LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A 91-year-old man who was a Navajo Code Talker in World War II will receive his degree next week.
Chester Nez will receive his University of Kansas degree on Monday. He was one of the original 29 Code Talkers in an all-Navajo Marine platoon who created a secret code based on their language used by troops in World War II.
Nez had to leave the university in 1952 after three years because his GI Bill funds ran out. No one at the time knew he was a Code Talker.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports Kansas First Lady Mary Brownback will attend the ceremony. Nez also will receive gifts from the city of Lawrence, the KU Alumni Association, Haskell Indian Nations University and the Native Faculty and Staff Council at Kansas.
