FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) - Flags will be flying at half-staff across the Navajo Nation later this week in honor of Code Talker Tom Jones Jr.
The Navajo Nation said Jones died Monday at a Farmington hospital after a battle with pneumonia and other medical conditions. He was 89.
Jones served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1943 through 1945. He was a messenger for the 3rd Division, Unit 297 Navajo Code Talkers 767 and the Navajo Code Talkers 642 platoons based at Camp Pendleton.
His family remembered him as a private, simple and caring man. He is survived by three children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday morning at the Dine Christian Center in Shiprock.
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