Patriotism without hesitation
Navajo were proud to fight for America in 1941

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — On Dec. 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed sparking the beginning of United States involvement in World War II, Navajo people weren’t afforded all the rights of U.S. citizens. For example, they couldn’t vote in federal and state elections.

Whether or not they had full rights, they were a part of America too, and when the time came for the nation’s people to step forward to serve their country, a total of 2,509 Navajos were among the 12,000 Native Americans who served during World War II.

“Originally what had happened was that we signed a treaty with the federal government that we wouldn’t pick up arms again, and they came back to the Navajo Nation and asked us to pick up arms again in World War II, and that’s when the Navajo Nation agreed to do that. They allowed our young men to join the military to fight on behalf of the United States,” said John Wilson of the Fort Defiance Agency Department of Navajo Veterans Affairs.

The most well-known of the Navajo men and women who served are the Code Talkers who used the Navajo language to send military codes during crucial battles of the war.

Keith Little, Navajo Code Talker, said at the time, he knew very little about what was going on in the world. He remembers feeling “astonished” when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor .

“Our country was in an emergency,” Little said, explaining why he joined the Marines during World War II. He added that people wanted to retaliate against the Japanese armed forces.

“We wanted to retaliate any way we can,” he said.
Little joined the Marines in May 1943 and served until November 1945 participating in four battles.

Samuel Tso was a senior in high school on Dec. 7, 1941.
“The following Monday, all the boys in my class disappeared. Only two of us were kept there to maintain the boiler over at Fort Wingate, New Mexico,” he said.
Tso eventually did join the Marines Corps and became a Code Talker.

“I joined the service to protect my reservation and my family,” he said. “Uncle Sam says ‘I need you,’ so I went.”
Frank Chee Willeto, another Code Talker, also shared why he decided to join the war effort.

“My prime reason for joining was to keep not only our Navajos, but the rest of the country, to be free — not to be run by somebody else — and the future of all our young people,” Willeto said.

Michael Smith said his father, Samuel “Jesse” Smith Sr., a Code Talker, joined to get back at the Japanese for attacking Pearl Harbor.

“He joined the Marines (because) they were the toughest branch of service,” Smith said. His father enlisted to be a pilot but ended up in communications when he was asked if he was Navajo and answered yes.

“He said he had no choice after that,” Smith said.
Wilson said that other Navajo people joined the military at that time because there were not enough jobs in the area.
“The only other option they have is to enlist in the military and get the benefits to continue their education,” Wilson said.