Navajo Code Talker Teddy Draper Sr. dies in Arizona at 96
Dec 14, 2017, 5:07 PM
PHOENIX — A Navajo Code Talker who used his native language to outsmart the Japanese in World War II has died in Arizona, according to Navajo Nation officials.
Teddy Draper Sr. died Thursday at age 96 in the small city of Prescott. Draper lived in Chinle, Arizona.
(Navajo Times/Ravonelle Yazzie)
Draper and other Navajos followed in the footsteps of the original 29 who developed the code.
According to Navajo Times, Draper was recruited to join the Marines as a Code Talker out of high school.
He was part of the 5th Marine Division, fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima and received a Purple Heart as well as a Congressional Silver Medal.
He also lost most of the hearing in one ear when a shell exploded close to him on Mount Suribachi.
Funeral plans were pending and a list of Draper’s survivors wasn’t immediately available Thursday.
Draper’s death came nine days after another Navajo Code Talker, George B. Willie Sr., died in Arizona at age 92.
Another Code Talker, David Patterson Sr., died in New Mexico in October.
There are now 11 surviving Navajo Code Talkers, according to Navajo Times.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
