Shortly after the United States entered World War II, the Marine Corps began recruiting and training Navajo men to develop and use an unbreakable military code based on their language.

Navajo Code Talkers - Image courtesy of US Department of the Interior

Fighting in the battles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Tinian and Saipan, Navajo Code Talkers saved lives by signaling enemy movements, transmitting orders and coordinating attacks under fire.

Navajo Code Talker Keith Little - Image courtesy of US Department of the Interior

One of the code talkers was Keith Little. After hearing about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while in boarding school, Little chose to enlist in the U.S. Marines. He went to Communications School and became one of the legendary Navajo Code Talkers, seeing action on Iwo Jima, Roi Namur, Saipan and other Pacific locations. Little helps tell the important story of the Code Talkers through his role as president of the Navajo Code Talkers Foundation.

You may see more code talkers here.

A documentary film was researched, photographed, edited and produced by students of Winona State University (Winona, Minnesota) and Diné College (Tsaile, Arizona, Navajo Nation) during summer 2013. It contains stories Peter MacDonald, of Tuba City, Arizona, told the students during several hours of interviews about his life. This documentary film is archived at the Navajo Nation Museum, Navajo Nation Library.

Despite earning the respect of their fellow soldiers and marines, Code Talkers received no recognition on the home front. We honor them now on August 14 -- Navajo Code Talkers Day.