In 1943, the U.S. Marines came to this Methodist mission school looking for a few good men.

Wilfred Billey: “The Marines were looking for young Navajo men to be used in communications, and 11 or 12 of us volunteered.”

18-year-old Wilfred Billey and others were taught to use their native language, Navajo, to create an unbreakable code.

Wilfred Billey: “And like, battleship was called (…Navajo), ‘big fish.’ Or submarine (…Navajo) in Navajo, which means ‘iron fish.’”

Billey became a walking codebook and was quickly deployed to the South Pacific.

Wilfred Billey: “Most of the messages were short, to the point.”

They had to be. The codetalkers, working in teams of two, had to transmit, then translate, Navajo messages in the fieriest of battles.

Wilfred Billey: “Yeah, I was really in the thick of it; on Saipan and Tarawa, right on the front line.”

During combat, there’s little time for fear or prayer. As a lifelong United Methodist, Billey’s faith kept him strong.

Wilfred Billey: “I can’t say that God is on my side. That’s assuming. But I know I was on God’s side.”

When the war ended, the GIs came home to a hero’s welcome. But not Wilfred Billey; he was told to keep quiet, in case the Navajo code was needed again.

Wilfred Billey: “In the back of the medal, there’s a word in Navajo.”

Half a century later, the Navajo code talkers are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

The surviving radiomen recently were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.