David Patterson, One Of The Last Living Navajo Code Talkers From WWII, Has Died

[Lakhota]

“Our nation is forever indebted to these WWII heroes,” said Sen. John McCain.

One of the last living Navajo code talkers from World War II ― U.S. Marines who used the Navajo language to transmit secret tactical messages to outwit the Japanese ― has died.

David Patterson Sr. died on Sunday in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, at the age of 94 from pneumonia and complications from a fall. “He was brave until the very end, but was just not strong enough to overcome this battle,” his son Pat Patterson wrote.

Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye called Patterson a “national treasure.”

“Our nation is forever indebted to these WWII heroes,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wrote in a tweet on Monday.

Patterson was among roughly 400 Navajo speakers who served as code talkers during the war. CIA story archives recount some initial skepticism of whether the code talkers would be useful to the Marines. But they soon proved their mettle.

From the archives:

A skeptical lieutenant decided to test their skills and the code before trusting them to deliver actual combat messages.

The Code Talkers successfully translated, transmitted and re-translated a test message in two and a half minutes. Without using the Navajo code, it could take hours for a soldier to complete the same task.

From then on, the Code Talkers were used in every major operation involving the Marines in the Pacific theater. Their primary job was to transmit tactical information over telephone and radio.​

The code talkers’ contribution during the invasion of Iwo Jima in 1945 was invaluable. The code talkers sent more than 800 messages during the battle, according to the CIA. “All of the messages were transmitted without error.”



More: David Patterson, One Of The Last Living Navajo Code Talkers From WWII, Has Died

Bless you, Sir. Thank you for your honorable service to your country. May you rest in peace.

 

[Old Rocks]

Navajo Code Talkers

God bless these Americans and Canadians. In spite of the way our governments treated them, they were true Americans. May they always be remembered for their contribution to our victory in WW2 on both fronts.

 

[Lakhota]

 

[EvilCat Breath]

One of the great heroes of this country.

 

[tinydancer]

The code talkers in World War I and II were crucial to turning the tides in both wars. RIP Mr. Patterson.

 

[MarcATL]

“Our nation is forever indebted to these WWII heroes,” said Sen. John McCain.

One of the last living Navajo code talkers from World War II ― U.S. Marines who used the Navajo language to transmit secret tactical messages to outwit the Japanese ― has died.

David Patterson Sr. died on Sunday in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, at the age of 94 from pneumonia and complications from a fall. “He was brave until the very end, but was just not strong enough to overcome this battle,” his son Pat Patterson wrote.

Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye called Patterson a “national treasure.”

“Our nation is forever indebted to these WWII heroes,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wrote in a tweet on Monday.

Patterson was among roughly 400 Navajo speakers who served as code talkers during the war. CIA story archives recount some initial skepticism of whether the code talkers would be useful to the Marines. But they soon proved their mettle.

From the archives:

A skeptical lieutenant decided to test their skills and the code before trusting them to deliver actual combat messages.

The Code Talkers successfully translated, transmitted and re-translated a test message in two and a half minutes. Without using the Navajo code, it could take hours for a soldier to complete the same task.

From then on, the Code Talkers were used in every major operation involving the Marines in the Pacific theater. Their primary job was to transmit tactical information over telephone and radio.​

The code talkers’ contribution during the invasion of Iwo Jima in 1945 was invaluable. The code talkers sent more than 800 messages during the battle, according to the CIA. “All of the messages were transmitted without error.”



More: David Patterson, One Of The Last Living Navajo Code Talkers From WWII, Has Died

Bless you, Sir. Thank you for your honorable service to your country. May you rest in peace.

Accept my condolences brother.

May he rest in peace.

 

[theHawk]

“Our nation is forever indebted to these WWII heroes,” said Sen. John McCain.

One of the last living Navajo code talkers from World War II ― U.S. Marines who used the Navajo language to transmit secret tactical messages to outwit the Japanese ― has died.

David Patterson Sr. died on Sunday in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, at the age of 94 from pneumonia and complications from a fall. “He was brave until the very end, but was just not strong enough to overcome this battle,” his son Pat Patterson wrote.

Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye called Patterson a “national treasure.”

“Our nation is forever indebted to these WWII heroes,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wrote in a tweet on Monday.

Patterson was among roughly 400 Navajo speakers who served as code talkers during the war. CIA story archives recount some initial skepticism of whether the code talkers would be useful to the Marines. But they soon proved their mettle.

From the archives:

A skeptical lieutenant decided to test their skills and the code before trusting them to deliver actual combat messages.

The Code Talkers successfully translated, transmitted and re-translated a test message in two and a half minutes. Without using the Navajo code, it could take hours for a soldier to complete the same task.

From then on, the Code Talkers were used in every major operation involving the Marines in the Pacific theater. Their primary job was to transmit tactical information over telephone and radio.​

The code talkers’ contribution during the invasion of Iwo Jima in 1945 was invaluable. The code talkers sent more than 800 messages during the battle, according to the CIA. “All of the messages were transmitted without error.”



More: David Patterson, One Of The Last Living Navajo Code Talkers From WWII, Has Died

Bless you, Sir. Thank you for your honorable service to your country. May you rest in peace.

He was from one of the greatest generations in our nation's history.

 

[waltky]

WWII Navajo Code Talker George B. Willie Sr. Dies in Arizona...

Navajo Code Talker George B. Willie Sr. Dies in Arizona
5 Dec 2017 — A Navajo Code Talker who used his native language to outsmart the Japanese in World War II has died in Arizona.

Navajo Nation officials say George B. Willie Sr. died Tuesday at age 92. Tribal officials say Willie lived in the community of Leupp, Arizona. He served in the Marine Corps with the Second Marine Division from 1943 to 1946.

A member of the Navajo Code Talkers views a performance by Marine Corps Band New Orleans during a parade for National Navajo Code Talkers Day in Window Rock, Ariz., Aug. 14, 2017.​

According to his family, Willie served in the Battle of Okinawa, delivering and receiving coded messages using the Navajo language. He and other Navajos followed in the footsteps of the original 29 who developed the code and received the Congressional Silver Medal in 2001.

Willie is survived by his wife Emma, 10 children and several grandchildren. A celebration of life is scheduled Dec. 8 at the Presbyterian Church in Leupp.

Navajo Code Talker George B. Willie Sr. Dies in Arizona

See also:

9 Things Every American Should Know About the Navajo Code Talkers
Navajo code talkers, once unable to even talk about the role they played in World War II, are now lauded as heroes.

How much do you know about these brave men? Let's take a closer look at the veterans and their accomplishments and honor their part in WWII:

1. While the Navajo Code Talkers are most famous from World War II, the military used indigenous language as a means for code during World War I. Then, members of the Choctaw nation wrote and transcribed messages to help the war effort after their commanding officers overheard them speaking Choctaw. France bestowed the entire Choctaw Nation the Chevalier de l’Order National du Merite in gratitude for the vital work the men did.

2. The idea of using Navajo as a way to create unbreakable codes against the Axis Powers -- Nazi Germany, Japan, and Italy -- in WWII came from a veteran of WWI. Phillip Johnson, the white son of a Christian missionary, had grown up on a Navajo Reservation and had learned the language in his youth. It is possible that he came across the idea of indigenous languages being used as code during his service in WWI. After Pearl Harbor, he proposed using Navajo, specifically, as a code to the Marines.

3. There were 29 original code talkers. By the end of the war, there were more than 400. Native Americans from at least 14 other nations and tribes were among those 400, working to keep the Axis from breaking encrypted, vitally important information.

4. During the time they served, Native Americans were subject to many racist and unconscionable policies in the United States. Some states actively worked to bar Native Americans from voting by using similar tactics that were used to keep African Americans from the polls. In fact, their right to vote wasn’t secured until the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

5. Code talkers volunteered and were drafted

 

[whitehall]

Navajo Code Talkers fit a niche in U.S. military intelligence and America is grateful but thanks to the racist FDR administration they couldn't drink in a bar. Before we get all gushy about Navajos in the Service we need to consider that about 6,000 Marines were killed in a month on an island we could have bypassed four months before the end of the War.