Navajo Code Talker and Fleming Begaye, Second World War Veteran, Deceased: NPR

Fleming Begaye Sr., one of the last survivors of the Navajo code of World War II, died at the age of 97 years.

Begaye died Friday in Chinle, Arizona, according to a statement from the Navajo Nation. The group's president, Jonathan Nez, called him a brave and selfless warrior.

Begaye was born in Red Valley, Arizona, in 1921, according to the Navajo Nation. Years later, at a boarding school called Fort Wingate, he learned that the US military was looking for speakers of Navajo, according to the New York Times. He enlisted and became one of more than 400 people speaking codes in the Marines.

During the war, the codists helped the United States communicate safely during the fighting, using a code based on the Navajo language. The code was composed of more than 600 words, sometimes using Navajo words for animals to replace the names of military vehicles. The code has been used in all major naval operations in the Pacific Theater and could never be violated by the Japanese.

Begaye was a coder from 1943 to 1945, according to the Navajo Nation, and fought in the Battle of Tarawa and the Tinian Strike. According to the Navajo Nation, he would then spend a year in a naval hospital for injuries he received during his service.

Upon returning to the United States, Begaye opened a trading post at Chinle, which now included a gas station, auto repair shop, coffee shop and small grocery store. according to The New York Times Begaye then worked as a farmer, growing apple, cherry and plum trees, raising cattle and sheep.

In 2017, Begaye was part of a group of Navajo veterans honored by President Trump at the White House. "From the heart, from the heart, we appreciate what you have done, how you have done it, the courage you have shown and the love you have for your country", said Trump about Code Talkers.

Expressing that day, Peter MacDonald, chairman of a group of the latest survivors of the Navajo Code Talkers, recalled Begaye's heroism during the Battle of Tarawa.

"His landing craft exploded and he literally had to swim to the beach to survive," MacDonald said. At Tinian, MacDonald said that Begaye "is really hurting, survived a year at the naval hospital".

MacDonald stated that Begaye wanted to create a museum to honor the Navajo Code Talkers.

"What we have done really represents what we are as Americans," said MacDonald. "America, we know it, is made up of diverse communities, we have different languages, different skills, different talents and different religions, but when our way of life is threatened, like the freedom we all cherish, we come together. And when we are united, we are invincible. "