Guardsman meet living history

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt Gareth Buckland
  • 113 Wing Public Affairs, DC Air National Guard
Gallup, New Mexico --  Guard members form the 113th Civil Engineer Squadron got the opportunity to meet with living history June 2, 2011 while deployed to Window Rock, Ariz.
Bill Toledo, one of the original Navajo Code Talkers from World Word II spoke about his experiences to a group of around 50 Guard members during a presentation arranged by the Navajo Nation.
The group listened intensely for more than 90 minutes while the 86 year old former 3rd Division Marine private stood proudly and recalled his experiences during WW II. Mr. Toledo served for three years from Oct. 1942 to Oct. 1945, serving in several major engagements in Bougainville, Guam and Iwo Jima.
Mr. Toledo talked about his life growing up on the Navajo Reservation, where he learned the Navajo language. The Code Talkers used the secret Navajo language which was encrypted with military terms to create an unbreakable code. The Navajo language was never written down and was ideal for code, as was instrumental in the success of the battle of Iwo Jima and other WWII battles.
Initially there were 29 original Navajo Code Talkers in 1942, who developed the code. The idea to use Navajo for code talking came from a civilian, Phillip Johnson, who had lived as a boy on a Navajo reservation.
Mr. Toledo joined the Marines shortly after the initial "first 29". He joined with his cousin Preston and Uncle Frank. They enlisted together in Oct. 1942.
He talked about how the recruiter came to school and his initial days of service in San Diego, Calif. at the Marine Corps boot camp.
"It was rough," he said. "The first thing was getting a haircut. This barber said, 'Chief, how you like your haircut?' And I just told him to give me a little light trim, you know. The next thing all my hair went off. It was shocking."
He then went on to a special communications school at Camp Elliott, north of San Diego, Calif., where he learned to be a Code Talker.
While on the Pacific island of Bougainville Island, Mr. Toledo was mistaken for a Japanese solider and was taken prisoner by a fellow Marine.
"A rifleman was walking with us and must've thought I looked like a Japanese solider. He poked me with a rifle in my back and told me to raise my hands. I did, and he turned me into our commander. The commander was mad. He told him to let me go."
By the end of the war the Navajo Code talkers had developed 600 phrases and could code in 20 seconds what would take machines 30 minutes to do.
Of the approximate 400 Navajo Code Talkers, only about 40 still remain to tell their story. The secret Navajo Code wasn't declassified until 1968, when the Code Talkers could begin talking about their exploits. In 2001 many of the Code Talkers received the Congressional silver and gold medals.
Mr. Toledo proudly wore his Navajo Code Talkers uniform adorned with the service medals and patches he earned. His yellow shirt representing corn pollen, used in traditional Navajo prayer ceremonies and a red cap denoting the Marine Corps.
When asked what keeps him in such great shape he responded by saying he still does his daily PT exercises he learnt in boot camp.
"Native people are very patriotic," he said. "They say 'I want to defend this country because I'm defending my land, my culture, my medicine people, my Navajo Nation.'"
At the end of his presentation he sang the Marine Corps prayer in Navajo, which was greeted with a standing ovation and rousing applause from the Guard members.
Today, Mr. Toledo travels the country representing the Navajo foundation working to raise the millions needed to build the Navajo Code Talker & Veterans' Center project. To be built on 208 acres of donated land northwest of Gallup, N.M., the museum will honor the contributions of the Code Talkers and other veterans.
"Having two grandfathers, whom I am proud of, who served in WWII was great," said Senior Airman Mike Kammerer, 113 CES utilities shop technician. "Meeting someone who was part of a unique facet of WWII was fascinating. It is hard to tell what could have been, but if not for the code talkers."
The Guard members were in Window Rock, Ariz., rebuilding a school for Navajo special needs children as part of the Innovative Readiness Training program, a civil military program that links military units with civilian communities for humanitarian projects.
Guard members form the 113th Civil Engineer Squadron got the opportunity to meet with living history June 2, 2011 while deployed to Window Rock, Ariz.
Bill Toledo, one of the original Navajo Code Talkers from World Word II spoke about his experiences to a group of around 50 Guard members during a presentation arranged by the Navajo Nation.
The group listened intensely for more than 90 minutes while the 86 year old former 3rd Division Marine private stood proudly and recalled his experiences during WW II. Mr. Toledo served for three years from Oct. 1942 to Oct. 1945, serving in several major engagements in Bougainville, Guam and Iwo Jima.
Mr. Toledo talked about his life growing up on the Navajo Reservation, where he learned the Navajo language. The Code Talkers used the secret Navajo language which was encrypted with military terms to create an unbreakable code. The Navajo language was never written down and was ideal for code, as was instrumental in the success of the battle of Iwo Jima and other WWII battles.
Initially there were 29 original Navajo Code Talkers in 1942, who developed the code. The idea to use Navajo for code talking came from a civilian, Phillip Johnson, who had lived as a boy on a Navajo reservation.
