The last Lakota Code talker from WWII has died. His name was Clearance Wolf Guts, and he passed away Wednesday at a Veteran’s Home in Hot Springs, South Dakota. The Rapid City Journal reports: The 450 Navajo code talkers were the most famous group of Native American soldiers to radio messages from the battlefields, but 15 other tribes used their languages to aid the Allied efforts in World War II. Wolf Guts was one of 11 Lakota, Nakota and Dakota Native American code talkers from South Dakota. Wolf Guts, of Wamblee, enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 17, 1942, at age 18. While in basic training, a general asked Wolf Guts if he spoke Sioux. He explained the three dialects to the general and said he spoke Lakota. Wolf Guts helped develop a phonetic alphabet based on Lakota that was later used to develop a Lakota code. He and three other Sioux code talkers joined the Pacific campaign; Wolf Guts’ primary job was transmitting coded messages from a general to his chief of staff in the field. After the Twin Towers were attacked on 9-11, Clearance Wolf Guts, in his 70′s at the time, had his son call Washington D.C. to ask if his services could be used in helping find those responsible. His patriotism for his country and his sense of duty did not fade with age.
"Nake nula wauŋ welo" The earth and the sky go on forever, but today is a good day to die. A true warrior and patriot. No disrespect intended but it is a bone of contention that the Sioux and especially the Navajo get all the recognition for the code talkers program when it was Choctaw soldiers in France in WW 1 that first came up with the idea and implemented it. They were the original code talkers and renewed the program in WW2. All of them, from whatever tribe, were patriots and warriors and my hats off to them all. Choctaw code talkers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Again, all respect and honor to the warrior above. Here too are a few of the original code talkers who were patriots and heros also. Joseph Oklahombi (May 1, 1895 – 1960). Oklahombi – whose surname in the Choctaw language means man killer – was born at Bokchito, Nashoba County, Choctaw Nation in the Indian Territory. He was a member of the 143rd Infantry, Headquarters Company. Oklahombi is Oklahoma's most decorated war hero, and his medals are on display in the Oklahoma Historical Society in Oklahoma City. On October 8, 1918, Private Oklahombi was at St. Etienne, France. He and 23 other soldiers attacked an enemy position and captured 171 Germans while killing some 79 more. They held their position for four days while under attack. [2] Oklahombi was awarded the Silver Star with Victory Ribbon, and the Croix de Guerre from France's Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain. At the time the members of the Choctaw nation were not formally U.S. citizens.[3] Oklahombi was married and had a son. He was killed on 13 April 1960 when hit by a truck while walking along a road, and was buried with full military honors. Robert Taylor(my great grandfathers older brother) (a full blood Choctaw roll number 916) was born January 13, 1894 in Idabel, McCurtain County, Oklahoma (based on his registration for the military in 1917). He was a member of the 142nd Infantry, Company E. Charles Walter Veach (May 18, 1884 – October 13, 1966). (Choctaw by Blood roll #10021) Veach was from Durant, OK (Blue County I.T.)he served in the last Choctaw legislature and as Captain of the Oklahoma National Guard, 1st Oklahoma, Company H which served on the TX border against Pancho Villa and put down the Crazy Snake Rebellion. He remained Captain when Company H. 1st Oklahoma, was mustered into Company E. 142nd Infantry, 36th Division, U. S. Army at Ft. Bowie, TX in October 1917. After World War II he represented the Choctaw Nation on the Inter-tribal Council of the 5 Civilized Tribes. He is buried in Highland Cemetery, Durant, Oklahoma.
I a related development, long overdue recognition.. This really captures who these Men and all WW II vets were and are: " He also cited the reluctance of the World War II generation to talk about what they had accomplished. "Real warriors, real soldiers, they don't boast about the things they've done," he said. "They walk a very humble road." ................................. Native American code talkers stand during a ceremony in which they received the Congressional Gold Medal in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Nov. 20, 2013. The U.S. Congress awarded the medal as an expression of the nation's profound gratitude to the code talkers for their valor and dedication during World War I and World War II. Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke at the event. DOD photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., joined in the U.S. Capitol’s Emancipation Hall by House and Senate leaders and other officials, recognized 216 code talkers and members of their families from those wars with the highest honor Congress can bestow. Winnefeld said, “During Native American Heritage Month, I have the great privilege of representing the finest military in the world in recognizing hundreds of Native Americans who wore the cloth of our nation in the distinctive way we celebrate today, and in such a courageous way, defending a country that did not always keep its word to their ancestors.” Conceived in 1918, the code talker program eventually comprised more than 400 Native Americans who volunteered to defend the nation, the vice chairman said. The role of the code talkers during the two world wars was kept a secret until 1968, officials said. “Throughout history, military leaders have sought the perfect code -- signals the enemy cannot break, no matter how able the intelligence team,” the vice chairman said. “It was our code talkers who created voice codes that defied decoding.” Winnefeld said the codes were “doubly clever” by using words that were confusing to the enemy, such as “crazy white man” for Adolf Hitler and “tortoise” for tank. “Our code talkers’ role in combat required intelligence, adaptability, grace under pressure, and bravery -- key attributes handed down by their ancestors,” the admiral said. Winnefeld said the code talkers endured some of the nation’s most dangerous battles and served proudly during critical combat operations, such as the Choctaws at the Meuse-Argonne, Comanches on Utah Beach on D-Day, Hopis in the Caroline Islands and the Cherokees at the Second Battle of the Somme. “These men were integral members of their teams -- the 36th Infantry Division, the 4th Signals Company, the 81st Infantry Division, the 30th Infantry Division -- learning Morse code and operating equipment to transmit messages quickly and accurately,” he added. Contributing even more than battle skills, the code talkers also “fundamentally contributed to our military intelligence community’s work” in cryptology, Winnefeld said. The National Security Agency Museum highlights the code talkers of World War I and World War II as pioneers of this specialty, he added. The code talkers are a national resource, a wellspring of intelligence, innovation, hard work and resilience, the vice chairman said. “We can best honor these great warriors among us not just with well-deserved and long overdue recognition,” the vice chairman said, “but also with our own efforts to continue leveraging our nation’s diversity and to forever honor our veterans.” Defense.gov News Article: Native American Code Talkers Get Congressional Gold Medal