Navajo Nation mourns the loss of another heroic Code Talker

Navajo-Hopi Observer

 

http://navajotimes.com/news/2012/0212/020212begay.php

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. - The Navajo Nation mourns the loss of another heroic Code Talker.

Sgt. Jimmie Begay, 88, passed away Feb. 3 at Tsehootsoi Medical Center in Fort Defiance, Ariz. Sgt. Begay trained to become a code talker at Camp Elliot. He then served in the 1st Marine Division, 2nd Battalion.

Code Talker Begay took part in campaigns at Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Saipan, and Tinian.

President Shelly ordered the Navajo Nation flag to be flown at half-staff Feb. 2-5, to honor Sgt. Begay for his service to his country in World War II.

"I am deeply saddened by the loss of Sgt. 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," said President Shelly.

Code Talker Begay enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in November 1942, when he was 17-years-old. From Fort Wingate, N.M., he boarded a bus for Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he would complete boot camp before transferring to Camp Elliot to train as a Navajo Code Talker.

After completing his service in the Marines in 1945, Begay received an honorable discharge. He then finished his schooling at Santa Fe Indian High School and worked as a guard at the Army Depot-Japanese Internment Camp in Leupp, Ariz. He even competed in the sport of boxing before going into the Navajo Forest Products Industry (NFPI). He retired from NFPI in 1985.

Code Talker Begay earned numerous commendations for his brave and honorable feats in the Pacific, including the Congressional Silver Medal in 2001.

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; son, Perry Begay.

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

Funeral services were scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Fort Defiance, Ariz. Code Talker Begay was buried at the family cemetery in Red Lake, N.M.

Family meetings were held Feb. 2-3 at the Ft. Defiance Chapter House.

Payson resident Kelly Eugene Day passed away Oct. 23

Kelly Eugene Day

Age 87

Kelly Eugene Day, a retired teacher and a veteran of the United States Army Air Corps, having served during World War II, passed away on Oct. 23, 2011. A resident of Payson, he was 87. No services are planned. See the entire obituary for Mr. Day on the Payson Daily Bugle's Obituary Page.

The Payson Daily Bugle provides obituaries free of charge. Family members or friends of the deceased may request a simple form to fill out and return by email to carrienettie@yahoo.com.  A photo of the deceased (on a jpg file) can be attached.  For immediate online publication, provide information to Carole Mathewson, Payson Daily Bugle obituary writer: cmathewson@npgcable.com (Telephone: (928) 474-0753). The Payson Daily Bugle has viewers throughout the U.S. and in countries all over the world. The information in an obituary on the Payson Daily Bugle allows friends and family living anywhere in the world immediate and easy access to the news of a loved one's death and funeral services.

Lloyd Oliver, one of two remaining WWII Navajo Code Talkers, dies

 

And, another distinguished Marine Corps Warrior joins that long line of Soldiers of the Sea who have moved on.  We send our condolences to friends and family and wish Marine Oliver "Fair Winds and Following Seas".

Bill Sahno

Rim Country Detachment, Marine Corps League

Payson, Arizona

Navajo Code Talker Lloyd Oliver passed from this life on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 in Avondale , AZ.

Lloyd Oliver was one of two remaining original 29 WWII Navajo Code Talkers.In 2000, President Clinton signed a law that issued Congressional medals to the original 29 code talkers.  On July 26, 2001, President George W. Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medals to four of the five original Navajo code talkers still living including Mr. Oliver.
The Yavapai-Apache Nation was honored to have Mr. Oliver as one of its community members for several years.  Mr. Oliver was routinely seen cleaning along the roads in Middle Verde, trimming weeds, pruning bushes and picking-up debris.  He will be greatly missed.

See the information below on Mr. Oliver's funeral sent by the NCT Association:

Funeral services will be held on March 19, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.  at Gila Crossing Presbyterian Church in Laveen, AZ 

Directions:  From North: Take I-17 south to I-10 and go west to 51st Ave. Turn south on 51st Ave and drive past Baseline to South Mountain Ave. Turn right (west) and drive to church on left. From South and East: Take I-10 west to 51st Ave. Turn south on 51st Ave and drive past Baseline to South Mountain Ave. Turn right (west) and drive to church on left.

