Route 66 motel where Navajo Code Talkers were recruited up for sale in Flagstaff

FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — Long before it sat vacant on Route 66, the El Pueblo Motor Inn played a pivotal role in World War II.

This is where the first Navajo Code Talkers were recruited, and now, 80 years later, the motel is up for sale. El Pueblo Motor Inn was built in 1937 by Philip Johnston, a communication specialist who had served in World War I and returned home to northern Arizona.

Jacquie Kellogg was brought on in 2018 to sell the property, but then she started digging into its history. “I just felt like more people should be aware of what they’ve done for our country,” Kellogg said. “I just wanted to save the motel.”

She learned that Johnston came up with the idea for the Navajo code talkers to use the Navajo language to create an unbreakable code for transmitting military