Story highlights
- As a child, Chester Nez was punished for speaking Navajo
- Nez says recognition as a code talker came late, but was good when it did
- Nez was one of 29 Navajos recruited to develop the code
- Nez served as a code talker in the battles of Guadalcanal, Guam and Peleliu
For more than two decades, Chester Nez kept silent about his role as one of the original Navajo code talkers responsible for developing an unbreakable code during World War II.
His death Wednesday at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at age 93 was lamented by the Marine Corps as the end of an era -- for both the country and its armed forces.
"We mourn his passing but honor and celebrate the indomitable spirit and dedication of those Marines who became known as the Navajo code talkers," the Marines said in a statement.
Nez was the last remaining of the original 29 Navajos recruited by the Marine Corps to develop the legendary code that was used for vital communications during battle.
He was a teenager when he was recruited in 1942 and assigned with the other code talkers to the Marine Corps' 382nd Platoon at Camp Pendleton.
Photos: Last original Navajo code talker of WWII
Photos: Last original Navajo code talker of WWII
Last original Navajo code talker of WWII – Chester Nez, the last of the original Navajo code talkers credited with creating an unbreakable code used during World War II, died June 5 at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Navajo Nation President said. He was 93.
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Photos: Last original Navajo code talker of WWII
Last original Navajo code talker of WWII – Nez, standing front left, poses for a portrait with the first group of Navajo code talkers in San Diego in 1942.
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Last original Navajo code talker of WWII – Nez also served in the Korean War from 1950 to 1951.
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Last original Navajo code talker of WWII – President George W. Bush salutes Nez while presenting him with the Congressional Gold Medal at the U.S. Capitol in 2001.
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Last original Navajo code talker of WWII – Nez addresses the crowd at an outdoor rally in Albuquerque before a speech by then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry in 2004.
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Last original Navajo code talker of WWII – Nez, seen at his home in 2009, told his story in his book, "Code Talker." He said he decided to tell his story because he wanted to share the contributions and sacrifices of the Navajo during World War II.
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Photos: Photos: People we lost in 2014
Photos: Photos: People we lost in 2014
People we lost in 2014 – Click through to see people who died in 2014.
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People we lost in 2014 – Edward Herrmann, the versatile, honey-voiced actor whose roles included patricians and politicians such as "Gilmore Girls" father Richard Gilmore, "The Practice" law professor Anderson Pearson and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, died on Wednesday, December 31. He was 71.
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People we lost in 2014 – Luise Rainer, who won back-to-back Oscars in the 1930s for "The Great Ziegfeld" and "The Good Earth," has died at the age of 104, her daughter reported on Tuesday, December 30.
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People we lost in 2014 – Christine Cavanaugh, who lent her distinctive voice to the title pig in "Babe," Chuckie Finster on "Rugrats" and Dexter of "Dexter's Laboratory," died December 22. She was 51.
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People we lost in 2014 – British rocker Joe Cocker died December 22 after a battle with lung cancer, Sony Music said in a statement. He was 70.
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People we lost in 2014 – Norman Bridwell, the creator of "Clifford the Big Red Dog," died December 12 in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, according to his publisher, Scholastic. Bridwell was 86.
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People we lost in 2014 – Legendary photographer Michel du Cille, a 26-year veteran of The Washington Post, died December 11 while on assignment in Liberia. The Post said du Cille, 58, collapsed "during a strenuous hike on the way back from a village" affected by the African country's Ebola outbreak.
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People we lost in 2014 – Mary Ann Mobley, the first Miss America from Mississippi who turned that achievement into a movie career, died December 10 after battling breast cancer. She was 77.
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People we lost in 2014 – Ken Weatherwax, who played Pugsley on the 1960s TV show "The Addams Family," died December 7, according to the Ventura County Coroner's Office. He was 59.
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People we lost in 2014 – Ian McLagan, a fun-loving keyboardist who played on records by such artists as the Rolling Stones, Lucinda Williams, Bruce Springsteen and his own bands -- the Small Faces and its successor, the Faces -- died December 3, according to a statement from his record label, Yep Roc Records. He was 69.
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People we lost in 2014 – American saxophonist Bobby Keys, who for years toured and recorded with the Rolling Stones, died on December 2. "The Rolling Stones are devastated by the loss of their very dear friend and legendary saxophone player, Bobby Keys," the band said on Twitter.
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People we lost in 2014 – To the world, he was known as "Chespirito." Roberto Gomez Bolanos gained fame as a comedian, but he was also a writer, actor, screenwriter, songwriter, film director and TV producer. The legendary entertainer died November 28 at the age of 85.
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People we lost in 2014 – British crime novelist P.D. James died November 27 at her home in Oxford, England. She was 94.
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People we lost in 2014 – Lebanese singer and actress Sabah, one of the Arab world's most prolific entertainers with a career spanning more than six decades, died November 26, in Beirut, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. She was 87.
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People we lost in 2014 – Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry is dead at the age of 78, a hospital spokeswoman said on November 23. Barry was elected four times as the city's chief executive. He was once revered nationally as a symbol of African-American political leadership. But his professional accomplishments were often overshadowed by drug and personal scandals.
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People we lost in 2014 – Acclaimed film director Mike Nichols died on November 19. Nichols, pictured here with his wife, journalist Diane Sawyer, was best known for his films "The Graduate," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "The Birdcage." He was 83.
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People we lost in 2014 – Jimmy Ruffin, silky-voiced singer of the Motown classic "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted," died November 19 in Las Vegas. He was 78.
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People we lost in 2014 – 'Knight Rider" and "Battlestar Galactica" producer Glen A. Larson passed away November 14 after a battle with cancer. He was 77.
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People we lost in 2014 – Actress Carol Ann Susi, best known for voicing the unseen Mrs. Wolowitz on "The Big Bang Theory," died November 11. She was 62.
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People we lost in 2014 – Henry "Big Bank Hank" Jackson, a member of the hip-hop group the Sugarhill Gang, died November 11 of complications from cancer. He was 55.
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People we lost in 2014 – Tom Magliozzi, left, half of the "Click and Clack" team of brothers who hosted NPR's "Car Talk" radio show, died November 3. He was 77.
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People we lost in 2014 – "House of Cards" actress Elizabeth Norment passed away at the age of 61, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed October 28 via Norment's sister Kate. According to the star's obituary in The Washington Post, Norment died of cancer on October 13 at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York.
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People we lost in 2014 – Jack Bruce, bassist for the legendary 1960s rock band Cream, died October 25 at age 71.
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People we lost in 2014 – Ben Bradlee, the zestful, charismatic Washington Post editor who guided the paper through the era of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate and was immortalized on screen in "All the President's Men," died on October 21. He was 93.
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People we lost in 2014 – Fashion designer Oscar de la Renta died on October 20, close friends of the family and industry colleagues told CNN. He was 82.
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People we lost in 2014 – "August: Osage County" actress Misty Upham was declared dead by a Washington coroner after her body was found along a river in suburban Seattle on October 16.
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People we lost in 2014 – Actress Elizabeth Pena died October 14, according to her manager. She was 55.
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People we lost in 2014 – Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, the keyboardist in Jack White's backing band, died October 14. The musician also played with bands such as Mars Volta and Free Moral Agents. He was 38.
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People we lost in 2014 – Mark Bell, who founded the highly influential techno-music duo LFO and later collaborated with Bjork on several iconic albums, died of complications from a surgery, his record label said October 13.
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People we lost in 2014 – Actress and comedian Jan Hooks died in New York on October 9. Her representative, Lisa Lieberman, confirmed the death to CNN but provided no additional information. According to IMDb.com, Hooks was 57.
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People we lost in 2014 – Geoffrey Holder, a versatile artist known for his ability as a dancer, actor and a pitchman for 7Up, died from complications due to pneumonia, his family's attorney said on October 6. Holder was 84.
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People we lost in 2014 – Paul Revere, leader of the 1960s rock band Paul Revere and the Raiders, died October 4 at his home in Idaho, according to the band's website. He was 76.
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People we lost in 2014 – Emmy-winning actress Polly Bergen, whose TV and movie career spanned more than six decades, died on September 20, according to her publicist. She was 84, according to IMDb.com.
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People we lost in 2014 – Singer George Hamilton IV, known as the "International Ambassador of Country Music," died at a Nashville hospital on September 17 following a heart attack, the Grand Ole Opry said in a press release. He was 77.
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People we lost in 2014 – Northern Ireland's former first minister and former Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley has died, his wife, Eileen, said in a statement on September 12. He was 88.
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People we lost in 2014 – Richard Kiel, the actor best known for playing the James Bond villain "Jaws," died September 10 at a California hospital, St. Agnes Medical Center spokeswoman Kelley Sanchez said. He was 74.
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People we lost in 2014 – Joan Rivers, the sassy comedian whose gossipy "can we talk" persona catapulted her into a career as a headlining talk-show host, best-selling author and red-carpet maven, died September 4. She was 81.
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People we lost in 2014 – Jimi Jamison, lead singer of the 1980s rock band Survivor, died at the age of 63, it was announced September 2.
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People we lost in 2014 – Acclaimed actor-director Richard Attenborough died on August 24, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported, citing his son. Attenborough was 90.
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People we lost in 2014 – Don Pardo, the man whose voice introduced the cast of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" for decades, died at the age of 96, the network announced August 19.
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People we lost in 2014 – Skateboarding legend Jay Adams died of a heart attack August 14 while vacationing in Mexico with his wife. He was 53.
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People we lost in 2014 – Ed Nelson, best known for playing a doctor in the 1960s nighttime soap opera "Peyton Place," died on August 13, his family said. He was 85.
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People we lost in 2014 – Actress Arlene Martel, whom "Star Trek" fans knew as Spock's bride-to-be, died in a Los Angeles hospital August 12 after complications from a heart attack, her son said. Martel was 78.
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People we lost in 2014 – Actress Lauren Bacall, the husky-voiced Hollywood icon known for her sultry sensuality, died on August 12. She was 89.
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People we lost in 2014 – Actor and comedian Robin Williams died at his Northern California home on August 11. Williams apparently took his own life, law enforcement officials said. He was 63.
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People we lost in 2014 – JJ Murphy, an actor who was set to join the "Game of Thrones" cast, died August 8, his agent said. He was 86.
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People we lost in 2014 – Actor Charles Keating, who had been fighting lung cancer for several years, died on August 8, his son Sean Keating said. Charles Keating was known for his role of villain Carl Hutchins on the daytime drama "Another World." He was 72.
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People we lost in 2014 – James Brady, the former White House press secretary who was severely wounded in a 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, has died, the White House said on August 4. He was 73. Later in the week, authorities told CNN they are investigating it as a homicide.
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People we lost in 2014 – Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk, the last crewman of the U.S. plane that dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, died of natural causes on July 28, according to his daughter Vicki Triplett. He was 93.
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People we lost in 2014 – James Shigeta, a prolific and pioneering Asian-American actor whose 50-year career included the movies "Die Hard" and "Flower Drum Song," died in his sleep in Los Angeles on July 28, his agent said. He was 81.
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People we lost in 2014 – Skye McCole Bartusiak, who played Mel Gibson's youngest daughter in "The Patriot," died July 19, at her home in Houston, her mother said Sunday. She was 21. While investigators didn't immediately determine a cause of death, Bartusiak had been suffering from epileptic seizures, according to her mother.
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People we lost in 2014 – James Garner, the understated, wisecracking everyman actor who enjoyed multigenerational success on both the small and big screens, died of natural causes on July 19. He was 86.
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People we lost in 2014 – Broadway legend Elaine Stritch died July 17. According to her longtime friend Julie Keyes, Stritch died at her home in Birmingham, Michigan, surrounded by her family. She was 89 years old.
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People we lost in 2014 – Blues guitarist and singer Johnny Winter died July 16 in a Swiss hotel room, his representative said. He was 70.
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People we lost in 2014 – Nadine Gordimer, a South African author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, died on July 13, according to her family. She was 90.
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People we lost in 2014 – Renowned conductor Lorin Maazel died from complications of pneumonia on July 13, according to his family. He was 84.
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People we lost in 2014 – Grammy-winning jazz bassist Charlie Haden, whose music career spanned seven decades and several genres, died July 11, according to his publicist. He was 76.
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People we lost in 2014 – Drummer Tommy Ramone, the last living original member of the pioneering punk band The Ramones, died on July 11, according to the band's Facebook page. He was 65.
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People we lost in 2014 – Eileen Ford, who founded the Ford Model Agency 70 years ago, died July 9 at the age of 92, the company said.
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People we lost in 2014 – Richard Percy Jones, the actor who gave Pinocchio his voice in the 1940 Disney movie, died at his California home on July 8. He was 87.
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People we lost in 2014 – David Legeno, known for playing Fenrir Greyback in the "Harry Potter" movies, was found dead July 6, by hikers in a remote desert location in Death Valley, California. He was 50. "It appears that Legeno died of heat-related issues, but the Inyo County Coroner will determine the final cause of death," read a press release from the Inyo County Sheriff's Department. "There are no signs of foul play."
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People we lost in 2014 – Rosemary Murphy, an Emmy Award-winning actress known for her roles in the movie "To Kill a Mockingbird" as well as TV soap operas "All My Children" and "Another World," died July 5 at the age of 89. The New York Times cited cancer as the cause of death.
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People we lost in 2014 – Olympian and World War II hero Louis Zamperini, the subject of the book and upcoming film "Unbroken," died July 2 after a recent battle with pneumonia. The 97-year-old peacefully passed away in the presence of his entire family, according to a statement.
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People we lost in 2014 – Walter Dean Myers, a beloved author of children's books, died on July 1 following a brief illness, according to the Children's Book Council.
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People we lost in 2014 – Paul Mazursky, a five-time Oscar nominee who directed and wrote such films as "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," "An Unmarried Woman" and "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," died at the age of 84, his agent said July 1.
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People we lost in 2014 – Actor Meshach Taylor died June 28 at his Los Angeles-area home, his agent, Dede Binder, said. He was 67. Taylor had fought a terminal illness and faded markedly in recent days, Binder said. His wife, children, grandchildren and mother surrounded him as he passed away.
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People we lost in 2014 – Legendary soul singer Bobby Womack died June 27, according to Womack's publicist. He was 70.
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People we lost in 2014 – Character actor Eli Wallach, seen here in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," died on June 24, according to a family member who did not want to be named. Wallach was 98.
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People we lost in 2014 – Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn died June 16 at the age of 54, according to a release from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Gwynn, who had 3,141 hits in 20 seasons with the San Diego Padres, had cancer.
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People we lost in 2014 – Radio personality Casey Kasem died June 15. He was 82 and had been hospitalized in Washington state for two weeks.
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People we lost in 2014 – Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll died June 13. He had suffered from Alzheimer's and heart disease. He was 82.
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People we lost in 2014 – Ruby Dee, an award-winning actress whose seven-decade career included triumphs on stage and screen, died June 12. She was 91.
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People we lost in 2014 – Former baseball star Bob Welch passed away on June 9 after suffering a heart attack, according to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was 57.
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People we lost in 2014 – British actor and comedian Rik Mayall, who appeared in the TV series "Blackadder," died June 9 at the age of 56, his agent said. The cause of death was not immediately reported.
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People we lost in 2014 – Chester Nez, the last of the original Navajo code talkers credited with creating an unbreakable code used during World War II, died June 5 at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Navajo Nation President said. Nez was 93.
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People we lost in 2014 – Ann B. Davis, who played Alice the maid on "The Brady Bunch," died from a subdural hematoma on June 1. She was 88.
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People we lost in 2014 – Maya Angelou, a renowned poet, novelist and actress, died at the age of 86, her literary agent said on May 28. Angelou was also a professor, singer and dancer whose work spanned several generations.
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People we lost in 2014 – Australian racing legend Jack Brabham died on May 19, according to Brabham's son David. Brabham, 88, was a three-time Formula One world champion.
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People we lost in 2014 – Malik Bendjelloul, the Oscar-winning director of "Searching for Sugar Man," died suddenly on May 13, police said. He was 36.
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People we lost in 2014 – H.R. Giger, the Swiss surrealist artist whose works of sexual-industrial imagery and design of the eponymous creature in the "Alien" movies were known around the world, died on May 12. He was 74.
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People we lost in 2014 – Former professional tennis player Elena Baltacha died at the age of 30 after losing her battle with liver cancer on May 4. Before retiring in November, she had reached a career high of 49th in the world rankings.
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People we lost in 2014 – Al Feldstein, who guided Mad magazine for almost three decades as its editor, died on April 29, according to a Montana funeral home. He was 88.
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People we lost in 2014 – Oscar-nominated British actor Bob Hoskins, known for roles in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Mona Lisa," died April 29 at age 71, his publicist said.
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People we lost in 2014 – Hall of Fame basketball coach John "Dr. Jack" Ramsay, who became a television analyst years after winning a league championship with the Portland Trail Blazers, died on April 28, according to his longtime employer ESPN. Ramsay was 89.
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People we lost in 2014 – Former Barcelona soccer coach Tito Vilanova, who had been battling cancer, died at the age of 45, the club announced April 25.
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People we lost in 2014 – Country singer Kevin Sharp died from "complications due to cancer" on April 19, his mother told CNN. He was 43.
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People we lost in 2014 – Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the middleweight boxing contender who was wrongly convicted of a triple murder in New Jersey in the 1960s, died April 20 at the age of 76, according to Win Wahrer, the director of client services for the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted.
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People we lost in 2014 – Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the influential, Nobel Prize-winning author of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera," passed away on April 17, his family and officials said. He was 87.
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People we lost in 2014 – Jose Luis "Cheo" Feliciano, a giant of salsa music and a Puerto Rican legend, died in a car crash April 18 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to police. He was 78.
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People we lost in 2014 – Days after being inducted into World Wrestling Entertainment's Hall of Fame, WWE superstar Ultimate Warrior died April 8. Born James Hellwig, he legally changed his name to Warrior in 1993. He was 54.
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People we lost in 2014 – Comedian John Pinette, 50, was found dead in a Pittsburgh hotel room on April 5. Pinette died of natural causes stemming from "a medical history he was being treated for," the medical examiner's spokesman said. An autopsy will not be done because his personal doctor signed the death certificate.
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People we lost in 2014 – Mickey Rooney, who started as a child star in vaudeville and went on to star in hundreds of movies and TV shows, died April 6 at the age of 93.
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People we lost in 2014 – DJ Frankie Knuckles, a legendary producer, remixer and house music pioneer, died March 31 at the age of 59.
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People we lost in 2014 – Kate O'Mara, the British actress best known for playing Joan Collins' sister on the 1980s show "Dynasty," died March 30. She was 74.
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People we lost in 2014 – Ralph C. Wilson Jr., the founder and longtime owner of the NFL's Buffalo Bills, died at age 95, the team announced March 25.
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People we lost in 2014 – Gwar lead singer Dave Brockie died March 23 at the age of 50, his manager said. The heavy-metal group formed in 1984, billing itself as "Earth's only openly extraterrestrial rock band." Brockie performed in the persona of Oderus Urungus.
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People we lost in 2014 – James Rebhorn, whose acting resume includes a long list of character roles in major films and TV shows, died March 21, his representative said. Rebhorn was 65.
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People we lost in 2014 – L'Wren Scott, a noted fashion designer and girlfriend of musician Mick Jagger, was found dead of an apparent suicide March 17, according to a law enforcement official. She was 49.
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People we lost in 2014 – Drummer Scott Asheton, who co-founded and played drums for the influential proto-punk band The Stooges, died March 15. He was 64.
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People we lost in 2014 – Comedian David Brenner, a regular on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show," died after a battle with cancer, a family spokesman said March 15. He was 78.
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People we lost in 2014 – Actress Sheila MacRae, who portrayed Alice Kramden in a 1960s revival of "The Honeymooners" on "The Jackie Gleason Show," died on March 6, according to her family. She was 92.
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People we lost in 2014 – Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia, seen here in 2006, died February 25 of an apparent heart attack. He was 66. De Lucia transformed the folk art of flamenco music into a more vibrant modern sound.
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People we lost in 2014 – Actor, writer and director Harold Ramis, seen here on the far left with fellow "Ghostbusters" Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray, died at his Chicago-area home on February 24. He was 69. Other popular Ramis films include "Stripes," "Groundhog Day" and "Analyze This."
