Joseph Oklahombi

The United States government has a long history of treating Native Americans with disrespect.  While it is always important to highlight these actions, it is also important to include Native Americans in different historical contexts.  While the World War II Navajo Code Talkers are often discussed in the classroom, the World War I contributions of the Choctaw Nation are often overlooked. 

Joseph Oklahombi was a member of the Choctaw Nation and a Oklahoma native.  He walked twenty two miles to enlist in the Army during World War I.  Oklahombi was a pioneer Code Talker who traveled with the 141st, 142nd,  and 143rd Infantry regiments on the Meuse Argonne campaign to prevent further German aggression. He was one of the many Native Americans who used their unique native language to protect important military communications in France. After being separated from a regiment Oklahombi and twenty three other Choctaw strayed into a large German regiment.  They ran over two hundred meters and took control of a German machine gun post. He turned the captured machine gun against the German enemies and held out for four days without food or water.  His actions led to the capture of one hundred and seventy one prisoners.