The gap between what the men deserved and when they received it was, for most of them, never closed.

This matters because it points to something real about how American recognition of Native service and Native contribution has historically worked: it has tended to come late, under advocacy pressure, after the most directly affected individuals can no longer fully benefit from it.

The Navajo Code Talkers are one of the more visible examples of this pattern, but they are not the only one.

The pattern has implications for how we think about the Code Talker story today.

The recognition that was awarded in 2001 and 2008 was genuine and appropriate.

It was also, for most of the men it was meant to honor, posthumous.