Navajo Code Talkers Congressional Gold Medal
Issued in 2000
2000 Code Talkers Navajo Nation Bronze Three Inch Medal Reverse
2000 Code Talkers Navajo Nation Bronze Three Inch Medal Obverse
Coin Description
Reverse
Depicts the Navajo Marine Corps emblem. Centered along the bottom is the inscription “Diné Bizaad Yee Atah Naayéé’ Yik’eh Deesdl íí,” which means “The Navajo Language Was Used to Defeat the Enemy.”
Obverse
Features two Marine Navajo Code Talkers communicating a radio message.
The Story
In 2001, President George W. Bush honored the 29 Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. These Marine Corps radio operators used a secret code based on their native language to radio military plans between allied forces. The Japanese couldn’t break the code because only Navajo speakers could understand it.
The medal was awarded because the work of the Code Talkers “greatly assisted in saving countless lives and hastening the end of World War II in the Pacific.” The back of the medal is inscribed with Navajo words that mean “The Navajo Language Was Used to Defeat the Enemy.”
The bronze medal pictured is a duplicate of the Congressional Gold Medal.
2000 Code Talkers Navajo Nation Bronze Three Inch Medal Reverse
2000 Code Talkers Navajo Nation Bronze Three Inch Medal Obverse