Samuel Tom Holiday; Navajo Code Talker passes
Mick sends us the sad news that Samuel Tom Holiday, a Navajo Code Talker veteran of the Second World War passed at the age of 94 in southern Utah on Monday. He was surrounded by his loving family during his final moments in this life according to Stars & Stripes;
He was 19 when he joined the Marine Corps and became a part of operations in several locations across the Pacific during the war, according to The Spectrum. A mortar explosion left him with hearing loss, but he would later tell family that he always felt safe during battle because of a pouch around his neck holding sacred stones and yellow corn pollen…After the war, Holiday returned to the Navajo reservation and worked as a police officer, a ranger and later started his own equipment company. He married Lupita Mae Isaac and had eight children.
Samuel Tom Holiday will be interred in Kayenta, Arizona with his wife.
It is believed that only 10 Navajo code talkers remain with us.
Category: We Remember
If any of you go near the Navajo Rez, stop in at the cemetery where many of these Marines are interred. It’s near Window Rock.
Semper Fi, Marine
RIP Sir, Duty complete. Thank you for our freedom.
RIP Marine
Semper Fi
háá nilyį́į́h
I have met some of these dudes.
Hardcore.
Rest well, brother.
Rest in peace Brother. God be with your family.
Rest in Peace, Marine!
Rest in Peace.
Aaaaah, man.
You are with the Great Spirit, the Awesome One, now.
Sing before Him, Brother, that the Great Spirit be poured out upon the Dineh.
See you in a while.
Rest in Peace.
The deeds of you and your brothers in arms shall be remembered
Such a great group of American patriots. We can only pray that we always have such men among us.
Well done, Marine. Rest now in peace.
One cannot be sad at his passing. One can only be relieved at his release from age and pain.
Rest and go be with your brothers in arms. Happy hunting.
RIP
As General Patton once famously said, “we should not be sorry that this man is dead, rather we should be grateful that he lived.”
RIP, Warrior.
God bless’em all, every one!
Praise for their skill, speed and accuracy accrued throughout the war. At Iwo Jima, Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division signal officer, declared, “Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.” Connor had six Navajo code talkers working around the clock during the first two days of the battle. Those six sent and received over 800 messages, all without error.
The Japanese, who were skilled code breakers, remained baffled by the Navajo language. The Japanese chief of intelligence, Lieutenant General Seizo Arisue, said that while they were able to decipher the codes used by the U.S. Army and Army Air Corps, they never cracked the code used by the Marines.