Mr. Toledo joined the Marines shortly after the initial "first 29". He joined with his cousin Preston and Uncle Frank. They enlisted together in Oct. 1942.
He talked about how the recruiter came to school and his initial days of service in San Diego, Calif. at the Marine Corps boot camp.
"It was rough," he said. "The first thing was getting a haircut. This barber said, 'Chief, how you like your haircut?' And I just told him to give me a little light trim, you know. The next thing all my hair went off. It was shocking."
He then went on to a special communications school at Camp Elliott, north of San Diego, Calif., where he learned to be a Code Talker.
While on the Pacific island of Bougainville Island, Mr. Toledo was mistaken for a Japanese solider and was taken prisoner by a fellow Marine.
"A rifleman was walking with us and must've thought I looked like a Japanese solider. He poked me with a rifle in my back and told me to raise my hands. I did, and he turned me into our commander. The commander was mad. He told him to let me go."
By the end of the war the Navajo Code talkers had developed 600 phrases and could code in 20 seconds what would take machines 30 minutes to do.
Of the approximate 400 Navajo Code Talkers, only about 40 still remain to tell their story. The secret Navajo Code wasn't declassified until 1968, when the Code Talkers could begin talking about their exploits. In 2001 many of the Code Talkers received the Congressional silver and gold medals.
Mr. Toledo proudly wore his Navajo Code Talkers uniform adorned with the service medals and patches he earned. His yellow shirt representing corn pollen, used in traditional Navajo prayer ceremonies and a red cap denoting the Marine Corps.
When asked what keeps him in such great shape he responded by saying he still does his daily PT exercises he learnt in boot camp.
"Native people are very patriotic," he said. "They say 'I want to defend this country because I'm defending my land, my culture, my medicine people, my Navajo Nation.'"
At the end of his presentation he sang the Marine Corps prayer in Navajo, which was greeted with a standing ovation and rousing applause from the Guard members.
Today, Mr. Toledo travels the country representing the Navajo foundation working to raise the millions needed to build the Navajo Code Talker & Veterans' Center project. To be built on 208 acres of donated land northwest of Gallup, N.M., the museum will honor the contributions of the Code Talkers and other veterans.
"Having two grandfathers, whom I am proud of, who served in WWII was great," said Senior Airman Mike Kammerer, 113 CES utilities shop technician. "Meeting someone who was part of a unique facet of WWII was fascinating. It is hard to tell what could have been, but if not for the code talkers."
The Guard members were in Window Rock, Ariz., rebuilding a school for Navajo special needs children as part of the Innovative Readiness Training program, a civil military program that links military units with civilian communities for humanitarian projects.
Guard members form the 113th Civil Engineer Squadron got the opportunity to meet with living history June 2, 2011 while deployed to Window Rock, Ariz.
Bill Toledo, one of the original Navajo Code Talkers from World Word II spoke about his experiences to a group of around 50 Guard members during a presentation arranged by the Navajo Nation.
The group listened intensely for more than 90 minutes while the 86 year old former 3rd Division Marine private stood proudly and recalled his experiences during WW II. Mr. Toledo served for three years from Oct. 1942 to Oct. 1945, serving in several major engagements in Bougainville, Guam and Iwo Jima.
Mr. Toledo talked about his life growing up on the Navajo Reservation, where he learned the Navajo language. The Code Talkers used the secret Navajo language which was encrypted with military terms to create an unbreakable code. The Navajo language was never written down and was ideal for code, as was instrumental in the success of the battle of Iwo Jima and other WWII battles.
Initially there were 29 original Navajo Code Talkers in 1942, who developed the code. The idea to use Navajo for code talking came from a civilian, Phillip Johnson, who had lived as a boy on a Navajo reservation.
Mr. Toledo joined the Marines shortly after the initial "first 29". He joined with his cousin Preston and Uncle Frank. They enlisted together in Oct. 1942.
He talked about how the recruiter came to school and his initial days of service in San Diego, Calif. at the Marine Corps boot camp.
"It was rough," he said. "The first thing was getting a haircut. This barber said, 'Chief, how you like your haircut?' And I just told him to give me a little light trim, you know. The next thing all my hair went off. It was shocking."
He then went on to a special communications school at Camp Elliott, north of San Diego, Calif., where he learned to be a Code Talker.
While on the Pacific island of Bougainville Island, Mr. Toledo was mistaken for a Japanese solider and was taken prisoner by a fellow Marine.
"A rifleman was walking with us and must've thought I looked like a Japanese solider. He poked me with a rifle in my back and told me to raise my hands. I did, and he turned me into our commander. The commander was mad. He told him to let me go."
By the end of the war the Navajo Code talkers had developed 600 phrases and could code in 20 seconds what would take machines 30 minutes to do.
Of the approximate 400 Navajo Code Talkers, only about 40 still remain to tell their story. The secret Navajo Code wasn't declassified until 1968, when the Code Talkers could begin talking about their exploits. In 2001 many of the Code Talkers received the Congressional silver and gold medals.
