U.S. Marines gather to celebrate Navajo Code Talkers Day at Navajo Code Talker Memorial in Window Rock, Ariz., Aug., 13, 2022.
Eighty years ago, the Marine Corps originally enlisted 29 Navajo men to develop a special code in which sensitive information was sent and deciphered during the battles of the Pacific in World War II.
As the war went on, it is estimated that more than 400 Navajos were trained in the code.
Six U.S. Marines who participated in this year’s celebration are Navajo Nation members who had had never met each other before, but quickly found common ground through their shared military service and Navajo heritage.
08.23.2022
Video by Lance Cpl. Trystan Taft
Marine Forces Reserve