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Only the original 29 received gold medals. Recently Congress issued silver medals to the other code talkers. The inscription on the back of the Congressional gold Medal reads “Dine Bizaad Yee Atah Naayee Yikeh Deesklii.” It translates to, “They were the individuals who used the Navajo Language to defeat the enemy during war.”

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On the morning of May 4, 1942, 29 young Navajos, including Lloyd Oliver a young man who had celebrated his 20th birthday just two weeks earlier, were loaded onto a bus in Fort Defiance to begin a journey into history.

By Steve Ayers August 26, 2008
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