AZ SR1013

Lloyd Oliver, one of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers from World War II, died on March 16, 2011, at age 88.

Oliver was born in Shiprock, New Mexico in 1923, enlisted in the U.S. Marines in 1942, and served as a code talker, scout, and sniper, achieving the rank of corporal.

After discharge in 1945, Oliver moved to Phoenix and became a successful jewelry maker, continuing his craft into his seventies.

Oliver was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal along with other original Code Talkers after their classified work was declassified; his death left one surviving member of the original 29.

The Arizona Senate expresses regret at Oliver's passing and extends condolences to his surviving family of a wife, five children, six stepchildren, 19 grandchildren, and 25 great-grandchildren.