Outside the Gallup Cultural Center stands the "Navajo Code Talker", a 12-foot bronze statue commemorating the Navajo Code Talkers, who played a major role in winning the war in the South Pacific during WWII by providing an efficient code that the Japanese never cracked. The monument was done by famous Navajo/Ute sculptor Oreland Joe and was the first monument of its kind dedicated to the Navajo Code Talkers. The monument being placed here at the Gallup Cultural Center, which is housed in the old Santa Fe Depot, has great historical significance. As one Navajo Code Talker remarked during the unveiling of the statue, "this is the perfect setting for this work of art - in 1943 I caught a train from this building to San Diego to become a Code Talker, little did I think 60 years later there would be a statue honoring those Marines I served with." The monument was the first step to achieving the dream of building a world-class exhibit dedicated to telling the story of these brave men and honoring their contribution to both the Navajo Culture and American history as well.