"Artwork to a Navajo Indian is like a written letter to almost anyone else. A Navajo, 1st Lt Ned A Hatathli, designed the patch Arizona Wing members so proudly wear today. The Thunderbird, the primary design, is a symbol of good luck and each of the symbol's colors bears a separate meaning. The gray and blue body represents the color of Civil Air Patrol aircraft. The Thunderbird's wings are shaped to look like a building or hospital, while the tail represents the wings and stabilizers of an aircraft. The 'V' in the middle of the body represents the many landing fields on the Navajo Reservation. The black to the north represents an evil spirit; the white to the east represents the rising sun; the blue to the south represents the heavens; and the yellow to the west is the setting sun."

"Lieutenant Hatathli designed the Arizona Wing patch as a 'thank you'. A full-blood Navajo, who was descended from a Navajo medicine man, he could do nothing when his little girl, Gloria, then 4, was stricken with a serious illness. Hatathli and his family lived on the Navajo Reservation far away from help. The Civil Air Patrol stepped in to help. An Arizona Wing aircrew picked up Gloria on Christmas Day 1952 and flew her to Phoenix, where she could get help. The illness was identified as bulbar polio and the young girl was flown to Hot Springs for treatment. When Gloria Hatathli was able to return to her home, she wore a leg brace, which doctors told the lieutenant she could eventually discard. Then the Navajo Arts and Crafts Center manager, Lieutenant Hatathli joined the Civil Air Patrol and accepted a position as Window Rock Composite Squadron supply officer. He designed the wing patch specifically for Arizona Wing in gratitude of services rendered to help Gloria. Lieutenant Hatathli later became the first president of the Navajo Community College. He died in 1972 after a long and distinguished career as an educator and tribal leader. Today, Gloria still lives on the reservation. Lieutenant Hatathli's wing patch design was accepted and in February 1953 earned approval of the Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters."