Tom Udall: “Today I wish to honor Private William Tully Brown, a Navajo code talker who never considered himself an American hero…”

“Today I wish to honor Private William Tully Brown, a Navajo code talker who never considered himself an American hero but who was. Private Brown enlisted in the Marines in 1944 and was trained as a code talker at Camp Pendleton. Training was intense. The code talkers underwent extensive training in communications and in memorizing the complex code that included Navajo words used for 450 military terms that didn't exist in the Navajo or Dine language. Private Brown was part of the Second Marine Division. In July 1945, he shipped out of San Diego to Pearl Harbor, then to Saipan in the Mariana Islands, and finally to Nagasaki and Sasebo on the island of Kyushu, Japan's most southern main island. They landed in Nagasaki's harbor on September 23 with the mission of occupying the island. They were armed in full combat kit with fixed bayonets and full magazines. They didn't know what to expect from the defeated Japanese. Nagasaki had been bombed on August 9 and was devastated. Private Brown's division, along with other troops, successfully and peacefully secured the area in short order. Our Nation owes a great debt to the Navajo code talkers. They transmitted thousands and thousands of strategic military messages during World War II, but their code was never broken. Their skill, bravery, and commitment to country were integral to winning the war. Private Brown, like so many of our code talkers, was humble and modest about the courage he showed during the war.…”