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Showing posts from January, 2016

A Soldier's Story: Private First Class Joseph Oklahombi

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Charley Jones. The historian of the Choctaw nation tells us that Pushmataha, a Choctaw chief from the early 1800s, once predicted that the Choctaw war cry would be heard in a foreign land. WWI fulfilled Chief Pushmataha's prediction. Joseph Oklahombi, born May 1, 1895, enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 25, 1918. Remarkably, Private First Class Joseph Oklahombi (and other Choctaw tribal members) enlisted at all. Unfortunately, the United States government did not, at this time, recognize Native Americans as Citizens. Private First Class Joseph Oklahombi, with 19 other Choctaw tribal members, was the first "code talkers" for the U.S. Military and used the Choctaw language to confuse and stump the German army. The success of the Choctaw Code Talkers paved the way for the future use of Native American languages (the Navajo and Comanche) to confuse enemies. Private First Class Joseph Oklahombi is also considered to be Oklahoma's most decorated WWI soldier. Earning a ...

A Soldier's Story: Captain Maude C. Davison

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Captain Maude Davison was born March 27, 1885, to Ernest and Janet (Siddus) Campbell, in Cannington, Ontario, Canada. Captain Maude Davison initially trained as a Dietitian, earning her certificate from the MacDonald School of Home Economics. Then, she immigrated to the United States, working as a dietitian in South Bend, Indiana, before moving to California and attending the Pasadena Hospital Training School for Nurses. She graduated in 1917. Captain Maude Davison's military career began with her enlistment as a reserve nurse in the Army Nurses Corp in 1918. In 1920 became a US citizen and a member of the Regular Army Nurses Corps. She was assigned to the Philippines in 1939 as Chief Nurse and served in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked in December 1941, and World War II erupted. Transferring to the underground hospital in Corregidor, Captain Maude Davidson continued to supervise the nursing until the surrender of Corregidor in May 1942. Captain Maude Davison'...