Thomas Daschle: “today, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of V-E Day, I am proud to submit a resolution honoring a special group of…”

“today, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of V-E Day, I am proud to submit a resolution honoring a special group of World War II veterans, the code talkers of the Lakota and Dakota tribes. In the early days of World War II, American radio codes were continually being broken by Japanese cryptographers, placing American lives at great risk. That changed with the code talkers, who used their native American Indian languages to communicate and relay critical communications. It was a code the Japanese could not decipher. The heroic efforts of the Lakota and Dakota code talkers saved many lives. And it was just one of the many ways in which native Americans served their Nation with great honor and distinction and valor during World War II. On December 1941, there were approximately 5,000 American Indians in the armed service. By the end of the war, more than 44,500 American Indians served in uniform. Indeed, more than 10 percent of all native Americans, alive at the time served in World War II. In 1982, Congress and a Presidential proclamation recognized the heroic contributions of the Navajo code talkers and their communication efforts during World War II. Today, let us also recognize the patriotic efforts of the Lakota code talkers who served in the same line of duty. And let us say to them ``pilamayapelo,'' thank you.”