Navajo Code Talkers / Northern Arizona University

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of World War II, Northern Arizona University commissioned sculptor and alumnus R.C. Gorman to design and build the Navajo Code Talkers Monument. Unveiled on Veterans Day, 1995, the monument stands as a dedication to the 400 Navajo marines who used their native language as a code to transmit messages in the Pacific Theater. Despite determined efforts, the Japanese military could not decipher the Navajo Code.

Gorman modeled the monument after his father Carl Gorman, a noted Navajo painter and teacher and one of the original Code Talkers. Describing his work, Gorman said, "I chose to model a bust after my father because he has such a strong face. It's intended to be a tribute to Navajos."

At the dedication ceremony a crowd of nearly 700 people, including thirty Navajo Code Talkers and their families, witnessed the statue’s unveiling. The Navajo Code Talkers Monument is located on the North side of the Blome Building.