Reception - Gila River Indian Community, District 6 Service Center, 10050 W. St. Johns Rd., Laveen, AZ located one mile south of the church.

Burial service will be held at Gila Crossing Cemetery in the Gila River Indian Community located a half mile south of the Gila River Service Center following all services.

A Tribute to Jack Monschein by Bill Sahno

 “Long Time Payson Resident Remembered”

by Bill Sahno

Some time ago, Payson resident, Jack Monschein, accompanied by a friend, ventured well beyond the bounds of Payson, a thing he seldom did, to attend a meeting of DPS retirees at his old Headquarters site_20thAve. and Encanto in Phoenix. As the retired former DPS Officer with 24 years of service stated, “this is the first time I have returned to the DPS Headquarters in 30 years”

Originally from Staunton, Illinois, Monschein served with the Navy during World War II  and after a few years with Standard Oil, was hired in 1951 by the Arizona Highway Patrol as a dispatcher.  For 24 years he worked his way through the ranks of AHP/DPS.  His service was all in the field of communications.  Working with AT&T and Mountain  Bell, Monschein brought the police teletype to the state in the late 1950’s.  Through his efforts, the National Law Enforcement Teletype Switching (NLETS) Center was located in Phoenix, where it remains today.  For this achievement in law enforcement communications, Monschein was presented the Distinguished Service Award in 1966.

In a letter dated May 9, 1997, NLETS President James Martin wrote: “Although I have never had the pleasure of meeting you, I as president of NLETS, have been given the honor of notifying you that you have been elected to the NLETS Hall of Fame.”

Martin explained that the NLETS Hall of Fame had been created in 1996 in order to permanently acknowledge those individuals who, over the years, had contributed to the creation and growth of the national network.  The new board of directors selected a Veterans Committee to go to work and identify the nation’s most notable contributors to law enforcement telecommunications advances and finally narrowed the field to 78.  Monschein and three others were elected to the NLETS Hall of Fame.

Monschein says the first switching room was about 24 feet long by 16 feet wide.  Coincidently, one of the men primarily responsible for designing and installing the cabinet was Clayton Ricker of Strawberry, a retired AT&T network manager. “We built the units at the Western Electric plant on Indian School Road in Phoenix," Ricker said. "Then we tested it, perfected it and finally moved it to Monschein's office at the highway patrol." And today, said Monschein, the entire control center is housed in a small box.

During his years with the highway patrol, Monschein continued to supervise the improvements made in the communications department.  He made his way up the ladder, with promotions to sergeant, then lieutenant and spent his last 12 years with the department as a major.

“At that time, I was in charge of all the communications statewide for the department,” he said.  “I had seven dispatch centers and I used to travel quite a bit.  I had to try to visit those sites at least once a week.  I had  a total of about 89 dispatchers statewide at one time.” Monschein thought he’d been forgotten long ago.  

“Imagine…..after all those years,” he mused, “I’m almost (but not quite) speechless.”

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony and banquet was held in Chicago on the Fouth of July, 1997 and a framed copy of a 1997 newspaper article hangs on his wall along with an enviable collection of his personal DPS badges collected over the years.

Monschein retired from the DPS in 1975, but remained active in the Rim Country.  He was elected as a town council member in 1976, served for six months and became town manager, serving in that capacity until his second retirement in 1990.  Not one for an idle lifestyle, he made another entry into public service, again, as a town council member and served his final public service tour from 1996-2000.

Reflecting on his service as Payson’s Town Manager, Monschein offered some interesting observations:

·     “As Town Manager my annual salary was $8400.”

·     “I can remember when we had only one policeman (no volunteers), one Fireman (with volunteers) and a dogcatcher.”

·     “We had only one stoplight at 260 and 87.”

