Chester Nez is a Notable burial at https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/santafe.asp.  He was the last surviving member of the original twenty-nine Navajo Code Talkers. A Navajo and native of New Mexico, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942. Nez, along with twenty-eight other Marines, was recruited to create a secret code for transmitting military messages from the Navajo language. Nez was stationed in the Pacific Theater during World War II, where he was among the first of the Code Talkers to see action, and served into 1945. Cpl. Nez reenlisted during the Korean War, serving 1950-1953, according to the Veterans History Project. In July 2001, Nez and the other original Navajo Code Talkers received the Congressional Gold Medal. Nez published his memoir in 2011 and died in 2014.  https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/151597287.pdf.
*The preceding content is not intended as a comprehensive biography, but it highlights their significance as a result of military or civilian distinction, lasting achievements, or association with impactful national events. 

Santa Fe National Cemetery

This lesson plan is one of the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Teaching Literacy through History resources on World War II. Chester Nez is featured in one of the lessons. 

Lesson Plan from the Gilder Lehrman Institute Featuring Chester Nez

CHESTER NEZ

Service

WORLD WAR II

US MARINE CORPS,

CPL

Resting Place

Mementos

Tributes

Word Cloud

undefined

Milestones

Mementos

Historical Documents

Veteran programs and services

More VA resources

Get VA updates

In crisis? Get help now

Contact us