Navajo code talker Thomas Claw dies

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Navajo Nation said this week that a decorated Navajo code talker has died.

Thomas Claw, 87, who had been ill with cancer, died Tuesday evening at the Northern Arizona VA Health Care Center in Prescott, Ariz., according to the tribe.

"It is with deep regret that we learned of the passing of Navajo code talker Thomas Claw, another of our distinguished warriors from World War II," Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. said in a news release.

Mr. Claw had enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943 and was sent to Camp Pendleton in California for special military qualification and training as a code talker. He served with the 1st Marine Division and was overseas from September 1943 to November 1945.

He received two presidential unit citations, a Navy unit Commendation Ribbon and a Purple Heart.

After his military service, Mr. Claw relocated to Parker, Ariz., in 1948 with his wife, Barbara Claw. He was employed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a water master for the Colorado River Indian Irrigation Project, retiring after 20 years of service.

Mr. Claw is survived by his wife, as well as his children: Carolyn Hammond, Pauline James, Harold Claw and Gloria Claw, all of Parker, Ariz.; and Reynold Claw of Clearfield, Utah.

— Ethan Thomas