"Once a Marine, always a Marine.

That certainly held true recently when two Bloomfield Marines being recognized by family for their military service in Iraq and Afghanistan were surprised by a visit from three Navajo Code Talkers.

It doesn't matter how many years or battles separate Marines, when they get together, the bonds that create the lasting Marine brotherhood easily are recognizable.

Marines have an understanding most of us will never grasp unless we have dedicated ourselves to becoming a Marine. We cannot share the feeling they get when they hear a fellow soldier say "Semper Fi."

Former Navajo Code Talkers Al Newman of Kirtland, Tom Jones of Shiprock, and David Patterson of Shiprock helped celebrate the safe return home of Lance Cpl. Darvin Chavez, 22, who returned from Afghanistan in December, and the completion of military service by 28-year-old Cpl. Henderson Lopez.

"If I see one, I always say (to them), 'Semper Fi,'" Newman said of young Marines.

Our community is well aware, as is the rest of the nation, of the unique role the Code Talkers played in keeping this country safe.

How special it must have been for these returning soldiers to get a chance to meet and talk with a group of patriots like these men."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Marine legacy passes to a new generation (The Farmington Daily Times 1/19)

Earlier Story:
Code Talkers recognize Marines' return home (The Farmington Daily Times 1/10)