Rotary Club of Hillsborough’s guest speaker, Don Buzney (center), is pictured here with Club members Ken Genco (right) and Rich Salem (left) following his informative and inspiring talk on the “Navajo Code Talkers” at the Club’s March 28 meeting.
Rotary Club of Hillsborough’s guest speaker, Don Buzney (center), is pictured here with Club members Ken Genco (right) and Rich Salem (left) following his informative and inspiring talk on the “Navajo Code Talkers” at the Club’s March 28 meeting. In 2009, Mr. Buzney, was instrumental in bringing attention to the previously secret and historic contributions of these World War II Marine veterans, who were recruited by the Marines in order to ensure that battle instructions communicated to troops via radio could not be intercepted and decoded by the Japanese during the war in the South Pacific. The Navajo language, which has a unique grammar and tonality, and is unwritten, was undecipherable to enemy code breakers, and played a key role in enabling a US victory. The surviving members of the Navajo Nation, who served in this critically important unit, marched in the 2009 New York City Veterans Day Parade and, years later, were honored at the White House in a special ceremony.
