Samuel Tom Holiday was one of the last surviving World War II Navajo Code Talkers before he passed away in Utah on Monday at the age of 94.

Holiday joined the Corps when he was 19 years-old and became part of a legendary group of Native American servicemen who encoded messages in the Navajo language.

Yesterday, Navajo Code Talker Samuel Tom Holiday passed away at 94 years old.

Holiday, one of the last surviving Code Talkers from WWII, joined the Corps at 19 and became part of a legendary group of Native Americans who encoded messages in the Navajo language.

Semper Fi pic.twitter.com/Lbl2D3l5Jn

— U.S. Marines (@USMC) June 12, 2018

Holiday was one of 400 code talkers who transmitted messages in a complicated code that was built on tribal languages. The code talkers were at some of the most famous battles during World War II.

After the war, Holiday went back to Navajo Nation and served as a law enforcement officer before he founded his own heavy equipment company. In 1954, Holiday married Lupita Mae Isaac, and they went on to have eight children together.

In 2013, Holiday wrote the book “Under The Eagle: Samuel Holiday, Navajo Code Talker” about his experiences during the war. During his final years, he would travel to schools to talk to students about things that he went through during World War II.

It is believed that fewer than 10 Navajo Code Talkers are still alive at this time.

We would like to thank Holiday for his service! SHARE this story so your friends and family can see this as well!