Anthony Anaya-Gorman

Growing Up With Heroes 2

The Grandson of a Navajo Code Talker

 
 
 

Photograph by Kenji Kawano

 
Twins with Grandpa _ Kenji Photo.jpg

A continuation of my mother’s lecture series, Growing Up with Heroes: A Daughter's Journey

Growing Up with Heroes 2 is my lecture from the point of view as the grandson of Dr. Carl N. Gorman and growing up with the Navajo Code Talkers. My family was highly involved with the Navajo Code Talker history.

Growing up with my grandfather, who was the oldest of the pilot group who devised the original code used throughout the Pacific Theater during WWII, I witnessed both the unfolding of the history of what the Navajo Code Talkers did and the real time narrative of their personal history after the war.

Growing Up with Heroes 2 covers the history of the First Twenty-nine and how they catapulted the Navajo Code Talker program and weaves in personal stories of growing up with these incredible men. I share the research my mother continues to do from the last 30 years, my experiences of growing up on Navajo Nation and the honor these men hold among their people, and what it meant to have these men over to my home throughout my life. You’ll gain insight from the next generation to carry on the family legacy of this incredible story of heroism and indigenous survivance.

Anthony Anaya-Gorman is the grandson of Dr. Carl N. Gorman, one of the First Twenty-nine Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. As a member of this pilot group, his grandpa helped develop the original Navajo code that aided in the American victory in the Pacific theatre.

Also, Anthony is the son of Zonnie Gorman, a recognized historian and lecturer about the Navajo Code Talkers, whose ongoing research continues to expand their historical legacy.