HBO has invited 12 Navajo Code Talkers, who served during World War II, to be guests of honor at the Veterans Day Parade in New York City on November 11, 2009. The Navajo Code Talker will ride a float designed for the upcoming HBO miniseries “The Pacific” executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman.

During World War II, the Navajo Code Talkers who served in the United States Marine Corps created the only unbreakable code in the history of modern warfare. By using their language based-code to transmit secret tactical messages in the Pacific Theater, the Code Talkers proved instrumental in the outcome of some of World War II’s most important battles, including Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal.

There were originally only 29 original Navajo Code Talkers, but their numbers grew to between 375 and 420 as the war progressed. Until the Code Talkers’ efforts were declassified in 1968, they were sworn to secrecy and their efforts went unknown. It was not until the original Code Talkers received a Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in the year 2000 that they began to receive the proper credit for their bravery, ingenuity and patriotism. Today, there are fewer than 100 living Code Talkers.

“The Pacific” is a ten-hour miniseries that tracks the intertwined odysseys of three U.S. Marines – Robert Leckie (played by James Badge Dale), Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello) and John Basilone (Jon Seda) – across the vast canvas of the Pacific Theater.

The mini-series follows these men and their fellow Marines from their first battle with the Japanese on Guadalcanal, through the rain forests of Cape Gloucester and the strongholds of Peleliu, across the bloody sands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and finally to their triumphant but uneasy return home after V-J Day. Debuting in March 2010, the epic miniseries is a presentation of Playtone and DreamWorks and is executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman, the producing team behind the Emmy®- and Golden Globe-winning 2001 HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers.”

The New York City Veterans Day Parade is celebrating its 90th year (1919-2009). The parade honors the sacrifice and service of servicemen past and present. Hosted by the United War Veterans Council on behalf of the City of New York, the New York City Veterans Day Parade is the largest of its kind in the nation. Veterans groups, military units and other organizations from across the nation travel to NYC for this special commemoration.

Patrick Gualtieri, Chairman of the NYC Veterans Day Parade, stated in a press release, “We are very proud to be hosting the Code Talkers for this year’s 90th Anniversary of Veterans Day. They truly represent how Americans of all backgrounds have stepped forward throughout our country’s history to defend our freedoms.”