Museum to honor Navajo Code Talkers is about $40 million shy of reality

) SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)- A museum in New Mexico to honor the Navajo Code Talkers is about $40 million shy of becoming a reality, according to organizers. The state put $6.4 million in capital outlay funds toward the project this year, but the museum’s organizers face a significant financial climb before doors can open, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported Tuesday. “Our capacity is severely limited,” said Regan Hawthorne, CEO of the Navajo Code Talkers Museum. “We’re still fledgling. We’re still gaining momentum in finding our identity.” Hawthorne’s late father, Roy Hawthorne, was a Marine who served as a Code Talker on South Pacific islands from 1942 to 1945. The complex, unbreakable code was developed by an original group of 29 Navajo Marines in 1942. They used it in…

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