Navajo Code Talker Jimmie Begay to be Laid to Rest Today

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Code Talker Sgt Jimmie Begay

FORT DEFIANCE, ARIZONA - Funeral services for Navajo Code Talker Sergeant Jimmie Begay, 88, will be held today at the Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Fort Defiance.

Sergeant Begay passed away on Wednesday night at Tsehootsoi Medical Center in Fort Defiance, Arizona.

He trained to be a code talker during World War II at Camp Elliot. Sergeant Begay then served in the 1st Marine Division, 2nd Battalion, where he served in campaigns at Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Saipan, and Tinian.

Navajo President Ben Shelly ordered the Navajo Nation flag to be flown at half-staff from February 2 through sundown Sunday, February 5 to honor Sergeant Begay for his service to his country.

"I am deeply saddened by the loss of Sergeant Begay. His efforts to defend this country and his people make me proud. My prayers and the prayers of the First Lady, the Vice President and the Navajo Nation are with the family,"

commented Navajo President Ben Shelly.

Code Talker Begay is preceded in death by his wife, Sophie Begay; parents, Carl Begay and Nazbah Blackgoat; brothers, Kenneth M. Begay and Kee Begay; sisters, Ruth Stewart and Lottie Randall and son, Perry Begay.

Code Talker Begay is survived by his son, Thurman Begay of Sawmill, Arizona; grandchildren, Jacquelyn A. Begay and Janelle R. Begay of Sawmill, Arizona; Scott Begay and Rhonda Roan of Albuquerque, New Mexico and five great-grandchildren.

He will be laid to rest at the family cemetery in Red Lake, New Mexico.

posted February 4, 2012 7:10 am est