Mr. Toledo proudly wore his Navajo Code Talkers uniform adorned with the service medals and patches he earned. His yellow shirt representing corn pollen, used in traditional Navajo prayer ceremonies and a red cap denoting the Marine Corps.
When asked what keeps him in such great shape he responded by saying he still does his daily PT exercises he learnt in boot camp.
"Native people are very patriotic," he said. "They say 'I want to defend this country because I'm defending my land, my culture, my medicine people, my Navajo Nation.'"
At the end of his presentation he sang the Marine Corps prayer in Navajo, which was greeted with a standing ovation and rousing applause from the Guard members.
Today, Mr. Toledo travels the country representing the Navajo foundation working to raise the millions needed to build the Navajo Code Talker & Veterans' Center project. To be built on 208 acres of donated land northwest of Gallup, N.M., the museum will honor the contributions of the Code Talkers and other veterans.
"Having two grandfathers, whom I am proud of, who served in WWII was great," said Senior Airman Mike Kammerer, 113 CES utilities shop technician. "Meeting someone who was part of a unique facet of WWII was fascinating. It is hard to tell what could have been, but if not for the code talkers."
The Guard members were in Window Rock, Ariz., rebuilding a school for Navajo special needs children as part of the Innovative Readiness Training program, a civil military program that links military units with civilian communities for humanitarian projects.
Guard members form the 113th Civil Engineer Squadron got the opportunity to meet with living history June 2, 2011 while deployed to Window Rock, Ariz.
Bill Toledo, one of the original Navajo Code Talkers from World Word II spoke about his experiences to a group of around 50 Guard members during a presentation arranged by the Navajo Nation.
The group listened intensely for more than 90 minutes while the 86 year old former 3rd Division Marine private stood proudly and recalled his experiences during WW II. Mr. Toledo served for three years from Oct. 1942 to Oct. 1945, serving in several major engagements in Bougainville, Guam and Iwo Jima.
Mr. Toledo talked about his life growing up on the Navajo Reservation, where he learned the Navajo language. The Code Talkers used the secret Navajo language which was encrypted with military terms to create an unbreakable code. The Navajo language was never written down and was ideal for code, as was instrumental in the success of the battle of Iwo Jima and other WWII battles.
Initially there were 29 original Navajo Code Talkers in 1942, who developed the code. The idea to use Navajo for code talking came from a civilian, Phillip Johnson, who had lived as a boy on a Navajo reservation.
Mr. Toledo joined the Marines shortly after the initial "first 29". He joined with his cousin Preston and Uncle Frank. They enlisted together in Oct. 1942.
He talked about how the recruiter came to school and his initial days of service in San Diego, Calif. at the Marine Corps boot camp.
"It was rough," he said. "The first thing was getting a haircut. This barber said, 'Chief, how you like your haircut?' And I just told him to give me a little light trim, you know. The next thing all my hair went off. It was shocking."
He then went on to a special communications school at Camp Elliott, north of San Diego, Calif., where he learned to be a Code Talker.
While on the Pacific island of Bougainville Island, Mr. Toledo was mistaken for a Japanese solider and was taken prisoner by a fellow Marine.
"A rifleman was walking with us and must've thought I looked like a Japanese solider. He poked me with a rifle in my back and told me to raise my hands. I did, and he turned me into our commander. The commander was mad. He told him to let me go."
By the end of the war the Navajo Code talkers had developed 600 phrases and could code in 20 seconds what would take machines 30 minutes to do.
Of the approximate 400 Navajo Code Talkers, only about 40 still remain to tell their story. The secret Navajo Code wasn't declassified until 1968, when the Code Talkers could begin talking about their exploits. In 2001 many of the Code Talkers received the Congressional silver and gold medals.
Mr. Toledo proudly wore his Navajo Code Talkers uniform adorned with the service medals and patches he earned. His yellow shirt representing corn pollen, used in traditional Navajo prayer ceremonies and a red cap denoting the Marine Corps.
When asked what keeps him in such great shape he responded by saying he still does his daily PT exercises he learnt in boot camp.
"Native people are very patriotic," he said. "They say 'I want to defend this country because I'm defending my land, my culture, my medicine people, my Navajo Nation.'"
At the end of his presentation he sang the Marine Corps prayer in Navajo, which was greeted with a standing ovation and rousing applause from the Guard members.
Today, Mr. Toledo travels the country representing the Navajo foundation working to raise the millions needed to build the Navajo Code Talker & Veterans' Center project. To be built on 208 acres of donated land northwest of Gallup, N.M., the museum will honor the contributions of the Code Talkers and other veterans.
"Having two grandfathers, whom I am proud of, who served in WWII was great," said Senior Airman Mike Kammerer, 113 CES utilities shop technician. "Meeting someone who was part of a unique facet of WWII was fascinating. It is hard to tell what could have been, but if not for the code talkers."
The Guard members were in Window Rock, Ariz., rebuilding a school for Navajo special needs children as part of the Innovative Readiness Training program, a civil military program that links military units with civilian communities for humanitarian projects.