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Last Writes

Navajo Nation mourns passing of Code Talker

07/10/2009 03:46 PM
Kim Matas

Matthew Martin was the fourth Code Talker to die in as many weeks.

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WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Another Navajo Code Talker, 84-year-old Matthew Martin of Crownpoint, N.M., has died.

Martin’s daughter, Patricia Begay, says her father died at his home June 22 after a lengthy illness.

Martin was part of an elite group of Navajo Marines who confounded the Japanese during World War II by transmitting messages in their native language.

The Code Talkers took part in every assault the Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. Their work was declassified in 1968.

Martin received a Congressional Silver Medal in recognition of his service in 2001.

He is the fourth Code Talker to die in the past five weeks.

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About 'Last Writes'

Last Writes is the sometimes serious, sometimes irreverent extension of reporter Kimberly Matas' Life Stories series, which chronicles the lives of recently deceased Tucsonans.





About Kim Matas


Kim has been getting paid to write since she was 16 and a freelance high school correspondent for the Phoenix Gazette. More than 25 years later, she's still at it. No one knows why.
Email: kmatas@azstarnet.com