the downtown PNM headquarters listened to MacDonald talk for nearly two hours about the history of the unbreakable code. He said commandants were initially adamantly against Philip Johnston’s idea of using the Navajo language–worried the Navajo men wouldn’t make it through boot camp. “The commandant said we don’t know these Indians, we don’t even know what these Navajos can or cannot do,” said MacDonald.
Eventually, 29 Navajo marines were recruited—without knowing they were about to make history. As their own small-scale Platoon, MacDonald said the men excelled in boot camp and weapons training, and when the skeptical Commandant heard about it, he agreed to send the platoon to military communication school.
There, they learned about communication equipment. But also, “How to climb a coconut tree all the way up to the branch with a telephone line wrapped around your shoulder,” said MacDonald. “They told us, ‘When you’re coming back down, unhook yourself from the tree and fall down. Before you hit the ground, re-hook the tree.’ Well, it’s easier said than done!”
MacDonald said they were told to descend the trees that way to avoid being spotted by the enemy. “By the time we think about re-hooking, our feet hit the ground. That’s why many of our knees are very bad,” said MacDonald.
The platoon was eager to go fight and defend their country, but they were first sent to a top-secret Navy base in San Diego in June 1942. There, they were put in a room with some chalk and a blackboard and were told to create a code. A code that even if a person spoke Navajo, would have no idea what they were talking about.
MacDonald said if it were him, at that moment, he would have been second-guessing his decision to enlist, saying creating a code was a daunting task. “What a surprise. These guys, 29, were ready to use their rifle and shoot the enemy, but the colonel said no, ‘You can develop a code first.’”
After some hours, the 29 told the colonel they didn’t think they could create a code since Navajo isn’t a written language, but the colonel said no. You have to find a way.
And find a way they did.
“A couple of hours later, one of the 29 went to the blackboard, put down letter A, and said, lets call the letter A Bilasáana. Bilasáana in Navajo means apple,” said Macdonald.
He said the Code Talkers should never be forgotten because they’re a reminder that different cultures can use their unique talents for the good of all. “Talent that we’ve all been blessed with. You put that together, we can not be defeated. That’s what you learn from learning what the Navajo code talkers were and what they’re about.”
Macdonald was one of roughly 400 Navajo Code Talkers who came after the original 29. Today, Native Americans have one of the highest rates of military service per capita in the United States.
A museum in New Mexico honoring the Code Talkers has been under discussion for more than 50 years. The state has earmarked $8.9 million for it, but construction has yet to begin.
MacDonald told the crowd a few other Navajo words that were used to create the code:
Letter B – Shash (Bear)
Letter C – Mósí (Cat)
Letter D – Bįįh (Deer)
He said sometimes it took a while to decide what to call certain letters. Like the letter J. They finally decided on tkele-cho-gi. (Jack***)
Letter Z – Besh-do-tliz (Zinc)
And for punctuation:
Period – łizhin (Black dot)
Semicolon – Da-ahl-zhin-bi-tsa-na-dahl (Black dot that lost its tail)
MacDonald said the Code Talkers had over 600 code words and phrases committed to memory.
He said a Navajo soldier (Joe Lee Kieyoomia ) from Gallup, New Mexico, who didn’t know the code, was captured in the Philippines and taken to Tokyo.
He was tortured for two years because the Japanese militants thought he was lying about not understanding the meaning of the code. MacDonald said, “He was telling the truth all the way about what we were saying.”
MacDonald had a long-standing ovation and graciously signed autographs for the PNM workers.
