Morris to honor Navajo Code Talker uncle at Calico Trail Run

CALICO • Delicate words from an old language will help mark the beginning of the sixth annual Calico Trail Run on Sunday.

It is the same language that signaled the raising of the American flag after the battle of Iwo Jima. The same language that subverted

Japanese code breakers throughout World War II.

Joe Morris, 83 of Daggett, was a Navajo Code Talker during the war and will deliver the opening prayer in his native Navajo language before the race begins at 7 a.m. Joe is being honored by his nephew Vernon Morris, one of the race’s founders, throughout the weekend. Joe will speak and answer questions during the pre-race dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. tonight at the Calico House Restaurant in Calico Ghost Town.

Vernon came up with the idea to celebrate his uncle after Joe and other Navajo Code talkers were honored at Mt. Rushmore on July 4, 2009.

“When I went there, I just couldn’t believe the response from the people,” Vernon said. “Everybody was so honored and thankful just to see the Code Talkers and to thank them. I thought it’d be nice to have him as a guest, and I could share my uncle to the runners.

“This race means a lot to me, and that’s why I would like to show him off and brag about him at this run.”

The Calico Trail Run is a 30k and 50k ultra marathon race in the hills behind Calico Ghost Town. Runners can still register for the race at tonight’s dinner. Money raised from the race goes to Discovery Trails.

The United States Marine Corps recruited Joe and other Navajo Indians after the bombing of Pearl Harbor to use the Navajo language to communicate without being intercepted by the Japanese. Previous codes were easily broken.

Not the Navajo’s code.

Unlike other dialects, Navajo never left the Southwest United States were the tribe lived. It wasn’t written down, leaving the Japanese no way to learn it. Its emphasis on tone and context made it difficult for anyone to learn without growing up around it.

The language was further complicated when it was put into code. Navajos came up with about 400 terms used for communication during battle.

Joe grew up on a reservation in Indian Wells, Ariz., and attended a boarding school where using his native tongue could result in punishment. Soon, however, it became a weapon as useful as any bomb or gun.

Joe was only 17, but lied about his age and signed up for selective service and was selected by the Marine Corps. The Navajo Code Talkers were transported from their reservations where water was sparse to the vast oceans and small islands in the South Pacific and proved to be a pivotal advantage. The Navajo soldiers are credited with saving thousands of lives and helping the United States win the war.

“I was reading the paper just recently and it said if it was not for the Navajo Indians, it would have been really bad and there would have been more Marines killed and Army and Navy,” Joe said. “It was really something we had. It was the best (code) we ever had. That’s what the Army said.”

However, their work went unknown until 1982. The Code Talkers continued to be a secret until the Reagan Administration declassified the information. Joe had kept his role as a Code Talker from his wife and family until that day.

Even when their historic role was made public, the Navajo soldiers largely weren’t looking for recognition.

“A lot of times they call them heroes, but they don’t consider themselves heroes,” said Colleen Anderson, Joe’s daughter. “They feel that what they did they did for their country and their land ... the land means a lot to them and it has a sacred meaning to them.”

Today there are believed to be less than 100 Navajo Code Talkers still alive. They might be humble heroes, but the response they get at events and ceremonies is anything but low key.

“I’m amazed at the response from people,” Anderson said. “It’s really interesting to me when I see it as his daughter and I see the response they get.”

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