·     “In 1976 we had only 19 town employees, we now have over 160.”

·     “We had 90 miles of dedicated town roads and 85% of them were dirt.”

·     “Under Mayor Taylor’s tenure, during 1977 we began a 3 year program to chip and seal all town roads.  That program was completed during 1980 (doing 30 mi per year) and paid for in cash.”

·     “Our fiscal policy during my tenure was cash and carry.  If we couldn’t afford we didn’t obligate for it.”

·     “We started our first town employee medical benefit program during the early 80’s.”

·     “We did not own our water company until we purchased one from United Utilities during the early 80's.  We went into debt for the first time by doing so and absorbed the company’s employees into the town staff.”

·     “We implemented the 1st employee retirement plan during the mid 80’s.”

·     “We initiated no Bond Issues.   We operated a cash and carry fiscal policy.”

·     “We built the first town hall during 1978, a 5,000 sq ft facility, at $23/sqft.  Paid for in cash.”

·     “In 1976 the population of Payson was about 2,800 and when I retired during 1991 it was approximately 12,000.”

Jack Monschein, Navy veteran, former DPS Officer, Payson Town Manager and member of the Town Council, was one of only four nationwide to be elected to the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications Systems Hall of Fame. When running for town council one of Jack's flyers advertised him as being dependable, reliable, candid and honest, a man of integrity.  And indeed, by a record of his deeds,  that is true.

   

No Jack, you are not forgotten and you will always, fondly, be remembered as a part of our town’s legacy.  We appreciate you and your contributions to country and community.  We wish you “Fair Winds and Following Seas”

Semper Fi Mate!

Bill Sahno

Colonel, U. S. Marine Corps (Ret)

WWII hero Tobe Cogswell dead at 93

                                                                     Contributed Photo

Tobe Cogswell, seen here as a young Marine on duty, was awarded a Silver Star and a Purple Heart for his actions in combat. Although Cogswell was proud of his awards, he said he couldn't have done things any differently. "In combat, you don't think about things - you do whatever's necessary."

By Carolyn Wall

(The article below was taken from an interview with Tobe Cogswell in July 2009)


Tobe Cogswell, a Marine Corps League member of Payson, one of the last of the WWII veterans at Guadalcanal between August 1942 and February 1943, died at his home in Payson March 9 at the age of 93.
Cogswell belonged to one other organization, the Guadalcanal Campaign Veterans, an elite group whose numbers are dwindling.

Cogswell went to a reunion of the group in Washington, D. C. in 2008 . He said there were not many members left to tell their stories.

But Cogswell’s memory was sharp and he recalled the details of his time spent on Guadalcanal and how he came to be awarded a Silver Star and a Purple Heart for what he did there.

He explained it simply: “When you’re in combat, you just do what you do.”

Cogswell was 24 years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941. He didn’t have to serve in the military because he was already involved in the war effort, working for a machine shop in Connecticut.

“Like all the guys, after the (Japanese) attacked Pearl Harbor, recruiters were busy as hell that Monday,” he said.

Basic training at Paris Island in South Carolina was cut short.

“Basic training for the Marines was usually three months,” he said. “We did it in five weeks. Then we were sent up to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.”

Cogswell was in intelligence, studying maps and providing the head of the Second Battalion, First Regiment with combat information. The regiment sailed out of San Francisco for New Zealand on June 21, 1942 and got to Wellington, New Zealand some three weeks later.

“We were supposed to go into training,” he said, “but our orders were changed and we had to reload our ship with combat gear. We left July 22 and after we were at sea, we were told we were going into combat.”

On the morning of Aug. 7, Cogswell’s regiment was offshore of Guadalcanal watching the bombarding of the shore – Navy ships were shelling the coastline. After daylight the men on the troop transport went over the side of the ship into Higgins landing crafts and went ashore without opposition.

“We headed for the airport, two or three miles down the coast,” Cogswell said. “These young Marines had never seen a coconut tree in their lives. They were shooting coconuts out of the trees, drinking the milk and getting sick. The main action was across the sound about 25 miles.

