Four Northern Kentucky Young Marines from Latonia joined 76 fellow Young Marines youth members and adult volunteers from across the country in Window Rock, Arizona on August to honor and learn from the World War II heroes, the Navajo Code Talkers, and their families.
The four Young Marines from the Northern Kentucky unit are: Daxton Bines, Grant Streder, Bradley Zachmann, Abby Smith.
The Navajo code talkers, selected by the U.S. Marine Corps, took part in every assault the U.S. Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. They transmitted messages by telephone and radio in their native language, a code that the Japanese never broke.
The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) youth leadership and development program for boys and girls, age eight through high school graduation. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral, and physical development of its members. The program focuses on teaching the values of leadership, teamwork, and self-discipline, so they can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.
Every year on August 14 the Navajo Nation celebrates this elite group of World War II veterans. These remarkable patriots served their country by transmitting top-secret messages across enemy lines using the Navajo language as code – the only code unbroken by the Japanese during World War II. To date, only two of these original 29 veterans remain. Since 2006 (except during COVID), the Young Marines have traveled to Arizona each year to celebrate the Navajo Code Talkers and to meet the few remaining survivors in person and to listen to their stories.
The Northern Kentucky Young Marines escorted these special veterans to various events. They planned and participated in a community service clean-up at the Navajo Nation Zoo. The group also climbed the Navajo Code Talkers Monument in Window Rock. A major activity during the three days of service was to march in the Ruck March and the Young Marines held a 5K run to commemorate them.
“Our participating Young Marines were grateful and honored to interact with the remaining Code Talkers, their relatives and their supporters at Window Rock this week,” said Col William P. Davis USMC (Ret), national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines. “The Navajo Code Talkers played a vital role in securing victory during World War II, creating an unbreakable code based on their Native language that baffled enemy forces and saved countless American lives. Their courage and ingenuity not only shortened the war but also highlighted the strength of cultural heritage in service to the nation.”
For more information on the Northern Kentucky Young Marines, click here.
Since the Young Marines’ humble beginnings in 1959 with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to over 200 units with over 5,000 youth and 1,950 adult volunteers in 40 states, the District of Columbia, Japan (Okinawa), and affiliates in a host of other countries.