Merril L. Sandoval (April 18, 1925 – February 9, 2008) was an AmericanNavajo
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
veteran and a member of the
Navajo Code Talker
A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is now usually associated with United States service members during the world wars who used their k ...
s, a group of
United States Marines
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...
who transmitted important messages in their native
Navajo language
Navajo or Navaho (; Navajo: or ) is a Southern Athabaskan language of the Na-Dené family, through which it is related to languages spoken across the western areas of North America. Navajo is spoken primarily in the Southwestern United Stat ...
in order to stop the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
from intercepting sensitive material. Sandoval took part in every Marine landing in the
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
from 1943 until 1945.
Early life
Merril Sandoval was born on April 18, 1925, in
Nageezi, New Mexico
Nageezi ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 296 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Farmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. A post office was established in 1941. Nagee ...
. His first language was Navajo. He was later enrolled at Farmington Methodist Mission School in
Farmington, New Mexico
Farmington is a city in San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census the city had a total population of 46,624 people. Farmington (and surrounding San Juan County) makes up one of the four Metropolitan Statistical Area ...
, where he was taught English and other subjects meant to
Americanize
Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tech ...
himself and other
Navajos
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
.
Sandoval's maternal, or first, clan was Zuni Edgewater clan (Naashtʼézhí Tábąąhá), and his paternal, or second, clan was Red Bottom People clan (Tl'aashchi'l).
Navajo Code Talkers
Sandoval was only a freshman in high school when he was first approached by
United States Marine
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
recruiters. His brother,
Samuel Sandoval
Samuel F. Sandoval (October 24, 1923 – July 29, 2022) was an American Navajo World War II veteran.
Early life
Samuel Sandoval was born on October 24, 1923, to Julian Sandoval and Helen Smith in Nageezi, New Mexico. He had eight siblings: Ma ...
, enlisted. However, Sandoval's father, Julian Sandoval, insisted that Sandoval, who was then sixteen years old, was too young to join the Marines. Sandoval was allowed to join the Marines by his father one year later. He never worked with his brother, Samuel, who was also a code talker during the war.
Sandoval boarded a train to Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he was 17 years old, where he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1943. He completed boot camp in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
before being transferred to
Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...
's Radio Communication School, where he was trained to become a code talker.
He was initially sent to
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
by the Marines. Throughout World War II, Sandoval served with both the
2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...
and
5th
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...
Marine Divisions. Sandoval's main mission was to remain behind the front lines in order to translate reports from two-man code talker teams in other parts of the battlefield. He then sent the messages, which were encoded in Navajo, back to United States commanders who were based on Hawaii. He also had the responsibility of passing orders to Marines on the front lines.
Sandoval saw action in Iwo Jima, Saipan and Allied occupied Japan. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, Sandoval's landing craft was hit by enemy fire. He and his radio company were thrown into the Pacific Ocean. He managed to swim approximately 100 yards to the Iwo Jima beach, where he survived a constant barrage of shelling by the Japanese for the next twenty-four hours.
Sandoval was honorably discharged from the military in March 1946 as a U.S. Marine
corporal
Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...
. He returned to the United States in order to finish high school. Sandoval and other Code Talkers were ordered to keep their work in the Pacific a secret following the war. His own family did not learn about the importance of his missions until information concerning the Navajo Code Talkers was
declassified
Declassification is the process of ceasing a protective classification, often under the principle of freedom of information. Procedures for declassification vary by country. Papers may be withheld without being classified as secret, and event ...
in 1968.
Post World War II
Sandoval married Lorraine Humetewa Shingoitewa in July 1951. They had five children.
Soon after his marriage, he took a job as a machinist at the
Garrett AiResearch
Garrett AiResearch was a manufacturer of turboprop engines and turbochargers, and a pioneer in numerous aerospace technologies. It was previously known as Aircraft Tool and Supply Company, Garrett Supply Company, AiResearch Manufacturing Compa ...
facility in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
, where he worked for 15 years. He and his family moved to Lorraine's hometown of Tuba City, Arizona, on the
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...
in 1963, where he joined the Navajo Tribal Police Force, which he served in for three years. He then became a legal advocate for D.N.A. Legal Services, a nonprofitlaw firm. He retired from the organization after 23 years. Sandoval then worked as an interpreter for the Navajo legal courts for an additional sixteen years.
Traveling Years
As an elderly man, Merril traveled across the country to share his personal story and experiences as a Navajo Code Talker with the US Marine Corps. He continued to travel up until Fall 2007.
Death
Merril Sandoval died on February 9, 2008, at the age of 82 at
St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center
Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center is a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, operated by Dignity Health. St. Joseph's is a 607-bed, not-for-profit hospital that provides a wide range of health, social and support ser ...
in Phoenix. He had been in failing health for the preceding year. He and his wife of 56 years, Lorraine, had been residents of
Tuba City, Arizona
Tuba City ( nv, ) is an unincorporated town in Coconino County, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, United States. It is the second-largest community in Coconino County. The population of the census-designated place (CDP) was 8,611 at the 2010 cen ...
, for many years. He was survived by his wife and four of their five children. He had 17 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
Sandoval received a full military burial in Flagstaff, Arizona. Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr. ordered flags to be flown at half staff from February 13 to 16 in his honor.