Description
sz10.25 Lloyd Oliver Navajo code talker high grade Nevada turquoise sterling silver ring. Tested and guaranteed solid sterling silver. Nice ring from the third quarter of the 20th century. Some expected wear, weight and measurements in pictures. Stone is great, looks like it‘s likely Lone Mountain or another high grade Nevada mine.
Oliver was born April 23, 1923, into Bit‘ahnii (Folded Arms Clan), born for Kinlichíi‘nii (Red House Clan). His chei was Naakaii Dine‘é (Mexican People Clan) and his nálí was Tódích‘íi‘nii (Bitter Water Clan).
He grew up in Shiprock, where he graduated from Shiprock Agricultural High School in 1941. A year later, at age 19, he enlisted in the Marines and became one of the first of the elite group later named the Navajo Code Talkers.
He didn‘t set out to be a hero, said Oliver‘s nephew Lawrence Oliver, whose father Willard also was a code talker.
"I was sitting with my dad once and asked him if he knew why Uncle Lloyd enlisted," Lawrence said. "(Willard) said that (Lloyd‘s) girlfriend was mad at him."
Willard Oliver died in 2009.
Lloyd Oliver served in the Marines until 1945, when he was discharged with the rank of corporal. More than five decades would pass before his family knew how pivotal he had been in winning the war in the Pacific.
Like thousands of other GI‘s, Oliver returned to his hometown, married and had a child. Things didn‘t work out, however, and he moved to Phoenix to find work.
There he learned silver- and metalsmithing, and developed a distinctive style as a jewelry maker. He supported himself selling his work through Atkinson‘s Trading Post in Scottsdale, Ariz., continuing well into his 70s.
Oliver was known for being industrious and self-sufficient. His grandson, Steven Lloyd Oliver, recalls a visit the two made to New York City in 2009, where the code talkers had been invited to take part in the Veteran‘s Day parade.
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