Sean Patrick Maloney: “Mr. Speaker, today the House of Representatives honors many unsung American heroes whose contributions to America's…”

“Mr. Speaker, today the House of Representatives honors many unsung American heroes whose contributions to America's freedom are without parallel in American history, the Sioux, Choctaw, Comanche and other Native American code talkers of World War II. Without the valiant efforts of these patriotic members from many of our Native American communities, our Armed Forces would not have been able to deceive our enemies as effectively as they did. The rare beauty and intricacy of our Native American languages turned out to be our most secret of weapons, and to our code talkers, America owes a great debt of gratitude. Our code talkers are an example of how the richness of our American heritage became a strength that no adversary could possibly match or overcome. America's freedom endures because our military commanders turned the linguistic heritage of our Native American tribes into an unprecedented asset of warfare. Last year, in a Capitol Rotunda ceremony, Congress and President Bush honored code talkers from the Navajo Nation with a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor that Congress can bestow.”