| Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 174, a resolution sponsored by Congressman Tom Udall of New Mexico, which authorizes the use of the Capitol Rotunda on July 26, 2001 for a ceremony to present the Congressional Gold Medal to the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers.
I am honored to have been an original cosponsor of H.R. 4527, the legislation sponsored by my good friend Congressman Tom Udall, which authorizes the President of the United States to award the Gold Medal, on behalf of the Congress, to each of the original Navajo Code Talkers.
I also want to acknowledge the work that Senator Jeff Bingaman for his efforts in getting the Senate version of the bill included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of fiscal year 2001.
Mr. Speaker, awarding these medals to the brave Navajo men that served this country at a time of war by using the Navajo language to develop a unique and unbreakable code to communicate military messages in the Pacific is long overdue.
The United States Marine Corps recruited and enlisted 29 Navajo men to serve as Marine Corps radio operators. These men are referred to today as the Navajo Code Talkers. The number of Code Talkers would later increase to over 350.
So successful was the code, that the Code Talkers were sworn to secrecy, an oath that they honored until 1968 when the Department of Defense declassified the code.
Mr. Speaker, the heroic efforts of these men saved the lives of many, including probably my own brother Kenneth Robert Kildee, and hastened the end of World War II in the Pacific theater.
I ask my colleagues for their support of this resolution so that Congress, through the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal, can finally express the gratitude of the entire nation to these brave men for the contributions they made during a time of war and the valor by which they served their country.
Thank You. | 
