Alexis Egeland

The Republic | azcentral.com

One of the last remaining Navajo Code Talkers died Friday morning.

Dan Akee, 94, of Tuba City, served as a Navajo Code Talker with the United States Marine Corps. during World War II.

Code Talkers were Navajos who created an unbreakable coded language from their native language by attaching familiar words to letters. They then used this language to communicate secretly and confuse the Japanese during the war. About a dozen Code Talkers are still living.

Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye said the Code Talkers were among the most important people involved in the American military during World War II.

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"It wasn’t so much the bullets and the guns and the tanks (that won the war), it was the language that was utilized to transmit messages," he said. "I’m just really thankful that at one point it was a top-secret category of armed forces, and finally they were allowed to tell their stories."

Begaye said news of Akee's death came as a shock. He hopes to erect a museum to honor the Navajo Code Talkers, where he hopes to let the few remaining talkers witness their stories being told. The Navajo Nation will be flying its flags at half-staff and issuing a nationwide proclamation to honor Akee's service.

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Akee lived long enough to see a dream fulfilled. He had built a house in Tuba City 60 years ago, but it began to fall apart over time, forcing him to move out. He said it was his goal to move back into the house before he died.

He got his wish in in February.

The Navajo Nation got a group of volunteers together to revamp the home. Begaye said it was an honor to help.

"He wanted to move into a house that he started years ago and we wanted to reward him for his service to our nation, so we went in and renovated the entire house from top to bottom, even making the bathroom wheelchair accessible," Begaye said. "He was so excited. He was waving his arms, almost blessing the rooms as he went through the house."