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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Begaye

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/19/07

HB HJM 23

SHORT TITLE Navajo Talker Postage Stamp

SB

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Joint Memorial 23 is an opportunity to honor the activities of the World War II Navajo

Code Talkers and to request that the United States Post Office issue a postage stamp

commemorating their heroic efforts.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

No Fiscal Impact

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Indian Affairs Department contributes the following background information.

HJM 23 provides a mechanism for adding New Mexico’s voice to the choir of supporters

advocating for a postage stamp commemorating the heroic efforts of the Navajo Code Talkers

during World War II. The Code Talkers served the war effort in a vital manner, enabling the

United States to establish a means of conveying intelligence in the Pacific Theater that was

indecipherable to the intrepid Japanese code-breakers. The Navajo Code Talkers took part in

House Joint Memorial 23 – Page

2

every assault the U.S. Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. They served in all

six Marine divisions, Marine Raider battalions and Marine parachute units. At Iwo Jima, Major

Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division signal officer, declared, "Were it not for the Navajos, the

Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima."

In 1942, there were approximately 50,000 Navajo tribal members. As of 1945, about 540 of

those tribal members served as Marines. From 375 to 420 of those Navajo Marines trained as

Code Talkers; the rest served in other capacities. The Code Talkers have subsequently been

recognized for their historic achievements. On December 22, 2000, the federal Honoring the

Navajo Code Talkers Act was signed into law, authorizing the President of the United States to

award each of the original twenty-nine Navajo Code Talkers a gold medal and a silver medal to

other Navajo men who later qualified as Navajo Code Talkers.

Navajo tribal members made these historic contributions despite being subjected to mistreatment

back in the United States. Ironically, at the very same time that the United States exploited the

complex Navajo language to further its intelligence efforts, it simultaneously sought to

discourage its use back at home. The devotion and patriotism demonstrated by these Navajos

despite this sobering context speaks volumes about the extraordinary men known as the Code

Talkers.

MW/csd