Long after they served their role in helping the United States defeat Japan in World War II, they received their due credit. They are the Navajo Code Talkers. 

And they will further receive recognition with the placement of a statue at the Utah Veterans Memorial in West Valley City. 

The life-size figure will depict one of the actual Navajo Code Talkers at the memorial south of the Utah Cultural Celebration Center on the city’s east side. 

“It’s a big bronze statue,” said city councilmember Will Whetstone, who is also a veteran. “It’s really to recognize the contributions that the Native Americans made in military history.” 

“I don’t know that the Native Americans received the attention that they deserved for their role in World War II. It’s an amazing thing that they did for the country,” he added. 

Whetstone said the addition of the statue and expansion will bring even more meaning to the memorial.

The sculpture will feature two Navajo soldiersone talking on a radio and the other defending him from behind as he communicates on the device. 

Whetstone said discussions about a Navajo Code Talker statue at the memorial started a little before he began serving on the city council in 2022 and the effort has gained momentum since. The statue is already mostly sculpted with only bronzing left to do. It is hoped the statue can be placed at the memorial by this summer. 

The statue is made by Stan Watts, founder and owner of Atlas Bronze Casting in Kearns. Watts is a renowned sculptor who for 40 years has created bronze figures depicting some of the key people and events in American history. To him, the statue honors not just the Code Talkers, but all Native Americans who fought for or otherwise served the U.S. during World War II, especially since more Native Americans enlisted voluntarily in the armed forces during the war than any other group of people. “They joined the military to protect their land,” Watts said, meaning that fighting for America was also defending their native lands and vice versa. 

Watts, 64, feels his creation of the statue is being guided by something higher than himself. “It’s not me doing this, it’s the Navajo Nation doing this to honor the good people (of the tribe).”

The Navajo Code Talkers consisted of 29 U.S. Marines from the Navajo Nation who significantly aided the war effort against the Japanese from 1942 to 1945 by using their native language to transmit secret messages and military codes in a way that the enemy forces could never decipher. 

The code talker program and its participants were kept secret until 1968 when they were declassified by the military. Recognition of the code talkers was slow but in 2001, they were awarded Congressional Gold Medals for their achievements and contributions to American history.

One of the code talkers with local ties was Harry James, a West Valley City resident who died last year at the age of 88. Another was Allen Dale June. He lived for a time in West Valley City and passed away in 2010. He was 91. 

Meanwhile, planning is underway for phase 2 of the veterans memorial with the construction of an adjacent park on about three-fourths of an acre. It will feature additional memorials, including one in remembrance of World War II, statues, and an obelisk–a tall, narrow, tapered four-sided monument. There will also be a picnic area, water feature and tree representations of the six branches of the military. Salt Lake County’s Tourism, Recreation, Cultural, and Convention tax will provide about $900,000 for the project. West Valley City will match it with $600,000 of its own funds. “It’s important for us to continue our fundraising to honor all the wars,” said Jake Arslanian, the city’s director of facilities and construction management. 

The Utah Veterans Memorial opened on November 11, 2021 following six months of construction and about $1.3 million in business and individual donations to make it possible. Its 75-foot-long memorial wall contains the names of some 4,800 Utahns who made the ultimate sacrifice in conflicts from World War I to the war on terrorism that started in the 1990s and included military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Whetstone said the addition of the statue and expansion will bring even more meaning to the memorial.

“It’s really a sacred place for family and friends to go there and reflect on the service of their loved ones,” he said. “I hope generations to come can go there and learn about the costs of freedom.

“It is a very sacred place and not just a monument for us to go and see.”λ