Photos: Congressional Gold Medal presented to American Indian Code Talkers
November 20, 2013
Tribal representatives stand with medals during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images ( 524842027 )
Edmond Harjo, 96, of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and one of the last surviving code talkers, places his hand over his heart as the American flag is presented during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov 20, 2013, honoring Native American code talkers who used their unique languages as a means of secret communication during World War II. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ( Code Talkers )
Shelly Elizabeth Mata (L), Mali Cooper-Youngman (C), and Kimberely DeJesus (R), all members of the Comanche Nation, attend a ceremony to present the Congressional Gold Medal to Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA 20 November 2013. Code talkers were Native American soldiers who used their native languages to transmit messages during war time. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO ( USA INDIANS MEDAL )
Alandra Duyongwa (C) a member of the Hopi Nation, watches a ceremony to present the Congressional Gold Medal to Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA 20 November 2013. Code talkers were Native American soldiers who used their native languages to transmit messages during war time. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO ( USA INDIANS MEDAL )
The Congressional Gold Medal presented to the Choctaw Nation code talkers is displayed during a ceremony in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. Medals were presented to individual representatives of the 33 Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II. Hundreds of Native Americans served in the world wars as code talkers, soldiers who developed codes built upon their native languages to transmit secret tactical messages over military telephone or radio communications, improving speed and encryption at both ends in front line operations during World War II. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ( 450819775 )
Mali Cooper-Youngman a member of the Comanche Nation, attend a ceremony to present the Congressional Gold Medal to Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA 20 November 2013. Code talkers were Native American soldiers who used their native languages to transmit messages during war time. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO ( USA INDIANS MEDAL )
Ninety six-year-old Code Talker Edmund Harjo of the Seminole Nation (L) greets House Minority Leader from California Nancy Pelosi (R) after a ceremony to present the Congressional Gold Medal to Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA 20 November 2013. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO ( USA HARJO MEDAL )
(L-R) Comanche Nation Veterans Association Princess Shelby Mata, Comanche Nation Princess Kimberly Ann DeJesus and Comanche Nation Junior Princess Mali Cooper Youngman take a "selfie" photograph before a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. Representatives of the 33 Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II were presented with Congressional Gold Medals. Hundreds of Native Americans served in the world wars as code talkers, soldiers who developed codes built upon their native languages to transmit secret tactical messages over military telephone or radio communications. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ( 450819771 )
House Minority Leader from California Nancy Pelosi (L), Senate Minority Leader from Kentucky Mitch McConnell (C-L), Senate Majority Leader from Nevada Harry Reid (C-R), and Speaker of the House from Ohio John Boehner (R) attend a ceremony to present the Congressional Gold Medal to Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA 20 November 2013. Code talkers were Native American soldiers who used their native languages to transmit messages during war time. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO ( USA CODE TALKERS MEDAL )
Representatives of Native American tribes celebrate during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony honoring Indian code talkers who used their unique languages as a means of secret communication that enemy troops could not decipher, especially during World War II, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013. Wallace Coffey, chief of the Comanche Nation in Oklahoma, raises his hand at center. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ( Code Talkers )
Edmund Harjo (L), 96, a Seminole Indian code talker and a World War II veteran of the 195th Field Artillery Battalion, is presented with the Congressional Gold Medal along with individual representatives of the 33 Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ( 450818487 )
Comanche Nation Chairman Wallace Coffey (C) and his wife Debora Coffey show fellow Comanche the tribe's Congressional Gold Medal after 33 Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II were celebrated in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ( 450818637 )
Edmund Harjo (L), 96, a Seminole Indian code talker and a World War II veteran of the 195th Field Artillery Battalion, holds the Congressional Gold Medal that was presented to his tribe during a ceremony in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ( 450818641 )
Vietnam War veteran and Yankton Sioux council member Basil Heth (L) and Yankton Sioux member and World War II veteran Elmo Eddy pose with the Congressional Gold Medal presented to their tribe because members were code talkers during World War I in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ( 450819471 )
(L-R) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) bow their heads in prayer during the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony for the 33 Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ( 450819769 )
(L-R) Comanche Nation Veterans Association Princess Shelby Mata and Comanche Nation Junior Princess Mali Cooper Youngman visit before a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ( 450819777 )
The Congressional Gold Medal presented to the Tlingit Warriors code talkers is displayed during a ceremony in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. Medals were presented to individual representatives of the 33 Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ( 450819779 )
John Parker, right, and his sister LaNora Parker, left, members of Comanche Nation in Oklahoma, arrive for a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013, honoring Native American code talkers who used their unique languages as a means of secret communication that enemy troops could not decipher during World War II,. Their father, Simmons Parker, was an Army code talker during World War II. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ( Code Talkers )
Wallace Coffey, chief of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma, second from right, holds his tribeĆs Congressional Gold Medal, together with representatives of other Native American tribes, during a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013, honoring twenty-five Native American tribes who received the medal in recognition of the dedication and valor of the code talkers and their service to the U.S. Armed Forces during WWI and WWII. 'Code talkers' refers to those Native Americans who used their tribal languages as a means of secret communication during the war. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ( Code Talkers )
An Air Force veteran listens during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. The US Congress gave their highest award to representatives from 33 additional Native American tribes who fought in World War II using their native languages to encode radio transmissions. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images ( 524842049 )
Kenneth Ryan of Fort Beck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Montana, holds his tribe's Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013, honoring twenty-five Native American tribes who received the medal in recognition of the dedication and valor of the code talkers and their service to the U.S. Armed Forces during WWI and WWII. 'Code talkers' refers to those Native Americans who used their tribal languages as a means of secret communication during the war. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ( Code Talkers )
Edmund Harjo, one of the last surviving code talkers of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, is greeted before the start of a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013, honoring twenty-five Native American tribes who received the Congressional Gold Medal, in recognition of the dedication and valor of the code talkers and their service to the U.S. Armed Forces during WWI and WWII. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ( Code Talkers )
People listen during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. The US Congress gave their highest award to representatives from 33 additional Native American tribes who fought in World War II using their native languages to encode radio transmissions. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images ( 524841067 )
US Navy Admiral James A. Winnefeld(L-REAR), Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks while tribal representatives stand with their medals during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images ( 524841583 )
Dewayne Goodface, a Vietnam War veteran from the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, listens during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images ( 524841724 )
People listen during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. The US Congress gave their highest award to representatives from 33 additional Native American tribes who fought in World War II using their native languages to encode radio transmissions. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images ( 524842050 )
People listen during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images ( 524842044 )
From left House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) wait for the National Anthem during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill November 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images ( 524842040 )
Ed Delgado of the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin (C) holds up a Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony to honor Native American tribes whose members served as military code talkers during World War I and World War II in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA 20 November 2013. Code talkers were Native American soldiers who used their native languages to transmit messages during war time. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO ( USA CODE TALKERS MEDAL )
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