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[sarisataka]

Last of Original Group of Navajo Code Talkers Dies
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The last of the 29 Navajos who developed a code that stumped the Japanese during World War II has died.

Chester Nez, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, died Wednesday morning of kidney failure, said Judy Avila, who helped Nez write his memoirs. He was 93.

Before hundreds of men from the Navajo Nation became Code Talkers, 29 Navajos were recruited to develop the code based on the then-unwritten Navajo language. Nez was in 10th grade when he enlisted, keeping his decision a secret from his family and lying about his age, as did many others.

"It's one of the greatest parts of history that we used our own native language during World War II," Nez told The Associated Press in 2010. "We're very proud of it."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/last-original-group-navajo-code-talkers-dies-n122606

Despite all of the wrongs, when they were needed the Navajo and other Natives stepped forward when called.
RIP