To celebrate Windtalkers, MGM will host a reception honoring WWII Marine heroes

MGM.com ^ | 5-31-2002

[Cagey]

Santa Monica, CA - On Thursday, July 26, 2001, the United States Congress will bestow one of its highest honors, the Congressional Gold Medal, on the 29 Navajo Code Talkers^TM who developed the unbreakable military code that helped the United States to victory in World War II. President George W. Bush is expected to attend and present the medals to 4 of the 5 living Navajo code-creators and the families of the others. MGM will host a reception to follow the medal ceremony in celebration of the honorees and to herald its epic motion picture Windtalkers, the first film to tell the story of the Navajo Marine code talkers' secret program of WWII.

The Gold Medal ceremony is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. EDT at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. President Bush is expected to arrive at 1:30 p.m. The reception hosted by MGM will be held at the Library of Congress from 3:00-5:00 p.m. In addition to the expected attendance of President Bush and the honorees and/or their families, also in attendance will be Senator Jeff Bingaman, who sponsored the bill awarding the medals, as well as Windtalkers' director John Woo, Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, and Roger Willie.

A Video News Reel will be accessible via satellite that evening after the ceremony. The reel will include a 90 second edited news wrap-up of the ceremony, behind-the-scenes footage of the ceremony, a Windtalkers film clip showing code talkers in action starring Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Christian Slater and Roger Willie, and behind-the-scenes footage of the film. The VNR downlink will be broadcast from 6:00-6:30 p.m. eastern daylight time on Thursday, July 26th, and again from 6:30-7:00 p.m EDT. (Reference: MGM Windtalkers; Satellite: Galaxy 3/C2 (C-Band); Orbital Slot: 95 degrees West Longitude; Downlink frequency: 3740 (Vertical); Path: Tape playout at Qwest Digital Media-Uplink on Galaxy 3/C2-Various Downlink Sites). For questions regarding the VNR, contact Nan Hee McMinn at Qwest Digital Media (202-775-0894, x6266). If you're unable to downlink the VNR, contact Joe Whitmore in MGM Publicity at 310-586-8990 for a hard copy of the footage.

In 1942, the 29 Navajo Marines who are being honored were sent as recruits to boot camp at the Marine Recruit Depot in San Diego, California. After boot camp they were sent to Camp Elliot (modern day Marine Corps Air Station Miramar) to develop a military code based on the Navajo language. Because Navajo is an unwritten language and has such a complex structure, it was a perfect choice upon which to base a secret code. Eventually around 400 Navajo men were trained in the code's use and served as code talkers in the Pacific battles of the war. The Japanese were never able to break the code, and it became an indispensable tool for World War II military communication.

Because of its success and its possible use in future combat, the code wasn't declassified until 1968, and the code talkers' accomplishments went largely unheralded.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honor that Congress can award. The first Gold Medal recipient was President George Washington. Other recipients include Thomas Edison, Rosa Parks, Bob Hope, Colin Powell, Gerald Ford, Norman Schwarzkopf, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Windtalkers will be released on June 14, 2002. The film centers on the relationship between the code talkers and their fellow Marines during WWII's campaign for the Central Pacific. In the film, Marines are assigned to each code talker to protect him - and thus the code - at all costs. The gripping climax takes place during the battle for Saipan, where the Marines must capture the island while at the same time ensuring the code talkers' security. Directed by John Woo, the film stars Nicolas Cage, with co-stars Adam Beach, Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich, Mark Ruffalo, Brian Van Holt, Frances O'Connor, Christian Slater and Roger Willie. Windtalkers was produced by John Woo, Terence Chang, Tracie Graham, and Alison Rosenzweig, from a script by John Rice and Joe Batteer

[Cagey]

I'm looking forward to the release of this film.

[PJ-Comix]

Windtalkers, the first film to tell the story of the Navajo Marine code talkers' secret program of WWII.

Um...Not really. Battlecry had a scene showing the Navajo Marine code talkers.

[Paul Atreides]

Just wait for the other shoe to drop. They will probably have to alter the film in certain releases in order to make it non-offensive to certain people.

[John H K]

$10 says you don't see the thousands of Japanese civilians on Saipan committing suicide jumping off cliffs....

[Cagey]

I remember something about a film with "Codetalkers" being a part of the story. Was that with Burt Lancaster?

[PJ-Comix]

No, Battlecry starred that great he-man, Tab Hunter. BTW, the movie was somewhat lame but the book was incredible. I recommend it.

[BluH2o]

They will probably have to alter the film in certain releases in order to make it non-offensive to certain people.

