On the recordSeptember 8, 2022
it is my honor to recognize the heroic life of Samuel F. Sandoval, Sr., who passed away on July 29, 2022. Mr. Sandoval had been one of the last four remaining Navajo Code Talkers who served during World War II and whose unbreakable code using the Navajo language delivered military communications and played an indispensable role in America's victory in the Pacific. Mr. Sandoval was Naasht'ezhi Dine'esh, Zuni Clan, and born for Tl'aashchi'i, Red Cheek People. He was born on October 24, 1923, in Kimbeto, NM, near Chaco Canyon and graduated in 1942 from the Navajo Methodist Mission School in Farmington, NM, where he was discouraged from using the Navajo language. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in March of 1943 and completed his basic training Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, CA, where the original 29 Code Talkers had arrived the previous fall. After transferring to Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, CA, he and other Code Talkers created more than 600 codes using words from the Navajo Language. As one of the 418 Navajo Code Talkers, he used the 813-word Navajo code to securely send and receive military communications. Mr. Sandoval served in five combat tours, including Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Peleliu, and Okinawa, before his honorable discharge in January 1946. In recognition of his military service, Mr.…
