Háá Nilyį́į́h Fleming Begaye Sr.

May 15, 2019 10:29 AM

One of the oldest WWII veterans and Navajo Code Talker, Fleming Begaye Sr. passed away on May 10th

Flags are being flown at half-staff today in honor of Fleming. Begaye was Tódích’íi’nii (Bitter Water Clan) and born for Kinłichii’nii (Red House People Clan). He was born on Aug. 26, 1921, in the community of Red Valley, Arizona and resided in Chinle, Arizona at the time of his passing.

The Navajo Code Talkers were a critical part WWII intelligence and the code that used the Navajo language was never broken.

Only seven others are still with us.

posted by brookeb (22 comments total)

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posted by jabo at 10:44 AM on May 15, 2019

He was a Marine. Funny, it never occurred to me that the various branches all had Code Talkers, but they mention it in the article. Not a lot of WWII vets left, much less Code Talkers.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 11:13 AM on May 15, 2019

Imagine being a Native in the 1940s. You probably had living relatives who had faced off against US military forces. If you were Diné, then odds are you knew at least one person who had been marched to Hwéeldi. And yet, you sign up (code talkers were overwhelmingly volunteers) to defend a country that had broken every. single. treaty. it had ever signed with anyone who looked vaguely like you, a country that had only officially accepted you as a citizen in your lifetime.

Amazing.

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posted by Etrigan at 11:33 AM on May 15, 2019 [26 favorites]

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posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 11:55 AM on May 15, 2019

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posted by anastasiav at 12:19 PM on May 15, 2019

x....👊👊.....x

🌑
posted by clavdivs at 1:06 PM on May 15, 2019

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posted by praemunire at 1:32 PM on May 15, 2019

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posted by Oyéah at 1:35 PM on May 15, 2019

...---...

(the only code I know)
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:56 PM on May 15, 2019

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posted by vorpal bunny at 1:56 PM on May 15, 2019

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posted by mordax at 2:27 PM on May 15, 2019

Respect.
posted by LilithSilver at 3:10 PM on May 15, 2019

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posted by Big Al 8000 at 4:19 PM on May 15, 2019

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posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 5:58 PM on May 15, 2019

Back in 2012 I did oral history interviews with Sidney Bedoni and Bill Toledo, two other code talkers in the Marine Corps. They were really just kids when they joined up and it's staggering to think about how much of an impact they had on the war as such young men. At the time they were raising awareness of the Code Talker Museum, which they were trying to build at the time. It's sobering to think of them passing into history, and it was a privilege to meet them.

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posted by _cave at 6:03 PM on May 15, 2019 [3 favorites]

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posted by anadem at 6:23 PM on May 15, 2019

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posted by limeonaire at 6:55 PM on May 15, 2019

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posted by kentk at 11:46 PM on May 15, 2019

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posted by MexicanYenta at 2:56 AM on May 16, 2019

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posted by gudrun at 5:37 AM on May 16, 2019

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posted by lordrunningclam at 5:57 AM on May 16, 2019

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posted by one teak forest at 5:27 PM on May 17, 2019