“On Guadalcanal, we were shelled by Japanese naval guns the first few days we were on shore, but the big naval battle was Savo Island on Sunday night, Aug. 10.”

During that battle, the Americans lost three cruisers and the Australians lost one.

“And the Navy pulled off and left us,” Cogswell said.

In the following weeks, Cogswell’s regiment made fortifications and set up a perimeter around the air field. Cogswell was put in charge of three other men on an intelligence crew on the west bank of the Tenaru River.

According to the letter of commendation from Cogswell’s commanding officer, a force of 1,000 Japanese attacked the positions of the Second Battalion, First Marines, in the early morning hours of Aug. 21, 1942.

Cogswell’s intelligence team was at an observation post at the end of the point. They were there to observe and report, but the wire of communications to the command post went out at 3 a.m. Ten minutes later, the Japanese attacked with hand grenades, machine guns and bayonets.

The letter of commendation reads: “These four men, rather than withdraw toward the rear, as was warranted by their line of duty, took positions on the front lines and with those Marines already entrenched there, engaged in a furious hand to hand combat with the enemy and drove them back with great losses, preventing them from establishing a foothold on the western side of the Tenaru River.”

Cogswell and two of the men on his team were wounded in the attack, and the one man who was not wounded made his way back through “the bullet swept zone” to the command post to report what happened. All four were recommended for the Navy Cross, but each received the Silver Star.

Cogswell, who was wounded by snipers, was hit on the instep of his left foot and on the ankle of his right leg.

“There were a lot of bullet splinters in my legs,” he said. “Eventually, the colonel came by and told the boys to evacuate me, but I was helping. When I was standing there, and all these (Japanese) were coming at me, my gun jammed, but I had hand grenades and I was throwing those.”

Cogswell and his observation team, along with the rest of his regiment, had been at the Tenaru River under attack some six hours,  from 3 a.m. till 9 a.m.

Cogswell was treated for his wounds on a hospital ship, taken to a mobile hospital for rehab for a month and returned to Guadalcanal on Nov. 13.

“There was a big naval battle – I was ashore, but you could see the gun flashes,” he said. “We were winding down our part of the campaign. The Army units were starting to come in.”

The Guadalcanal Campaign for the Marines went from Aug. 7, 1942 to Feb. 24, 1943. Cogswell’s regiment went under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, and went for retraining in Melbourne, Australia for seven months and then Good Enough Island, off the coast of New Guinea. He was overseas for 26 months and ended his stint with the Marines on Jan. 9, 1946.

After he got out of the service, Cogswell went into the printing industry and worked doing that for 27 years.

He and his wife, Roberta, retired to Payson from Phoenix in 1980.

“We’ve been here ever since,” he said. “I’ve lived a pretty nice life. I’ve always been the type of guy to not get excited about things,” he said. “I take things as they come.”

Cogswell  saved his letter of commendation from his commanding officer. He was proud of the Silver Star and Purple Heart he earned and wouldn’t have done things any differently. He couldn’t have done things any differently.

 “In combat, you don’t think about things,” he said. “You do whatever’s necessary.”

Tobe Cogswell's obituary is now on our Obituary Page.

Former PHS State Heavyweight Champ dies at age 29

Blair River, known as a big man with a big heart, died Tuesday, March 1 at the age of 29. At the time of his death River was living in Mesa. He worked as a financial advisor at the University of Mesa and had gained famed over the past year as a spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill. At 6-feet, 8-inches, River weighed 575 pounds.
River was the State Heavyweight Wrestling Champ in 1999 when he was a senior at Payson High School . He went on to play football at Mesa Community College.
The cause of death is not yet known.
For more on this story go to www.azcentral.com.

The Payson Daily Bugle publishes obituaries

To expedite publication of obituaries, contact Carole Mathewson, cmathewson@npgcable.com, telephone (928) 474-0753.