Full Text of HR1201 100th General Assembly
HR1201 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, It is of the upmost importance that we honor those | 3 | | who
fought and served for the freedom of our nation; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Despite everything Native Americans had endured, | 5 | | many
of them felt the calling to serve the United States | 6 | | military
during World War II; many served to protect the land | 7 | | on which
their people had lived for thousands of years, others | 8 | | served out of
patriotism, and others served to find | 9 | | opportunities for education; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, After seeing the success of Choctaws and other | 11 | | Native
Americans using their native languages as code during | 12 | | World War I,
the U.S. Marine Corps began recruiting young | 13 | | Navajos in 1942 to serve
in the Pacific during World War II; | 14 | | and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Some Navajo Code Talkers enlisted, while others | 16 | | were
drafted, some even served underage and had to lie about | 17 | | their
age to join; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Over 400 Navajos were eventually recruited as | 19 | | Navajo
Code Talkers, undergoing intense training which | 20 | | included basic
training, extensive training in communications, | 21 | | and
memorization of the code; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The Navajo Code Talkers played an invaluable role | 2 | | in
defeating the Japanese during World War II by using their
| 3 | | native language as the code for communications during combat
| 4 | | operations; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, On the battlefield, the work of sending coded | 6 | | messages
was extremely serious; being able to keep messages | 7 | | secret could
make the difference between winning and losing a | 8 | | battle and
affect how many lives were saved or lost; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Navajo Code Talkers did more than speak into a | 10 | | radio;
they had to know how to operate both wire and radio | 11 | | equipment,
often carrying it on their backs; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, The Navajo Code Talkers were so successful, that
| 13 | | neither the Japanese army or navy were ever able to crack the
| 14 | | code, which remained classified until 1968; therefore, be it
| 15 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 16 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 17 | | honor the Navajo military members of World War II and recognize | 18 | | the day of August 14, 2018 as being National Navajo Code | 19 | | Talkers Day.
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