Veterans Day Ceremony at Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial

La Jolla, CA – The Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial will honor the Navajo Code Talkers through a live in-person and virtual tribute event on Sat., Nov. 5, 2022 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. (PDT) streamed right here on the Mt Soledad Website.

Our keynote speaker will be U.S. Marine Brig. Gen. James A. Ryans, Assistant Division Commander, 1st Marine Division. He previously served as a Commanding Officer at the company and battalion levels and has deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan.

We are excited to honor the legacy of Navajo Code Talkers on this year’s Veterans Day. The first class of 29 Navajo code talker U.S. Marine recruits completed initial training in 1942 and these men developed a unique military code using their mostly unwritten language, and were placed in a guarded room until this task was completed. Eventually, more than 400 code talkers would serve in the U.S. Armed Services with 12 still listed as missing in action (MIA) today. Despite their heroic contributions during World War II, American Indian code talkers had to keep their work secret until 1968. While there was some recognition in the 1970s and 1980s, it wasn’t until 2001 when Congressional Gold Medals were awarded to the Navajo and other code talkers. Regan Hawthorne, CEO of the Navajo Code Talkers Museum will be in attendance and one of our guest speakers.
https://soledadmemorial.org