History When World War I broke out in the Spring of 1914, thousands of Navajo men and women volunteered their services to the war efforts. They fought in the overseas places of France, Germany, and Italy and received numerous awards and decorations for outstanding duty; many were cited for bravery under fire. A large number of Navajo women on the Navajo Reservation were active in Red Cross and several Navajos bought Liberty Bonds and were involved …
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…with the successful engagements of the U.S. in the battles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. At Iwo Jima, Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division signal officer, had six Navajo Code Talkers working around the clock during the first forty-eight hours of the battle. Those six sent and received more than 800 messages, all without error. Major Connor declared, "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima."