Navajo code talker from World War II dies

[alp227]

George Smith, one of the Navajo code talkers who helped the U.S. military outfox the Japanese during World War II by sending messages in their obscure language, has died, the president of the Navajo Nation said.

"This news has saddened me," Ben Shelly, the Navajo president, said in a post Wednesday on his Facebook page. "Our Navajo code talkers have been real life heroes to generations of Navajo people."

Smith died Tuesday, Shelly said, and the Navajo Nation's flag is flying at half-staff until Sunday night to commemorate his life.

Several hundred Navajo tribe members served as code talkers for the United States during World War II, using a military communications code based on the Navajo language. They sent messages back and forth from the front lines of fighting, relaying crucial information during pivotal battles like Iwo Jima.

full: http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/01/us/navajo-code-talker-dies/index.html

[AverageJoe90]

1. R.I.P. George Smith. A true American hero.

[DarthDem]

2. R.I.P.

[My Good Babushka]

3. How sad. Rest in Peace.

Our sad loss. The story of the Navajo code talkers is pure American magical realism, like a story out of Borges or Cortazar come to life.