Paul Allen Parrish was one of more than 400 Navajo men recruited during World War II as a Code Talker, an elite group of U.S. Marines who developed an unbreakable code using their native language, a code the Japanese never broke.
Parrish, who lived in Kayenta, died in 2000, but his granddaughter, Shandiin Parrish, the current Miss Navajo Nation, on Friday morning remembered his service as she introduced part of a virtual celebration of Navajo Code Talker Day.
"I am his firstborn granddaughter and he named me," said Parrish, whose full name is Shaandiin Paul Parrish. "It's an honor to be named after him and I look back on his life and how his contributions shaped him and shaped me."
Parrish spoke during an early morning event hosted by the Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President.
"I know a lot of families across the Navajo Nation share those same teachings. They share the legacy and history of the Code Talkers on a personal level," she said. "They are a part of history in the most significant way, they helped win World War II."
Every year since 2005, the Navajo Nation has hosted a Code Talker Day event in Window Rock to honor the Navajo men who served as Code Talkers across the Pacific during World War II.
The gathering usually attracts hundreds of people from across the Navajo Nation for a daylong celebration, but this year, Navajo Code Talker Day was celebrated online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Code Talker Day recognizes a unique moment in U.S. history. In 1942, as World War II raged overseas, 29 Navajo men joined the U.S. Marines and developed the unbreakable code that would be used across the Pacific throughout the war.
The Navajo Code Talkers participated in all assaults the U.S. Marines led in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945, including Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu and Iwo Jima. The Code Talkers conveyed messages by telephone and radio in their native language, a code that was never broken by the Japanese.
More than 400 Navajo men were recruited as Code Talkers. Only four are still alive — Thomas H. Begay, John Kinsel Jr., Samuel Sandoval and Peter MacDonald Sr.
SPECIAL REPORT: The last of the Navajo Code Talkers share their stories
MacDonald wore his Code Talker uniform, a gold shirt and a red military hat, as he talked about the Navajo Code Talkers during remarks on the Navajo Nation Council's Facebook page.
"Remembering and honoring the use of the Navajo language to help win the war in the Pacific, it's very appropriate to remember this day, August 14, because it means a lot of every one of us Navajo people," he said, thanking the Navajo Nation government for celebrating National Navajo Code Talker Day.
"I also want to thank my comrades, there's only four of us still alive," he added and proceeded to thank them all by name.
"These are all very good people, very good friends and we of course continue to remember all the 400-plus (Code Talkers)," he said, but reminded everyone not to forget about the Code Talkers who never made it home.
"My heart goes out to them and I wish they were here to enjoy all previous honors appointed to the Navajo Code Talkers," he said.
Actor Mark Ruffalo appeared as a special guest during the tribute and talked about his role in the 2002 movie, "Windtalkers," his first introduction to the Navajo Code Talkers other than high school history.
"I didn't really know the story, it was two paragraphs in my history book, which is such an injustice," Ruffalo said, but "what I've come to learn since then is the grace that the Navajo people have."
"The irony of this history is that the United States did everything they could to snuff out the language, the culture of the Navajo people," he said. "The very thing that America was trying to destroy in you was the very thing that saved us. That's a profound thing we can't forget about."
Throughout the livestream on Facebook, people filled the comment section with gratitude toward the Navajo Code Talkers or shared stories about them.
The virtual tribute included messages from the Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer.
"We wanted to recognize the contribution of our Code Talkers," Nez said. "Without our Code Talkers, we wouldn't be enjoying the freedoms here on the Navajo Nation."
"The Navajo people, our warriors, our Code Talkers, our veterans have contributed greatly to the freedoms of this country," he said. "At times Indigenous peoples get pushed aside, but we are resilient. We are always going to stand up and fight for what we believe in."
At the start of the early event, Fort Defiance Veterans Princess Aysha Tsosie sang the National Anthem and Navajo Flag Song in Navajo.
The Navajo Nation Council livestreamed a traditional opening prayer and showed the laying of a wreath at the Navajo Code Talker Memorial in Window Rock.
The rest of the day's event wasn't livestreamed, but included video tributes throughout the day from various dignitaries, military leaders and decedents of the Navajo Code Talkers. Two of the surviving Code Talkers, Peter MacDonald Sr., and Thomas H. Begay, delivered messages.
Begay wore his Code Talker uniform, the gold shirt and red hat, with his silver Congressional Medal of Honor resting against his chest. He spoke only in Navajo in his video.
In the video, he talked about how the Navajo Code Talkers are known throughout the country and worldwide. National Navajo Code Talker Day is a day set aside for them so that people can acknowledge that they served overseas during World War II and that the Japanese never broke the code to the Navajo Language, helping win the war.
Thomas H. Begay ended his video by saying "Semper Fi" and saluting to the camera.
Hope MacDonald-LoneTree works with the Office of the Speaker, where she helps address veterans' issues and was among those helping coordinate the virtual event.
"The council and the speaker felt that it's appropriate for us to honor our Code Talkers no matter what during this pandemic," MacDonald-LoneTree said. She is also the daughter of Peter MacDonald Sr.
"Those are precious few," she said. "We want to make sure, as they are in their homes sheltering in place to protect their health, that they know they are in our thoughts, prayers and we value their service."
Begay's son Ronald Begay said his father has participated in nearly all the Navajo Code Talker celebrations in Window Rock since they started.
"He always showed up at the Navajo Code Talker Day. He's always looked forward to it, especially to see his fellow Code Talkers," Ronald Begay said, but if the Navajo Nation did plan a celebration in person, they wouldn't have attended.
"I would've told them we're not going to be there because my dad's health is more important than being there in person," he said. "It's good to be recognized, but on the TV or radio."
HOW THE NAVAJO CODE TALKERS created an unbreakable code
Ronald Begay said his father "appreciates everyone's input to the virtual Navajo Code Talker Day."
"There is only four of us left; we must preserve the legacy of the Navajo Code Talkers," Thomas H. Begay told his son.
Another outlet for the public to honor the Code Talkers has been organized by several descendants.
Michael Smith started the Navajo Code Talker Day 2020 – Virtual Ceremony page on Facebook this month, and it has over 1,200 members.
His father was Samuel Jesse Smith Sr., who was part of the 4th Marine Division during his service in Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. Smith Sr. died in 2014.
Smith said the page is a joint effort by family members who want to honor their loved ones and share information about the Code Talkers with the public.
A virtual ceremony was to continue on the page throughout Friday, and they have organized a GoFundMe page to provide gifts to the remaining four Code Talkers.
Reporter Noel Lyn Smith from The Daily Times in Farmington, N.M., contributed to this report.
Reporter Shondiin Silversmith covers Indigenous people and communities in Arizona. Reach her at ssilversmi@arizonarepublic.com and follow her Twitter @DiinSilversmith.
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