08/13/2026
National Navajo Code Talkers Day, is annually commemorated on August 14, and is a day to commemorate the contributions of Native American code talkers who served in the U.S. military during World Wars I and II. Code talkers utilized a secret, coded language, based on their native language, to communicate important information over military telephones and radios.
Did you know Wisconsin's Tribal servicemembers were code talkers during WWII? A 1941 photograph of Ho-Chunk Nation code talkers who served in the Wisconsin National Guard, is on display in the collection at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.
In addition to many other examples of honorable service, men from Wisconsin's Ojibwe nations were code talkers in the Thirty-Second Infantry Division in the South Pacific, using the Ojibwe language to communicate vital information.
In April 2025, Governor Evers with Ho-Chunk Nation representatives unveiled signs permanently designating a section of Interstate 90 as the “Ho-Chunk World War II Code Talkers Memorial Highway” in Western Wisconsin. Read more > https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/bulletins/3dd4511
Please join the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs as we remember and honor the service of our state’s veteran Tribal code talkers.