Samuel Tom Holiday, one of last Navajo Code Talkers, dies

The Associated Press

7 years ago

Former Marine and Navajo Code Talker Sam Holiday talks at ceremony honoring the Navajo Code Talkers and their contributions to the American war effort in World War II Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, at Camp Pendleton, Calif. (Lenny Ignelz/AP)

ST. GEORGE, Utah — Samuel Tom Holiday, one of the last surviving Navajo Code Talkers, died Monday in southern Utah.

He was 94.

The Spectrum newspaper quotes Holiday’s granddaughter, Tya Redhouse, says Holiday died in the evening, surrounded by friends and family who traveled to be with him.

Holiday, who used his native language to help create an uncrackable code for the U.S. in World War II, spent his later days living at the Southern Utah Veterans Home in Ivins.

Navajo leaders believe fewer than 10 Code Talkers are still alive. The exact number is unknown because the program remained classified for several years following the war.

Redhouse says Holiday will be buried on the Navajo Reservation, in Kayenta, Arizona, next to his wife.