South Korea Sending 10,000 Masks To Navajo Veterans Honoring Their Service During Korean War

South Korea is sending 10,000 face masks to Navajo Nation code talkers.

Gratitude for Navajo code talkers used their unbreakable code to help defend South Korea

Navajo code talkers made significant contributions to help defend South Korea during the Korean War.

It’s a story from 70 years ago that many Americans don’t know.

South Korea has not forgotten.

South Korea sends gratitude

This file photo, provided by the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles, shows Navajo veterans who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War during a ceremony to deliver peace medals to the warriors in 2016. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The country is sending 10,000 face masks and other protective gear to the Navajo Nation to aid in the fight against the coronavirus.

Stars & Stripes reports the Navajo Nation has been one of the hardest-hit communities in the United States, with coronavirus infection rates rivaling those of New York City.

Unbreakable code

Navajo code talker Thomas Begay visits Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., Jan. 17, 2017. JASON JIMENEZ/U.S. MARINE CORPS

South Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said about 800 Navajo men served in the war, Many of them worked as Code Talkers who used their native language as an unbreakable code to confound opposing forces. Around 130 of the Navajo veterans are still alive.

‘The government remembers those who made a noble sacrifice to defend a strange country 70 years ago, and we hope they will proudly tell their posterity about the choice they made so many years ago.’
-The 70th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee

Remembering all US veterans

Earlier this month, the committee sent 1 million masks to benefit all foreign veterans of the war, including 500,000 to the Department of Veterans Affairs for American vets.

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