Post by blackcrowheart on Nov 30, 2005 11:03:05 GMT -5
Veterans remembered at Michigan ceremony
Posted: November 29, 2005
by: Staff Reports / Indian Country Today
Click to Enlarge
Photo courtesy Jace Armstrong -- Marine Keith Little told his story about the secret Navajo code to a capacity crowd during a Veterans Day ceremony at the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center. The program was sponsored by the Federal Center's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and the Native American Heritage Month Program Committee.
Navajo code talker was keynote speaker
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. - It wasn't always possible for Marine Keith Little to tell his story. For more than two decades when Little, a member of the Navajo nation and World War II veteran, was asked about the war he was only allowed to say, ''I was a radioman.''
It wasn't until 1968 that the top-secret mission of Little and other ''radiomen'' like him became declassified. They were Navajo code talkers and they took part in every Marine assault conducted in the South Pacific from 1942 to 1945. As Marines fought cave-to-cave on Iwo Jima, the Navajo language crackled over field radios.
Little described how his native language was turned into an unbreakable military code to an overflow audience of federal employees and community members at a Nov. 10 Veterans Day ceremony at the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in Battle Creek. The center is a former WWII military hospital that is now home to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service and the Defense Logistics Agency. Both are part of the Defense Logistics Agency.
''The code was so sensitive and top secret it was to be protected at all costs by the Marine Corps,'' Little said. ''If a code talker dies, that's okay because the code goes with him. If he's caught, the enemy has a chance to get to the code. Marines were told if it was inevitable that a code talker was going to be caught, shoot him.''
Defense Logistics Information Service Commande and Marine Col. John Fitzgerald described Little as ''an example to future generations.''
The Navajo code is one of the few unbroken codes in military history and because it still had potential uses when WWII ended, the code talker story remained classified. ''When we left the Marine Corps we were told to keep our mouths shut about what we did,'' Little said. ''It was kind of sad. We were an obscure people. We were forgotten.''
Fortunately, ''forgotten'' can be replaced with ''remembered.''
Dozens of Federal Center employees volunteered to move to an overflow room and watch the ceremony on closed-circuit television so specially invited American Indian leaders from Michigan, veterans, honored guests and members of the community could see Little up close. ''The turnout shows that for veterans, family and friends, today is a special day,'' Fitzgerald said.
The narrator of the ceremony, Frank Walker, noted how veterans all have something in common. ''Mr. Little answered the call to service when he was 17 years old,'' he said. ''The Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center is fortunate to also have many employees who also answered their nation's call.''
Little told the audience that it was a privilege to be part of a ceremony that combined Veterans Day and Native American History Month ceremonies. ''I have a strong feeling for veterans,'' he said. ''It is an honor to represent my people, the Navajo people and my great comrades, the Navajo code talkers.''
He described how life has changed for the Navajo people. ''Where I grew up it was undeveloped. Since WWII, things have changed. Returning Navajo veterans after WWII and all the veterans since have established a foundation of progress. Where I used to live there are now beautiful houses with running water and electricity. That is progress.''
Things have also changed in other ways. Now, when Little is asked about what he did in WWII, he can tell his story. ''Now we have the legacy of the Navajo code talkers. Now we have to document this contribution,'' Little said.
Just as he had done during WWII, Little found just the right words to describe what needed to be done. Not only did he represent the Navajo people. On this day, he represented all veterans.
Posted: November 29, 2005
by: Staff Reports / Indian Country Today
Click to Enlarge
Photo courtesy Jace Armstrong -- Marine Keith Little told his story about the secret Navajo code to a capacity crowd during a Veterans Day ceremony at the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center. The program was sponsored by the Federal Center's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and the Native American Heritage Month Program Committee.
Navajo code talker was keynote speaker
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. - It wasn't always possible for Marine Keith Little to tell his story. For more than two decades when Little, a member of the Navajo nation and World War II veteran, was asked about the war he was only allowed to say, ''I was a radioman.''
It wasn't until 1968 that the top-secret mission of Little and other ''radiomen'' like him became declassified. They were Navajo code talkers and they took part in every Marine assault conducted in the South Pacific from 1942 to 1945. As Marines fought cave-to-cave on Iwo Jima, the Navajo language crackled over field radios.
Little described how his native language was turned into an unbreakable military code to an overflow audience of federal employees and community members at a Nov. 10 Veterans Day ceremony at the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in Battle Creek. The center is a former WWII military hospital that is now home to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service and the Defense Logistics Agency. Both are part of the Defense Logistics Agency.
''The code was so sensitive and top secret it was to be protected at all costs by the Marine Corps,'' Little said. ''If a code talker dies, that's okay because the code goes with him. If he's caught, the enemy has a chance to get to the code. Marines were told if it was inevitable that a code talker was going to be caught, shoot him.''
Defense Logistics Information Service Commande and Marine Col. John Fitzgerald described Little as ''an example to future generations.''
The Navajo code is one of the few unbroken codes in military history and because it still had potential uses when WWII ended, the code talker story remained classified. ''When we left the Marine Corps we were told to keep our mouths shut about what we did,'' Little said. ''It was kind of sad. We were an obscure people. We were forgotten.''
Fortunately, ''forgotten'' can be replaced with ''remembered.''
Dozens of Federal Center employees volunteered to move to an overflow room and watch the ceremony on closed-circuit television so specially invited American Indian leaders from Michigan, veterans, honored guests and members of the community could see Little up close. ''The turnout shows that for veterans, family and friends, today is a special day,'' Fitzgerald said.
The narrator of the ceremony, Frank Walker, noted how veterans all have something in common. ''Mr. Little answered the call to service when he was 17 years old,'' he said. ''The Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center is fortunate to also have many employees who also answered their nation's call.''
Little told the audience that it was a privilege to be part of a ceremony that combined Veterans Day and Native American History Month ceremonies. ''I have a strong feeling for veterans,'' he said. ''It is an honor to represent my people, the Navajo people and my great comrades, the Navajo code talkers.''
He described how life has changed for the Navajo people. ''Where I grew up it was undeveloped. Since WWII, things have changed. Returning Navajo veterans after WWII and all the veterans since have established a foundation of progress. Where I used to live there are now beautiful houses with running water and electricity. That is progress.''
Things have also changed in other ways. Now, when Little is asked about what he did in WWII, he can tell his story. ''Now we have the legacy of the Navajo code talkers. Now we have to document this contribution,'' Little said.
Just as he had done during WWII, Little found just the right words to describe what needed to be done. Not only did he represent the Navajo people. On this day, he represented all veterans.