03/06/2022
🇺🇲 WWII uncovered: Women's History Month 2022: Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps: Sophie Yazzie
"Women’s Army Corps Technician Grade 4, Sophie Yazzie, of Canyon de Chelly Arizona, attempted to enlist in the Marine Corps with hopes of being accepted as a Navajo Code Talker, like her clan nephew Johnny Manuelito. After being denied by the Marine Corps Sophi continued working as a cook in Gallup, New Mexico, for two more years until Manuelito suggested she join the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps."
"Sophie then traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico in January 1943 and the Army swore her in at the age of 28 years old. She then completed basic training in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Army assigned Sophie to Foster Field in Victoria, Texas, which is now closed. During her time there, she cooked for future fighter pilots." (VAntage Point 11/2/2020)
"After Sophie received her honorable discharge in 1945, she married Jordan Yazzie and started a family. Yazzie worked as a cook at her alma mater, Wingate Boarding School, until she was 70 years old, before going back to growing food in Canyon de Chelly. In 2013 and 2014, Yazzie participated in the Coalition for American Indian Veterans of Southern Arizona. She was inducted into the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at the Women’s Memorial Library in 2014." (Navajo Times and VAntage Point 11/2/2020)
Sophie Yazzie was the longest-living veteran in Arizona before she died in Tucson. She had four children, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren with her late husband, Jordan Yazzie.
Sophie passed away on January 25, 2020 in Tucson Arizona. She was 105 years old. Lest We Forget.
Original description and photo sourced by VAntage Point 11/2/2020, Navajo Times and Office of the Navajo Nation (Fair Use Photos)