Window Rock, Arizona AP —John Kinsel Sr., one of the last remaining Navajo Code Talkers who transmitted messages during World War II based on the tribe’s native language, has died. With Kinsel’s death, only two Navajo Code Talkers are still alive: Former Navajo Chairman Peter MacDonald and Thomas H. Begay. Hundreds of Navajos were recruited by the Marines to serve as Code Talkers during the war, transmitting messages based on their then-unwritten native language. The Code Talkers sent thousands of messages without error on Japanese troop movements, battlefield tactics and other communications crucial to the war’s ultimate outcome. President Ronald Reagan established Navajo Code Talkers Day in 1982 and the August 14 holiday honors all the tribes associated with the war effort.

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Persons: John Kinsel Sr, Buu Nygren, Kinsel, “ Mr, selflessly, ” Nygren, Peter MacDonald, Thomas H, Talkers, Ronald Reagan Organizations: Arizona AP, Navajo, Navajo Nation, Rock, Tribal, Marines, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division Locations: Arizona, Begay, Pacific, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Cove , Arizona, Navajo, Lukachukai, New Mexico, Utah