One of Original Navajo Code Talkers Dies

[Wrench3516]

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/
"SEMPER-FI" RIP- Cpl. Lloyd Oliver!!

[Wrench3516]

Funeral held for 1 of last Navajo Code Talkers

Posted : Saturday Mar 19, 2011 18:36:15 EDT

LAVEEN, Ariz. — Tribal members gathered at a church near Phoenix to remember one of the last of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers.

Lloyd Oliver was a member of an elite group of Marines who developed a code based on their native language during World War II.

He died Wednesday at age 88 at a hospice in Avondale, Ariz.

At Saturday’s funeral at Gila Crossing Presbyterian Church in Laveen, Navajo President Ben Shelly presented a Navajo Nation flag to Oliver’s widow and family and another flag to the family of Oliver’s late first wife.

The code talkers sent thousands of messages without error on Japanese troop movements, battlefield tactics and other communications critical to the war’s ultimate outcome.

With Oliver’s death, only one of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers now survives.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/03/ap-funeral-held-for-one-of-last-nav ajo-code-talkers-031911/
"SEMPER-FI" RIP Cpl. Lloyd Oliver

[tmoquin]

Kha Ha ,cpl. Oliver For Your Courage,honor And Dedication.
Rip Warrior