The Latest: Services set Thursday for Navajo Code Talker

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) - The Latest on the death of a Navajo Code Talker (all times local):

3:45 p.m.

Funeral services are scheduled Thursday for a Navajo Code Talker who died in New Mexico.

Navajo Nation officials say David Patterson Sr. died Sunday in Rio Rancho from pneumonia and complications from bleeding in the brain. He was 94.

Patterson was among hundreds of Navajos who served in the Marine Corps, using a code based on their native language to outsmart the Japanese in World War II.

A funeral Mass is scheduled Thursday morning at Christ the King Catholic Church in Shiprock, New Mexico. Burial will follow at the Shiprock cemetery.

Patterson is survived by six children.

12:30 p.m.

Navajo Nation officials say Navajo Code Talker David Patterson Sr. has died in New Mexico.

Tribal officials say Patterson died Sunday in Rio Rancho at age 94 from pneumonia and complications from subdural hematoma.

The code talkers used the Navajo language to outsmart the Japanese in World War II.

Patterson served in the Marine Corps from 1943 to 1945 and was the recipient of the Congressional Silver Medal in 2001.

After his military service, Patterson became a social worker and worked for the tribe's Division of Social Services until retiring in 1987.

Patterson is survived by six children.

Funeral services are pending and will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church in Shiprock, New Mexico.

Patterson will be buried on the military side of the Shiprock Cemetery.

Upcoming Events