The Code Talkers had orders not to discuss their roles during the war and after it. It wasn't until 1978, 23 years later, that their mission became declassified.
In 2001, Nez, Dale and June took the same plane to Washington, DC, to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, the military's second highest award. This elevated them to a celebrity status, especially with the following year's movie on their service.
They appeared on television, rode in parades and spoke to veterans groups and school children. Nez through out a pitch at a MLB game in 2004. Oliver and other Code Talkers were guests of honor in the nation's largest Veterans Day parade in New York in 2009. Residents of Longmont, Colorado, found out June and his wife didn't have a permanent home and raised money to buy them one.
The last three members of the Original 29 don't live in the Navajo Nation where they have a tribal holiday and it is unlikely they will reunite again.
The Greatest Generation. --Cooter
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