Last original Navajo Code Talker Chester Nez passes away

Last original Navajo Code Talker Chester Nez passes away

Chester Nez, the last original Navajo Code Talker, has passed away in his Albuquerque home.

Nez was recruited with 28 other Native Americans by the U.S. Marines to create a code the Japanese couldn’t crack during World War II.

Nez went into kidney failure Wednesday morning. He was 93.

“Many people have met him,” said Judy Avila, a friend and author of Nez’s memoir. “When you meet him, you’re charmed by him.”

He was the last living member of the group.