Navajo Code Talker, PFC, Preston Toledo
Born: Broncho, Torrance County, New Mexico, USA
Died: December 15, 2004, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Burial Site: SFNC, Section 13, Site 648
Awards: Congressional Silver Medal
Preston Toledo, a Navajo and native of New Mexico, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on October 17, 1942. PFC Toledo served as a Navajo Code Talker in the Pacific Theater during World War II, until December 26, 1945. A photograph of Toledo, and cousin, Frank Toledo, relaying coded information during the war was included in a traveling exhibition by the Smithsonian Institution beginning in 2006. This image made them a face of the Code Talkers for many. The exhibit followed the presentation of the Congressional Silver Medal to Code Talkers in 2001. Toledo died December 15, 2004 following an auto accident.
Please note, this biography is incomplete. If you are a relative or close friend of this veteran, we encourage you to contact us at vlgp@sfcc.edu to complete this biography with your story and documentation (if available).
Preston Toledo in uniform. Find-a-Grave, Photo added by JoyceS on 28 Feb 2007. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10291668/preston-toledo/photo#view-photo=5359983
Preston Toledo (left) newspaper photo with cousin. Find-a-Grave. Photo added by michellerenee68 on 26 Sep 2010. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10291668/preston-toledo/photo#view-photo=33566275
Preston Toledo newspaper clipping. Find-a-Grave. Vindicator I on 03 Apr 2021. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10291668/preston-toledo/photo#view-photo=225015343
Preston Toledo newspaper clipping. Find-a-Grave. Photo added by NEIL O’CONNOR on 17 Nov 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10291668/preston-toledo/photo#view-photo=307694211
Preston Toledo gravestone. Find-a-Grave. Photo added by Tex&Texie on 06 Mar 2014. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10291668/preston-toledo/photo#view-photo=97387926
Featured Image: Preston Toledo in uniform. Find-a-Grave, Photo added by JoyceS on 28 Feb 2007. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10291668/preston-toledo/photo#view-photo=5359983