It�s a secret language that broke down barriers where others had failed.

And yet this secret language earned a group of men a way to communicate and help in the war efforts during World War II.

Because of this language and code, Young Marines from around the country come together to celebrate those men.

Three youth members of Pueblo Young Marines � Staff Sgt. Hunter McDonough, Lance Corporal Gabriel Stecker and Lance Corporal AnJenaya Vigil � joined more than 100 Young Marines from across the country in Window Rock, Ariz., for the annual National Navajo Code Talkers Day on August 14.

The event recognizes the Navajo men who joined the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II as communication specialists and developed an unbreakable code using their native language.

Members of the Young Marines, a national youth organization, began attending Navajo Code Talkers Day in 2006. To date, more than 1,500 Young Marines have experienced the event. The Young Marines are asked to share their unique experience with their history classes, which means that thousands of kids who might not have otherwise known about the Code Talkers will be touched by their participation.

"The Young Marines have become important participants in this special day,� said Brenda McNulty, Young Marines� organizer of the event. �The Navajo veterans are more than just WWII heroes. They are dear friends to the Young Marines. Our partnership with the Code Talkers and their descendants has strengthened year after year.�

While onsite for three days, the Young Marines did community service by cleaning and weeding the Navajo Nation Zoo, and cleaning graffiti off the red rocks on Window Rock peak. On Navajo Code Talkers Day, the Young Marines escort the Navajo veterans, march in the parade, and perform a wreath laying ceremony.

�The Young Marines are assuring the legacy of these very special veterans,� said Bill Davis, national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines. �They will not be forgotten. In addition, we are very grateful to the Office of the President and Vice President of the Navajo Nation for continuing to support this event and include the Young Marines in honoring these heroes of WWII.�

Looking back

The Navajo Code Talkers were an important reason the Allies succeeded in the Pacific arena during World War II. In 1942, there were about 50,000 Navajo tribe members. As of 1945, 540 Navajos served as Marines, 420 as code talkers. The Navajo soldiers� unbreakable code saved thousands of lives and helped end WWII.

The Navajo Code Talkers may have been World War II heroes, but the public didn�t realize it, because the code remained a top military secret for decades following the war.

In July, 1982, some 37 years after the Japanese surrender, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation that read (in part): "Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate August 14, 1982, as National Navajo Code Talkers Day, a day dedicated to all members of the Navajo Nation and to all Native Americans who gave of their special talents and their lives so that others might live. I ask the American people to join me in this tribute, and I call upon federal, state and local officials to commemorate this day with appropriate activities.�

The brave soldiers' contributions became better known with the release of the 2002 movie, �Windtalkers,� starring Nicolas Cage. Although the movie received mixed reviews, it exposed the public to World War II�s Native American heroes.

Japanese intelligence experts broke every code the U.S. forces devised. They were able to anticipate American actions at an alarming rate. With plenty of fluent English speakers at their disposal, they sabotaged messages and issued false commands in order to ambush Allied troops.

To combat this, World War I veteran Philip Johnston suggested that the U.S. military develop a code based on the Navajo language which was unwritten. The son of a missionary to the Navajos, Johnston was one of the few non-Navajos who spoke their language fluently. He had been brought up on a Navajo reservation, and he knew that many Navajo words have different meanings depending on context. Once he demonstrated to the Marine Corps how effective a Navajo-based code would be in thwarting intelligence breaches, the Marines signed up Navajos as radio operators.

In 1942, 29 Navajos ranging in age from 15 to 35, created the first U.S. military code based on their indigenous language. It started with a vocabulary of 200 terms but tripled in quantity by the time World War II ended.

The Navajo code talkers could pass messages in as little as 20 seconds. The code was so complex that not even native Navajo speakers could comprehend it. The code also proved unique, because the Navajo soldiers weren�t allowed to write it down once they were on frontlines of the war. Everything was memorized.

During the first two days of the Battle of Iwo Jima, the code talkers transmitted 800 messages with no mistakes. Their efforts played a key role in the U.S. emerging victoriously from the Battle of Iwo Jima as well as the battles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Okinawa.