A rare breed of oriental, having a marked resemblance to a caucasian male, has emerged in WWII western Pacific mythology. This individual is round eyed and politically correct ... and under no circumstance has a problem with "R's". As in "Amelican ma ... lean you weel die"!
OK white guys ... we the win wars and get crapped on ... time to unite and demand reparations!
Semper Fi ...

[BluH2o]

No, Battlecry starred that great he-man, Tab Hunter. BTW, the movie was somewhat lame but the book was incredible. I recommend it.

Read the book ... saw the movie ... you're right, the book was much better. A distant cousin of mine wrote the music score for "Battle Cry" ... noteworthy in only one regard ... it inspired me to become a Marine ... and at that time (Vietnam era) I was still a Canadian citizen.

[wimpycat]

I can hardly wait for this movie to come out. After learning about the Codetalkers, I wondered why nobody had made a movie about them. I'm glad someone finally has.

[VOA]

On Thursday, July 26, 2001, the United States Congress will bestow one of
its highest honors, the Congressional Gold Medal, on the 29 Navajo Code TalkersTM
who developed the unbreakable military code that helped the United States to victory
in World War II.

I think this was the event shown on a Sixty Minutes II episode last Wednesday.
What I found interesting is that the Codetalkers were sworn to not reveal what they'd
actually been doing in WWII for years.

The film centers on the relationship between the code talkers and their fellow
Marines during WWII's campaign for the Central Pacific. In the film, Marines are assigned
to each code talker to protect him - and thus the code - at all costs.

This is an interesting angle to the story.
In the Sixty Minutes II espisode, one of the guarding Marines says "point blank" that
he'll never know if he would have shot/killed the Code Talker he was guarding,
if capture by the Japanese had been unavoidable.
The Code Talker was a stand-up guy: he said that if he thought he was going to
fall into the hands of the Japanese, he probably would have wanted to be shot by his guard.

With John Woo directing, this may be a bit fluffy of a film, but surely won't be short on action!

[A Navy Vet]

Myself and about 100 "Run For The Wall" bikers spent a day at the Navajo Nation's Capitol at Windrock, AZ. We were on a cross-country run to the "Rolling Thunder" gathering in DC and they invited us to their ceremonies to honor their dead in America's wars. They lined the streets as we road in and gave us a welcoming that still gets me choked up. I will never forget the smiles, the warmth, and the hospitality they gave us for simply showing respect for THEIR fallen, as well as, Navajo /POWMIA's in Vietnam.

[Paul Atreides]

Tab Hunter? Wasn't he a homosexual. I think he starred in some weird John Waters movie with Divine.

[maxwellp]

I remember reading about these American Indians and their unbreakable code. I'm extremely glad to hear that they will be honored at this point in time.

[nanny]

Yes, it is about time.

The Navajo Indians were the well-known, but other Indian tribes 'code-talked' as well.

[Mike Darancette]

I think he starred in some weird John Waters movie with Divine.

Rustler's Rhapsody?

[Paul Atreides]

I looked it up on Internet Movie Database and he starred in three movies with Divine; the one you mentioned, the one I saw called Polyester, and a third one I can't remember the name. It was weird stuff! I think it was on, no surprise, Bravo channel. I hate to admit I watched it but it was like stopping and looking at a car wreck.

[metesky]

I knew I had seen the Navajo code-talkers before. Thanks for naming the movie, PJ. You just saved my wife from enduring another anti-Hollywood rant.

[Cagey]

Sounds like you had a great trip.

[Aim small miss small]

On Thursday, July 26, 2001, the United States Congress will bestow one of its highest honors, the Congressional Gold Medal, on the 29 Navajo Code TalkersTM who developed the unbreakable military code

The phrase "Code Talkers" is trade marked? It seems like a public domain item

[Cagey]

Like many veteran associations there is a "Navajo Code Talker Association". The Navajo Code Talkers have ownership to their trademark. I found the following proclomation form their association on the code talker's internet site.

NCTA Proclamation In Response to Sept 11, 2001 Attack ---

In response to the terrorist attack on America, September 11, 2001, the Navajo Code Talker Association, at their NCTA meeting Thursday, Sept. 27, 2001, a proclamation was read and approved:

"PROCLAMATION OF THE NAVAJO CODE TALKERS ASSOCIATION DECLARING THE READINESS AND DESIRE OF THE NAVAJO CODE TALKERS TO SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN HIS ANTI-TERRORISM STANCE AND TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO OUR GREAT AND BELOVED COUNTRY IN THIS TIME OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY."