John Kinsel Sr., one of the last Navajo code talkers, dies at 107

One of the last three Navajo code talkers of World War II is dead. John Kinsel Sr., a Marine Corps veteran, died at his home in Lukachukai, Arizona on Saturday, Oct. 19. He was 107.

Kinsel grew up in a rough childhood. He went on to join the United States Marine Corps, becoming part of the second group of Navajo code talkers, helping the military to further revise the code, and then saw action in some of the most important and bloody battles in the Pacific during World War II. 

“Mr. Kinsel was a Marine who bravely and selflessly fought for all of us in the most terrifying circumstances with the greatest responsibility as a Navajo code talker,” Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said in a statement. “He fought alongside his brothers in arms, for the U.S. Marine Corps, for the United States and to protect the Navajo Nation in a time of war.”