- [Narrator] In February 1942,
Philip Johnston introduced the idea
of the Navajo Code Talkers
to the Forced Communications Officer
at Camp Elliot in San Diego.
(dramatic music)
Less than a week later, Johnston returned
with four Navajos to Camp Elliot for a demonstration.
The rest is history.
(upbeat music)
- What an honor to have my dad
recognized as a Code Talker.
Anyhow, for so many years
that nobody's every talked about it,
that they were gonna be recognized
as American heroes.
- [Narrator] Samuel Sossee Senior
served with the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines
during World War II.
Sossee was employed as a radio man,
communicating in every major battle of the Pacific,
including Iwo Jima, Water Canal, Guam, and Okun Owa.
- The Marine Corps went ahead and recruited
almost 400 Navajos to be part of the combat operations
in the Pacific.
So we're here celebrating the 75th anniversary
of the Navajo Code Talkers.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Thanks to the generosity of the Sossee family,
the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
is now home to a Navajo Code Talkers exhibit.
- It's really a great exhibit.
We have some artifacts that belong to the family,
which includes communications equipment, his uniform,
along with his blouse
from the Navajo Code Talkers Association.
I think it was the uniqueness and the skill
that they brought to the Marine Corps,
which again makes us stand out.
We've always had that breadth
that does the nation really need a Marine Corps?
Well, when we demonstrate this sort of innovative,
unique capability, I think it just underscores
the importance of the Marine Corps
and why the nation will always need
and have a Marine Corps.