( CNN ) -- George Smith , one of the Navajo code talkers who helped the U.S. military outfox the Japanese during World War II by sending messages in their obscure language , has died , the president of the Navajo Nation said . `` This news has saddened me , '' Ben Shelly , the Navajo president , said in a post Wednesday on his Facebook page . `` Our Navajo code talkers have been real life heroes to generations of Navajo people . '' Smith died Tuesday , Shelly said , and the Navajo Nation 's flag is flying at half-staff until Sunday night to commemorate his life . See CNN 's complete coverage of Veterans in Focus . Several hundred Navajo tribe members served as code talkers for the United States during World War II , using a military communications code based on the Navajo language . They sent messages back and forth from the front lines of fighting , relaying crucial information during pivotal battles like Iwo Jima . Military authorities chose Navajo as a code language because it was almost impossible for a non-Navajo to learn and had no written form . It was the only code the Japanese never managed to crack . The Navajo code talkers participated in every assault the U.S. Marines carried out in the Pacific between 1942 and 1945 . The code talkers themselves were forbidden from telling anyone about the code -- not their fellow Marines , not their families -- until it was declassified in 1968 . Now in their 80s and 90s , only a handful of code talkers remain . `` They have brought pride to our Navajo people in so many ways , '' Shelly said . `` The nation 's prayers and thoughts are with the family at this time as they mourn the passing of a great family man who served his country and protected his people . '' Shelly 's Facebook post did n't mention Smith 's age or the cause and location of his death . A statement about the death on the official Navajo Nation website was not accessible late Thursday .
one Iwo Jima code talkers served in World War II . They transmitted key messages from the front line in their native language . The Marines never managed to crack the code . Only a few code talkers remain alive late Thursday .