CIBOLA COUNTY , N.M. — As Veterans Day approaches, the story of Fort Wingate stands as both a testament to sacrifice and a reflection of how New Mexico continues to serve the nation.
For more than 160 years, Fort Wingate has been a crossroads of American history. Founded in 1860 near what is now Gallup, it began as a frontier outpost and later became one of the nation’s largest Army depots. But its legacy reaches far beyond the stone walls and pine-covered mesas — it reaches into the lives of Native American soldiers, scientists, and families who shaped America’s past and still shape its future.
A Place of Firsts
It was at Fort Wingate, in May 1942, that 29 young Navajo men took an oath that would change history.
They became the original Navajo Code Talkers, the first to transform their native language into an unbreakable military code that helped win the Pacific War. Decades later, Congress would honor their service with medals, but the roots of that heroism began right here in western New Mexico.
Though officially decommissioned in 1993, Fort Wingate’s mission didn’t end — it evolved. In recent years, the fort has become a testing ground for the U.S. Army’s most advanced missile systems. From Black Dagger missile targets to Precision Strike Missile launches, the skies above Cibola County have once again become part of America’s defense story.
Each launch connects the fort’s historic role to the nation’s modern challenges — proving that service comes in many forms, from the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II to today’s engineers and soldiers working to defend the homeland.
Preserving the Past, Honoring the Present
This summer, the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division expanded the Fort Wingate Historic District to include later-era school buildings and administrative structures from its years as a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school. While some of those structures remind us of the difficult legacy of Indian education, they also highlight Fort Wingate’s transition into a center of cultural and technical importance — where Navajo language and tradition were later taught alongside modern education.
As state and federal agencies continue to balance preservation and progress, Fort Wingate remains a living monument: a reminder that history is not static, but ongoing.
Help Us Honor Those Who Served
As we prepare to commemorate Veterans Day 2025, the Cibola Citizen invites readers to place an ad honoring your veteran with photos of their loved ones who have served in the Armed Forces — past and present for $37.80.
Send photos and brief captions (name, rank, branch, years of service, and hometown) to advertising@ cibolacitizen.com or call our office at 505287-3840 by November 7 for inclusion in our special Veterans Day feature.
Whether they served on the battlefields of Europe, in the Pacific, in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan — or right here in the high desert of New Mexico — every story matters.