<Tr> <Th> Known for </Th> <Td> Being the last surviving original twenty - nine Navajo Code Talkers from World War II . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Awards </Th> <Td> Congressional Gold Medal </Td> </Tr> <P> Chester Nez (January 23, 1921--June 4, 2014) was an American veteran of World War II . He was the last original Navajo code talker who served in the United States Marine Corps during the war . </P> <P> Nez was born in Chi Chil Tah, New Mexico, to the Navajo Dibéłizhiní (Black Sheep Clan) of the Tsénahabiłnii (Sleeping Rock People). He was raised during a time when there were difficult relations between the U.S. government and the Navajo Nation . His mother died when he was only three years old . Nez recalled children often being taken from reservations, sent to boarding schools, and told to not speak the Navajo language . At eight years old, Nez was sent to a school run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs . His English given name, Chester, after US president Chester A. Arthur, was assigned then . It was from one of the government - run boarding schools, in Tuba City, Arizona, that Nez was recruited into the Marine Corps . </P>

When did the last navajo code talker die