‘Marching forward’: Diné veteran shares hard lessons on life after the military
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
U.S. Army veteran Wesley Yazzie and U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Isaiah Honyumptewa, who is on active duty, dance with participants during a Veterans Day song and dance at Rough Rock Community School in Rough Rock, Ariz., on Nov. 8, 2025.
ROUGH ROCK, Ariz.
Standing beneath the late afternoon sun outside the Rough Rock Community School gymnasium, 34-year-old Wesley Yazzie of Chinle paused as the rhythmic beat of drums carried across the field. The Navajo song and dance was dedicated to honoring veterans, a moment of reflection for Yazzie, who recently completed 13 years in the U.S. Army.
After years of living within the strict order of military life, Yazzie said returning home to the Navajo Nation has been one of the hardest adjustments he has faced.
“The transition was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life,” Yazzie said. “Transitioning into the military was easy because you pick everything up and it stays constant. Then I came back to Arizona and hit the brakes real quick.”
Yazzie enlisted in 2013 as an 11 Bravo infantryman, serving two tours in Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom before joining the Arizona National Guard, where he completed two more deployments. By 23, he had risen to staff sergeant, leading a squad that included soldiers older than him.
To read the full article, please see the Nov. 13, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.
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Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow