He also remembers a time on Tinian when he went to the aid of a wounded Marine under heavy fire (Video interview, 53:30). After one such artillery strike on Saipan, Holiday and his comrades examined a Japanese position that had been destroyed, and he was profoundly affected by the sight of so many dead Japanese soldiers (Video interview, 47:25). Holiday often went on hazardous patrols to locate enemy positions, and called in artillery strikes using the Navajo Code that devastated Japanese positions. 2 Together with his good friend Dan Akee, Holiday was assigned to the 25th Marine Regiment in the 4th Marine Division, and they would see combat at Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. Despite such encounters, he was proud to earn the titles of both Marine and Code Talker, and knew that the Code Talkers earned the respect of their fellow Marines. 1Īfter being called up in early 1943, Holiday almost immediately encountered racist attitudes towards Native Americans at the in-processing station in Phoenix. At the age of 13 he was forced to attend Tuba City Boarding School - a government-run boarding school where he faced harsh discipline and abuse. His earliest memories were of Navajo religious teachings from his mother, who also put him through the traditional training for war by implementing an intense exercise program and teaching him to endure extreme weather. He was raised primarily by his mother, and his family lived a seminomadic lifestyle in the Monument Valley area, where they produced most of their own food. Samuel Holiday was born in Oljato, Utah, within the Navajo reservation. 'They sent us wherever they needed us, wherever we were most dangerous.' (Video interview, 46:17) Unit: 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Divisionĭates of Service: May 1943 - November 1945īattles / Campaigns: Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima

The Man from C.A.M.P. by Don Holliday