On July 28 1982, President Ronald Reagan designated August 14 as Navajo Code Talkers Day.
Reagan called it a day dedicated to "all members of the Navajo Nation and to all Native Americans who gave their special talents and their lives so that others might live."
"When called upon to serve the United States, [the Navajo Nation] contributed a precious commodity never before used in this way. In the midst of the fighting in the Pacific during World War II, a gallant group of men from the Navajo Nation utilized their language in coded form to help speed the Allied victory."
According to the U.S. Marine Corps, Code Talkers took part in every assault by Marines in the Pacific during the war from 1942 to 1945 serving in all Marine six divisions.
The Code Talkers were a vital part to the Allied forces victory as the Navajo language is the only spoken code to have never been deciphered.
"The dedication and unswerving devotion to duty shown by the men of the Navajo Nation," Reagan said the proclamation, "should serve as a fine example for all Americans."
PHOTOS: Honoring the Navajo Code Talkers