By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – The heroic contributions of code talkers from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians during World War I were highlighted during the Memorial Day observance on Monday, May 26 in Cherokee, N.C. The event was hosted by the Steve Youngdeer American Legion Post 143.
Opening the event, Warren Dupree, Post 143 commander, said, “This day that we commemorate annually every year is a day of honor and remembrance to all those men and women who gave the last full measure.
Warren Dupree, Steve Youngdeer American Legion Post 143 commander, gives a presentation entitled “Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Code Talkers in World War I” during a Memorial Day observance held at Post headquarters in Cherokee, N.C. on the morning of Monday, May 26. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
This is in remembrance for all of those men and women who gave that last full measure, that were killed in action, and for those that are still missing in action. This is to remember them, that we never forget their presence. They may not be with us in body, but they are in spirit.”
He went on to talk about the EBCI Code Talkers’ service during World War I. “Following passage of the Selective Service Act of 1917, 117 young men from the Qualla Boundary submitted themselves and duly registered for the selective service. Of this number, 79 young men, and there was one female, Lula Owl Gloyne, entered active duty in the fall of 1917. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians young recruits all reported to Camp Jackson in Columbia, S.C.”
According to information from the National Museum of the U.S. Army (NMUSA), “In late September 1918, the 30th Infantry Division realized a dangerous flaw in U.S. Army signal communications: the messages were not secret. The Germans quickly intercepted and translated messages sent in plain English. The enemy used the messages to discover Allied force’s locations and gain an advantage on the battlefield. Upon this discovery, a group of Eastern Band Cherokee used their Native language to communicate for the 105th Field Artillery Battalion, 30th Infantry Division. The Cherokee Soldiers successfully delivered messages between Allied troops without interception by the enemy. The Cherokee Code Talkers continued their work until the end of the war.”
Commander Dupree said on Monday that finding exact names has been difficult. “Attempting to determine how many Cherokees served in the 30th Infantry Division, their identities, and which individuals were used for Native communication, for their service, is extremely difficult…we have a roster of those 117 who were duly registered in the selective service. I have a few of those who served overseas, but we do not know who they all were. Identifying soldiers who have served as code talkers is difficult. Military records do not provide the exact number of Cherokee who were used as communicators, their names, or exactly how many locations they were used at.”
The NMUSA information states the importance of the EBCI contribution to the history of code talking. “The Eastern Band Cherokees’ work during the Second Battle of the Somme marks them as the earliest documented use of Native Code Talkers by the U.S. Army. However, anecdotal evidence suggests the Ho-Chunk were the first to use their Native language in code in early 1918.”
The Navajo Nation was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal honoring its Code Talkers with the passage of Public Law 106-554 in 2001. Seven years later, the Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008 was passed honoring the Code Talkers of 31 other federally recognized tribes with a Congressional Gold Medal.
Those tribes include: Cherokee Nation, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Choctaw Nation, Comanche Nation, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Crow Nation, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, Ho-Chunk Nation, Hopi Tribe, Kiowa Tribe, Menominee Nation, Meskwaki Nation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Oneida Nation, Osage Nation, Pawnee Nation, Ponca Tribe, Pueblo of Acoma Tribe, Pueblo of Laguna Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Santee Sioux Nation, Seminole Nation, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe, St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Tlingit Tribe, Tonto Apache Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, and the Yankton Sioux Tribe.
During Monday’s ceremony, Lew Harding, an EBCI tribal elder and former Post 143 commander, performed the Ringing of the Bell of Honor and Remembrance ceremony honoring all of the members of the EBCI who were killed in action in wars during the 20th century.
Commander Dupree said Post 143 will seek Congressional recognition for the Code Talkers of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “They blazed the trail. They set the bar. And we will pursue national recognition for their service.”
Kolanvyi (Big Cove) Rep. Perry Shell, a U.S. Army veteran, said Monday, “Whether or not people realize it today, what they (code talkers) did, impacts where we are now. Those people whose lives that our people saved by keeping secret what was combat plans, they wouldn’t be here. Some people would not be here were it not for what we did, or what our people did.”
He then read the patriotic piece entitled “In Flanders Field”.
Following the reading, Rep. Shell, Commander Dupree, and Tsisqwohi (Birdtown) Rep. Jim Owle, a U.S. Navy veteran, placed a Wreath of Remembrance.
Then, Lew Harding, an EBCI tribal elder and former Post 143 commander, performed the Ringing of the Bell of Honor and Remembrance ceremony honoring all of the members of the EBCI who were killed in action in wars during the 20th century.
The list includes:
World War I: Steve Youngdeer (U.S. Army), Joe Kalonaheskie (U.S. Army)
World War II: Boyd Catt (U.S. Army), Jacob Cornsilk (U.S. Army), Adam West Driver (U.S. Marine Corps), James R. Lambert (U.S. Army), Samuel William Otter (U.S. Navy), Blaine Queen (U.S. Army), Mark Rattler (U.S. Marine Corps), Isaac Ross (U.S. Army), Joshua Shell (U.S. Army), Sheridan Smith (U.S. Marine Corps), Vernon George Sneed (U.S. Army), William Taylor (U.S. Navy), Enos Thompson (U.S. Army), Jeremiah Toineeta (U.S. Army), Robert Austin Wahneeta (U.S. Marine Corps), Clarence Albert Murphy (U.S. Army)
Korea: Charles Arch (U.S. Marine Corps), Charles George (U.S. Army, Medal of Honor recipient)
Vietnam: John Burgess (U.S. Army), John Edward Oocumma (U.S. Army)
