Code Talker Samuel Tsosie Sr. passes on
Samuel Tsosie Sr.
WINDOW ROCK
Navajo Code Talker Samuel Tsosie Sr. has passed into the spirit world, according to Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly, who ordered flags flown at half-staff in his honor.
Tsosie, who served in the 1st Marine Division from 1943 to 1945, was 89.
He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at age 16, forging his mother’s signature on his enlistment papers and gave his age as 19, according to the nonprofit Navajo Code Talkers organization.
In the Marine Corps, Tsosie joined his military brothers as a radioman communicating in every major battle of the Pacific, including Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Guam, Okinawa and Peleliu.
The funeral for Tsosie took place today at the VA Chapel in Prescott, Ariz. He will be laid to rest in the National Veterans Cemetery in Phoenix.
In his Nov. 25 proclamation, Shelly stated, “The Navajo Nation unites and offers prayers for his family and friends during this time of grief.”
Shelly has ordered flags flown at half-staff from sunrise on Nov. 25 to sunset on Nov. 28.
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow