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[Page S1321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO ALFRED K. NEWMAN
Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to Alfred K.
Newman, one of last remaining Navajo code talkers, who passed away on
January 13 of this year.
Mr. Newman was born in Coolidge, NM, on July 21, 1924. He was
Naaneesht'ezhi Dine'e--Zuni Clan--and born for Tsi'naajinii--Black
Streak Wood People Clan. One of six children, his mother wove rugs that
were sold at the Coolidge Trading Post and his stepfather worked as a
silversmith there.
When Mr. Newman was about 8 years old, his family sent him to the
Rehoboth Mission School, where he boarded during the 9 month school
year and rarely saw his parents. During the summers, he herded sheep.
At one point, they had a herd of 200, and the young shepherd loved
watching the lizards, birds, and bugs that surrounded him as he herded.
Mr. Newman grew up knowing both Navajo and English. However, the
boarding students were not allowed to speak Navajo at the school. One
time, when he spoke in Navajo, in order to help another Navajo student
who knew no English, he was punished by having to write ``I must not
speak Navajo'' 500 times.
While the missionaries at the Rehoboth Mission School forbade Mr.
Newman and other Navajo students from speaking their language, as did
Federal Government Indian boarding schools, the U.S. military came to
greatly appreciate the strategic advantage the unwritten Dine language
held.
Mr. Newman enlisted in the Marines, in 1943, when he was 18, inspired
to defend the Nation in light of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He, along
with an estimated 44,000 other Native Americans, served in World War
II, even though they couldn't vote in U.S. elections and faced
discrimination within the military.
Soon after Mr. Newman enlisted, he was assigned to a secret mission,
as part of the Navajo code talkers. He attended code school, learning
the complex code by memory, and learned how to operate communications
equipment. Serving in the 1st Battalion, 21st Marine Regiment, 3rd
Marine Division, Alfred was stationed in New Caledonia, Guadalcanal,
Bougainville Island, Guam, and Iwo Jima, among other duty stations. He
saw battle at the latter three locations and was stationed in Iwo Jima
during 28 days of the famous battle and was there the day the Americans
raised the flag over Mount Suribachi. Mr. Newman was honorably
discharged with the rank of corporal in December 1945.
After his discharge, he came back to New Mexico, and married his
sweetheart, Betsy Eleanore Denetsone. He worked as an ammunition
inspector at Fort Wingate and then at an open-pit mine overseeing
blasting at Kirkland Field. Together, he and Betsy have 5 children, 13
grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren and were married 69 years
before his passing.
The Japanese famously never broke the Navajos' code, and Navajo code
talkers are credited with playing a decisive role in key World War II
battles, including Iwo Jima. The Navajo code talker mission was kept
secret until 1968, when it was declassified. In 2000, Congress awarded
the Congressional Silver Medal to the Navajo code talkers. Like so many
others, Mr. Newman was humble about his bravery in service and modest
about his medals. During a 2010 interview for an oral history project,
Mr. Newman was asked, ``How did [the war] change you?'' He replied
that, ``Before the war, I was just going just like any other non-
Navajo. Peaceful, no worries. Doing what I like. But when the war came,
it was a different story. So I had to do what needed to be done.''
We are forever grateful to Mr. Newman and all his fellow courageous
code talkers for doing ``what needed to be done'' to defend our
country. We will always honor and will never forget their service and
sacrifice to the Nation.
____________________
