Wrench3516
03-19-11, 02:12 PM
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One of original Navajo Code Talkers dies
Posted : Friday Mar 18, 2011 15:52:14 EDT
CAMP VERDE, Ariz. — Lloyd Oliver wasn't much of a talker, but it was clear that he was proud to have his native language serve as a key weapon during World War II. As part of an elite group of Marines, he helped develop and implement a code based on the Navajo language that helped win the war.
Years later, his hearing remained impaired because of gun blasts and other explosives during the war. He rarely brought up his time as a Code Talker, but his eyes gleamed when holding a picture of himself in his uniform. He kept a Marine cap and a U.S. flag displayed on his bedroom walls in the home he shared with his wife on the Yavapai Apache Reservation.
Oliver's death Wednesday means that only one of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers survives — Chester Nez of Albuquerque, N.M. The 88-year-old Oliver died at a hospice center in the Phoenix suburb of Avondale where he had been staying for about three weeks, his nephew, Lawrence, said Friday.
"It's very heartbreaking to know that we are losing our Navajo Code Talkers, and especially one of the original 29 whose stories would be tremendously valuable," said Yvonne Murphy, secretary of the Navajo Code Talkers Foundation.
(Complete Article) http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/03/ap-marine-navajo-code-talker-dies-0 31811/ (http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/03/ap-marine-navajo-code-talker-dies-031811/)
"SEMPER-FI" RIP- Cpl. Lloyd Oliver!!
One of original Navajo Code Talkers dies
Posted : Friday Mar 18, 2011 15:52:14 EDT
CAMP VERDE, Ariz. — Lloyd Oliver wasn't much of a talker, but it was clear that he was proud to have his native language serve as a key weapon during World War II. As part of an elite group of Marines, he helped develop and implement a code based on the Navajo language that helped win the war.
Years later, his hearing remained impaired because of gun blasts and other explosives during the war. He rarely brought up his time as a Code Talker, but his eyes gleamed when holding a picture of himself in his uniform. He kept a Marine cap and a U.S. flag displayed on his bedroom walls in the home he shared with his wife on the Yavapai Apache Reservation.
Oliver's death Wednesday means that only one of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers survives — Chester Nez of Albuquerque, N.M. The 88-year-old Oliver died at a hospice center in the Phoenix suburb of Avondale where he had been staying for about three weeks, his nephew, Lawrence, said Friday.
"It's very heartbreaking to know that we are losing our Navajo Code Talkers, and especially one of the original 29 whose stories would be tremendously valuable," said Yvonne Murphy, secretary of the Navajo Code Talkers Foundation.
(Complete Article) http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/03/ap-marine-navajo-code-talker-dies-0 31811/ (http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/03/ap-marine-navajo-code-talker-dies-031811/)
"SEMPER-FI" RIP- Cpl. Lloyd Oliver!!