Original 29 Code Talker Dies-- Part 2

Now, there is only one of the original 29 alive, Chester Nez of Albuquerque, NM.

The whole group was classified top secret and it wasn't until way after the war that their existence was declassified. In his military records, the words "code talker" was only listed once. Otherwise he was referred to as "communication personnel" or on "communication duty."

Mr. Oliver was attending school at Shiprock, NM, when he signed up with the USMC in 1942 and was discharged as a corporal three years later. His father had just died and he would send $15 to $20 a month back to his mother to help out. She worked at the US Army's Navajo Ordnance Depot in Bellemont.

His brother, Willard Oliver also served as a Code Talker.

The funeral will be held today, March 19th at the Gila River Indian Community Reservation south of Phoenix.

A Huge Help in World War II.