July 9-10, 1971

File — Box: 30, Folder: 1

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Series: During World War II, Navajo Indians were recruited by the United States Marines to be part of communication operations in the South Pacific. The Navajos sent and received messages in their native language, effectively blocking Japanese intelligence and furthering American efforts in the war. In 1971, on July 9 and 10, the "Code Talkers" had a reunion celebration during which they were honored by the Marine Corps. Attending the celebration was Crampton, who photographed the event along with Parker Hamilton, whose photographs can be found in box 34. Included here are 322 proof photos with accompanying negatives (there are 3 extra negatives, one of a Code Talker unit during the war and two that are unidentified but were with the Code Talker materials). The photographs are numbered consecutively (1-322) with the first character (NT) indicating Navajo Code Talkers. Box 30 also contains 64 photos (with negatives) of various Navajo people and locations taken during the same timeframe as the Code Talker photographs. They are arranged by date and identified by three characters, the first (NP) indicating Navajo people, the second being the date, with the third indicating the number of the photograph.

Dates

1850-1990

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.