Out West, Young Marine Meets Native American Veterans of World War II

Images: Young Marines pose on Aug. 14 at a memorial to the Navajo Code Talkers in Window Rock, Ariz.; and a group photo of Young Marines at the 2015 Navajo Code Talkers Day in Window Rock, Ariz.

A member of the Manassas chapter of the Young Marines, a national youth organization, recently journeyed to Arizona to see a unique part of American history.

Gavin Cornell, 15, a student at Riverbend High School in Spotsylvania County, participated in Navajo Code Talkers Day, an event in Window Rock, Ariz., to honor Native Americans who played a unique role in World War II. The Code Talkers are members of the Navajo tribe who served with the U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific and developed an unbreakable battlefield radio code, based on the Navajo language, that helped the Marines win battle after battle against the Japanese.

The Young Marines is a national non-profit education and service program for boys and girls, ages 8 through the completion of high school. It promotes the mental, moral and physical development of its members, focusing on teaching the values of leadership, teamwork and self-discipline so its members can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle, according to the Young Marines’ website.

Since its start in 1959, the Young Marines has grown to more than 300 units with 11,000 youth and 3,000 adult volunteers in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Germany, Japan and affiliates in several other countries.

Gavin said he joined the Young Marines five years ago because he was looking for activities that would help him get into college. He started out with the Fredericksburg chapter of the Young Marines, but recently switched to the Manassas chapter, which meets at the local American Legion hall.

The Manassas chapter, with 30 members, meets on Sundays and performs drills and community service projects, focusing on helping veterans and on DDR, or drug demand reduction. They also participate in summer camps, or “spaces” in Young Marines jargon.

Gavin said he was drawn to the Code Talkers event because “I’m a huge history buff,” and he’s always been interested in World War II. The event gave him a chance “to talk to people who were actually there,” and to learn about Navajo culture.

“A lot of these guys are getting old,” he said, and in the future, he would not have a chance to talk to them.

At Navajo Code Talkers Day, on Aug. 14, Gavin and about 175 other Young Marines from across the country participated in a ceremony at the Navajo Reservation in Arizona to honor the Code Talkers. They also set up flags for the event and marched in the Navajo Nation parade, according to a news release from the Young Marines.

The previous day, Gavin and the other Young Marines performed a community service project, attended a class about the Code Talkers and met with one of them. And on Aug. 15, they participated in a memorial 5K run/walk and visited the Navajo Museum.

As with all veterans of World War II, the ranks of the Code Talkers are thinning as the years go by. They are in their 80s and 90s, and for decades, their spoken military code remained top secret.

But today, the Navajo Code Talkers Foundation, a nonprofit group, is working to educate the public about these unique World War II Marines. The foundation also is raising funds and seeking corporate sponsorships for the National Navajo Code Talkers Museum and Veterans’ Center. For more information, please click here.