On November 14, 2019, Peter MacDonald Sr., a World War II Veteran who served as a Navajo Code Talker spoke at the University of Notre Dame. This video captures the whole speech he gave.
We owe the Navajo an incredible debt. How many of us wouldn’t be here if our fathers, grandfathers died in the Pacific during WW2 if the Codetakers were not there to prevent countless lost lives because of their unique talent. God bless you, sir, and all of your comrades!
Incredibly amazing story. What an ordeal those Code Talkers went thru and what they accomplished. True heroes, only because what they did saved way more lives than taking out an enemy pill box or making a last stand on a hill. To be under such incredible pressure conveying vital information with such a complex code that only they could communicate; amazing. On Iwo Jima, knowing how devastating just the first eight hours were let alone the first forty eight and without any mistakes; incredible. That murderous mortar barrage after the third wave with all those Marines massed on the beach, amidst all the noise and gore that must've surrounded them; too much! And then what took place on Peleliu, and Tarawa they all might have been awarded the MOH. Deeds not dialogue: True Heroes.
I need a little of how the code was set up of course I didn’t know the words my people are Cherokee in Creek. I also come from A long line of career military men and women. One of my great uncles settled in San Antonio Texas once he retired from the army and he would sit and tell me stories and I love to listen to them. And I guess he was slipping one in on me I was also learning stuff too! But we as United States citizens we are indebted to the Navajos for saving a lot of lives and keeping us from being run over by the enemy! From me and mine I can’t say thank you enough and I couldn’t begin to know where to make it up to you any of you. Just know you are loved! You do have value! And you are extremely appreciated!
My Beloved Friend Charity MacDonald, I remember you telling me, about your Father Peter, at the American Indian Community House in NYC, when we both were volunteers helping in the Art Gallery for the upcoming~" Native New Yorkers Art Show," curated by Leto Lone Dog. Grateful for all your Family stories sharing and your desire to learn video and document your Father Peter a Beloved 🪶
Thank You Sir for this testimony. And to all our Service Men And Women my God Bless you all. RIP to all that made the Altima sacrifice. Fly with the Angels 🙏❣️
Great speech Peter McDonald is related to me on my mother’s side and my father and 2 uncles also left boarding school after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor (2 sailors 1 code talker/Jack Morgan)
Dearly wish the other Native Indian tribes who had their own code talkers in Europe would create a speaker like Mr. MacDonald Sr. That way the code talker concept would be fully developed for Europe and all the theaters of WW II. Marines were specific to Naval assault groups. Keep looking at you tube offerings to see the other tribes who also had their own code talking abilities, some I believe before the Navajo were developed into such a great group.
There were code talkers used from ALOT of tribes, arguably thru every war the US has been involved with, however it was in WW1, w better means of COMMS, That it became "doctorine"
@@matoskahugg1454 Interesting. My history knowledge is fragmented at best. Lost both my grandfathers in WWI, One buried somewhere in France, the other I have no data on. Both my daughter in laws have Indian blood, one a registered Chippewa, the other a lawyer from Peru; but my background is simple farm family relatives and I'm a whitey. [Likely from somewhere in England], Wife's father was Danish I think. Anyway, since very nation has its wars ... it will be nice when the Lord puts an end to it. With Garabandal Spain messages from Mary ... that day may be coming fairly soon.
@@michaelpcooksey5096 that would be amazing brother. Myself my maternal grandparents are Oglala Lakota and northern Cheyenne my father's parents are German. I'ma happy medium 😂
@@matoskahugg1454 Very nice response. You are not a 'medium' You are a very special individual and who you are is decided by what you choose to be today and tomorrow and tomorrow. Genetics do not make the person, they just give us a starting point [of sorts]. Tribal identities are actually false focus orientations since it is today that counts. My 'tribe' for instance would have been likely germanic that took over England and participated in the near complete genocide of the original inhabitants. [All too common a practice in human history, and documented in the Cheyenne tribes after they mastered the horse before their neighboring tribes. We are such a bloody race of human beings. It's time to become what our loving Father created us to be.
@@michaelpcooksey5096 that's what I've always been sir. The way we look at a tribe and the way post 1000AD EU looked at it are polar opposites,Our tribal identity will always be super important as without that we would lose our creation stories, tradition, ceremony, that would be like saying your religion doesn't need a Bible anymore as it's let to so much violence war, expansion, and tyranny
Ya'at'eeh Shik'is Love to you from Diné Nation🕊️ The history of The American flag is dark with my people, I hope Americans can cherish Freedom of Speech. It seems like Canada is appreciating atrocities like handshaking with Yaroslav Hunka.
Ok i feel you china was good an bad but i think i found the guy father who watch what this was about they i heard he walking out an breaking out of jail
Thomas H. Begay and Peter McDonald, my heroes. Very different MEN than many of todays "men" on our reservation. 1:02:37 says it all. Even though we natives were conquested, we forgave and moved on. This is our country just as much as all Americans. Nowadays, these so called agitators(liberals) that chant death to America...don't realize what we have. Very sad times we live in.
This guy got cash kickbacks on the rez. Called golf balls. Ask him about it. Never seen combat. 90% of the Navajo families had NO JOB, NO FOOD, NO VEHICLES but the cronies in Window Rock had houses and land outside the reservation for their families. CHECK IT OUT FOR YOUR SELF.
watching this thinking, people laugh at all the wrong moments. some of this shit is tragic & tells the history of exploitation and neglect. if theres any group who should feel excused from fighting for the US its native people. i suppose that makes it more noble but damn, i certainly could not.
