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Navajo Code Talker has died; William Tully Brown was 96

Navajo Code Talker William Tully Brown died Monday in Winslow, Arizona.

Editor's note: The above video is about National Navajo Code Talkers Day, which is Aug. 14. 

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation has announced that World War II-era Navajo Code Talker William Tully Brown has died at age 96.

He's the third Navajo Code Talker to die since May 10.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez says Brown died Monday in Winslow, Arizona. The cause of death wasn't disclosed.

Brown 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.

Brown enlisted in 1944 and was honorably discharged in 1946.

He received the American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal and Honorable Service Label Button.

Brown's funeral is scheduled Thursday at Fort Defiance Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fort Defiance, Arizona. A reception will follow at the Church of Latter-day Saints Chapel in Michaels, Arizona. 

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