On July 26, 2001, President George W. Bush presented these medals to honor the 29 Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. In a separate ceremony this fall, each Navajo who trained and qualified as a Code Talker, or a surviving family member, will be presented a silver medal.

The Navajo Code Talkers played a vital role in the World War II Allies’ victory in the Pacific. Using a code based on the complex Navajo language, the Code Talkers were able to transmit and decode in 20 seconds a message that would have taken a machine 30 minutes to decipher. The code was also impossible for the Japanese to break because it required decryption by Navajo speakers – none of whom were available to the Japanese. Many who fought in the War believe that the Allies would never have prevailed at Iwo Jima - or in other crucial battles – were it not for the Navajo Code Talkers.

The obverse of the medal features two Marine Navajo Code Talkers communicating a radio message. Centered along the top of the medal is the inscription “NAVAJO CODE TALKERS.” Centered along the bottom is “BY ACT OF CONGRESS 2000.” The reverse bears the Navajo Code Talkers emblem with “USMC,” the Marine Corps emblem and “WWII” centered along the top of the medal. Centered along the bottom is the inscription “Diné Bizaad Yee Atah Naayéé’ Yik’eh Deesdlíí” – meaning “The Navajo Language Was Used to Defeat the Enemy.”