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People we lost in 2014 – Maria von Trapp, seen here posing with a photo of her family, was the last of the singing siblings immortalized in the movie "The Sound of Music." She died February 18 of natural causes at her Vermont home, according to her family. She was 99.
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People we lost in 2014 – Journalist Garrick Utley died at age 74 following a long battle with cancer, his wife of 40 years said in February. Utley worked for CNN after his 30-year career at NBC News.
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People we lost in 2014 – Devo guitarist Bob Casale, known by fans as "Bob 2," died February 17, his brother and band mate announced. Casale was 61.
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People we lost in 2014 – John Henson, the son of Jim Henson who is perhaps most notable for his portrayal of Sweetums on "The Muppets," died after a "sudden, massive heart attack," his family's company said on February 15.
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People we lost in 2014 – Veteran actor Ralph Waite died at 85 on February 13, according to an accountant for the Waite family and a church where the actor was a regular member. Waite was best known for his role as John Walton Sr. on 'The Waltons."
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People we lost in 2014 – Sid Caesar, whose clever, anarchic comedy on such programs as "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour" helped define the 1950s "Golden Age of Television," died on February 12. He was 91.
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People we lost in 2014 – Hollywood child star Shirley Temple, who became diplomat Shirley Temple Black, died February 10 at her Woodside, California, home. She was 85.
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People we lost in 2014 – Joan Mondale, the wife of former Vice President Walter Mondale, died on February 3, according to a statement from the family's church.
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People we lost in 2014 – Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his Manhattan apartment of an apparent drug overdose, law enforcement sources said February 2.
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People we lost in 2014 – Maximilian Schell died on February 1 in a Austrian hospital with his wife by his side, his agent Patricia Baumbauer said. He was 83. Schell was nominated for an Oscar three times. He won in 1962 for "Judgment at Nuremberg."
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People we lost in 2014 – Legendary folk singer Pete Seeger, known for classics such as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)," died of natural causes in New York on January 27, his grandson told CNN. He was 94.
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People we lost in 2014 – Ruth Robinson Duccini, who played one of the Munchkins in the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz," died on January 16. She was 95.
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People we lost in 2014 – Former Playboy centerfold Cassandra Lynn Hensley was found dead at a friend's home in Los Angeles, the coroner there said on January 17. Hensley was 34. Her cause of death was not immediately known.
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People we lost in 2014 – Hiroo Onoda, center, salutes after handing over his military sword on Lubang Island in the Philippines in March 1974. Onoda, a former intelligence officer in the Japanese army, had remained on the island for nearly 30 years, refusing to believe his country had surrendered in World War II. He died at a Tokyo hospital on January 16. He was 91.
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People we lost in 2014 – Russell Johnson, center, stands with Alan Hale Jr., left, and Bob Denver in an episode of "Gilligan's Island" in 1966. Johnson, who played "the professor" Roy Hinkley in the hit television show, passed away January 16 at his home in Washington state, according to his agent, Mike Eisenstadt. Johnson was 89.
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People we lost in 2014 – Ariel Sharon, whose half century as a military and political leader in Israel was marked with victories and controversies, died on January 11 after eight years in a coma, Israeli Army Radio reported. Sharon was 85.
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People we lost in 2014 – Franklin McCain, seen center wearing glasses, one of the "Greensboro Four," who made history for their 1960 sit-in at a Greensboro Woolworth's lunch counter, died on January 10 after a brief illness, according to his alma mater, North Carolina A&T State University.
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People we lost in 2014 – Larry Speakes, who served as President Ronald Reagan's press secretary, died January 10 at his home in Cleveland, Mississippi, following a lengthy illness, according to Bolivar County Coroner Nate Brown. He was 74.
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People we lost in 2014 – Poet Amiri Baraka, who lost his post as New Jersey's poet laureate because of a controversial poem about the 9/11 terror attacks, died on January 9, his agent said. Baraka was 79.
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People we lost in 2014 – Sir Run Run Shaw, the media tycoon who helped bring Chinese martial arts films to an international audience, died at his home in Hong Kong on January 7 at age 106, the television station he founded said.
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People we lost in 2014 – Stage, TV and film actress Carmen Zapata, who founded the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts as a means of of introducing "the rich and eloquent history of the diverse Hispanic culture to English-speaking audiences," died on January 5 at her Los Angeles home. She was 86.
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People we lost in 2014 – Portugal football legend Eusebio, who was top scorer at the 1966 World Cup, died from a heart attack on January 5 at age 71, said his former club, Benfica.
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People we lost in 2014 – Alicia Rhett, who had been one of the oldest surviving cast members of the classic film "Gone With the Wind," died on January 3 in her longtime hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, a retirement community spokeswoman said. She was 98.
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People we lost in 2014 – Singer Phil Everly, left -- one half of the groundbreaking, smooth-sounding, record-setting duo the Everly Brothers -- died on January 3, a hospital spokeswoman said. He was 74.
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Together, they created a code, including developing a dictionary.
Military authorities chose Navajo as a code language because its syntax and tonal qualities were almost impossible for a non-Navajo to learn, and it had no written form. The ranks of the Navajo code talkers swelled to more than 300 by the end of the war in 1945.
The code talkers were forbidden from telling anyone about it -- not their fellow Marines, not their families -- until their work was declassified in 1968. The original 29 were presented with the Congressional Gold Medal in 2001 by President George W. Bush.
"In developing our code, we were careful to use everyday Navajo words, so that we could memorize and retain the words easily," Nez told CNN in 2011 while promoting his book "Code Talker."
"I think that made our job easier, and I think it helped us to be successful in the heat of battle."
Still, Nez said he worried every day that an error might cost the life of an American military service member.
Nez was among the code talkers who were shipped out to Guadalcanal in 1942, where the code talkers worked in teams of two, with one relaying and receiving messages while the other cranked the portable radio and listened for errors in transmission.
"That was my first combat experience, and there was a lot of suffering and a lot of the condition was real bad out there," he told CNN's Larry King in 2002.
Nez also fought in Guam and Peleliu.
"When bombs dropped, generally we code talkers couldn't just curl up in a shelter," Nez wrote in his book. "We were almost always needed to transmit information, to ask for supplies and ammunition, and to communicate strategies. And after each transmission, to avoid Japanese fire, we had to move."
Navajo code talkers attend the 2011 Citi Military Appreciation Day event to honor veterans and current service members in New York's Bryant Park on November 11, 2011.
The code talkers faced initial resistance from fellow Marines who did not understand who they were and what they were doing.
That changed once they understood the importance of the code, Nez said.
The Navajo code baffled the Japanese, who had successfuly deciphered codes used by the U.S. Army. After the war, the Japanese chief of intelligence, Lt. General Seizo Arisue, admitted they were never able to crack the Navajo code used by the Marines and Navy, according to the Navy.
Nez was discharged in 1945, but later volunteered to fight in the Korean War.
After the code talkers' exploits were declassified by the military, the group gained legendary status with books and, ultimately, a movie that was inspired by their stories.
"The recognition of the code talkers came late, but it has been good for my Navajo people. I hope that this type of recognition continues across cultures," Nez said.
The 2002 film "Windtalkers," starring Adam Beach and Nicolas Cage, followed the fictional account of two Marines assigned to protect two code talkers during the battle of Saipan.
"I could understand when they sent the message and received on the other end," Nez said. "I could understand, and I could sit there and write it down myself. I still remember it."
It was a far cry from his childhood, when he was forced to attend a boarding school and punished by the teachers for speaking Navajo, according to his book.
It's a language, though, that appears lost even to many members of his own family.
"My own children do not speak Navajo, although my daughter-in-law ... speaks it well," he said.
Nez said he decided to tell his story because he wanted to share the contributions and sacrifices of the Navajo during World War II.
"Our Navajo code was one of the most important military secrets of World War II. The fact that the Marines did not tell us Navajo men how to develop that code indicated their trust in us and in our abilities," he said.
"The feeling that I could make it in both the white world and the Navajo world began there, and it has stayed with me all of my life. For that I am grateful."
The Navajo Nation's flags have been ordered lowered in Nez's honor, President Ben Shelly said.
