The last surviving Mohawk code talker to serve in World War II has died.

Levi Oakes was 94 years old. He was one of a handful of people from the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation who helped the military send coded messages in their native language to avoid detection by the enemy.

According to his obituary, Oakes worked with troops in the South Pacific, Phillipines and New Guinea before returning home. He spent 30 years as an ironworker. And later ran the roads department for the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne.

In 2016, Oakes received a congressional silver medal for his service in a ceremony at Akwesasne. He told North Country Public Radio he didn’t have much to say about those years at war:

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"It wasn’t too bad, Oakes said. "I had to live with it. That’s all.

According to a Facebook post from the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Oakes died Tuesday, surrounded by loved ones.