Few have lived a life as active, full and turbulent as Peter MacDonald’s. As the first elected tribal chairman of the Navajo Nation, he was once called “The most powerful Indian in the USA” when both Richard Nixon and George McGovern tried to elicit his support during the 1972 presidential election.
In a dark twist, MacDonald was later sent to federal prison on fraud and racketeering charges and also convicted of inciting a riot that killed two of his supporters and injured two Navajo police officers. He was later pardoned by President Bill Clinton.
But on this Veterans Day, MacDonald is remembered as one of two surviving Navajo Code Talkers, a group of Marines who created a secret code based on the Dine language that helped the U.S. win World War II.
Host Phil Latzman spoke with him last week during a visit to Mesa where he asked the now 95-year-old what this day means to him.
Full conversation
PETER MCDONALD: Veterans Day means a great deal, not just for me but the entire America. If it wasn't for these veterans and many of them never made it home. We would not have the freedom and the liberty and the peace that we all enjoy.
So veterans across the nation need to be honored, need to be respected and also they need some help in many cases. And many veterans out there still don't have homes, don't, still don't have medical services that they need.
PHIL LATZMAN: I know we just lost a fellow Navajo Code Talkers a couple of weeks ago, you're one of only, I think two remaining. Do you feel an obligation to pass along your story?
MCDONALD: Yes, three of us were survivors. Last month, John Kinsel, 107 years old, passed away. It really feel bad about that. But of course we're old then. So there's just two of us still alive.
A World War II Code Talker, Thomas Begay, south of Gallup. Thomas was on Iwo. I just saw him about two weeks ago and he's getting old at 99 years old, but he's still right in there. He says, if there's another war I'm in it. He says, hey, we need to do everything we can to preserve our freedom, liberty and peace that we are blessed with.
LATZMAN: Sir, you're a young man compared to most of the Navajo Code Talkers. And I know that's because you enlisted early with some help as a 15 year old.
MCDONALD: The youngest Navajo Code Talker. I, I discovered that out of the 420, I was the, the youngest at 15. There are some that went in at 16 and of course 17 but I volunteered in 1944.
LATZMAN: With no birth certificate, it was his cousin, a fellow Navajo Code Talker, who vouched for him. McDonald described how his mission worked.
MCDONALD: Every battle, every landing. They always put up at least a dozen Navajo Code Talkers to land with the first wave because the command ship wants to know with the first wave where the enemy fires are coming from. They give us a map to memorize.
So when you land with the first wave, then you start reporting the gun location, using the map back to command ship, they then use a Code Talker to notify a battle ship or cruiser to fire on the enemy gun position.
LATZMAN: Do you think people understand the Navajo Code Talkers’ role in history?
MCDONALD: Yes, I do. I, of course, we all didn't think much about it. We are part of the war. We, we, we're part of the weapon so we just all did our part. Every one of us even back home, little kids gather newspapers and all of us working together, we cannot be defeated no matter what.
That was Peter McDonald, a living legend on this Veterans Day, one of two surviving Navajo Code Talkers.
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