Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 17, 2006 22:13:06 GMT -5
Highly decorated soldier passes
Staff reports
www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412276
LANDER, Wyo. - Air Force Master Sgt. Samuel Nathan Blatchford, one of
the most highly decorated American Indian veterans, died Dec. 23.
Blatchford, Navajo, was born at Fort Defiance, Ariz. on June 23,
1924. After a boyhood spent on the reservation and an education in
mission schools, he first enlisted in the 7th Cavalry in 1941. He
later transferred to the Army Air Corps, where he served as a radio
operator on a B-17G ''Flying Fortress'' in the European Theater of
Operations during World War II. During WW II he was shot down three
times, the last time over Brittany, France.
He was rescued by the French Underground and stayed with them for
three months, assisting in subversive activities despite being
wounded. He was captured by the Gestapo while trying to make his way
back to England, and was a prisoner of war interned at Stalag XVII-B
for 18 months until he was liberated by the 13th Armored Division of
Lt. Gen. George Patton Jr.'s 3rd Army. Despite his ordeal, he went on
to serve in both the Korean conflict and the Vietnam War.
During his military career he received 28 medals, including the
Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak
leaf cluster, four Purple Hearts, six Air Medals and the Prisoner of
War Medal. In 1990 he was adopted by the Sioux Nation and was given
the Yellow Eagle Feather, the highest honor a Lakota warrior can
receive. He retired in January 1977.
Following his military service, he earned a B.S. in civil engineering
and his master's degree in business administration, and served as a
site manager for Boeing Services International at a U.S. Air Force
installation in Turkey. A highly patriotic man, he remained active
throughout the rest of his life in both the military and American
Indian communities. While still in the military, he returned to
France and reunited with his dear friends in the French Underground.
He was honored several times by both the Underground and the French
government.
Staff reports
www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412276
LANDER, Wyo. - Air Force Master Sgt. Samuel Nathan Blatchford, one of
the most highly decorated American Indian veterans, died Dec. 23.
Blatchford, Navajo, was born at Fort Defiance, Ariz. on June 23,
1924. After a boyhood spent on the reservation and an education in
mission schools, he first enlisted in the 7th Cavalry in 1941. He
later transferred to the Army Air Corps, where he served as a radio
operator on a B-17G ''Flying Fortress'' in the European Theater of
Operations during World War II. During WW II he was shot down three
times, the last time over Brittany, France.
He was rescued by the French Underground and stayed with them for
three months, assisting in subversive activities despite being
wounded. He was captured by the Gestapo while trying to make his way
back to England, and was a prisoner of war interned at Stalag XVII-B
for 18 months until he was liberated by the 13th Armored Division of
Lt. Gen. George Patton Jr.'s 3rd Army. Despite his ordeal, he went on
to serve in both the Korean conflict and the Vietnam War.
During his military career he received 28 medals, including the
Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak
leaf cluster, four Purple Hearts, six Air Medals and the Prisoner of
War Medal. In 1990 he was adopted by the Sioux Nation and was given
the Yellow Eagle Feather, the highest honor a Lakota warrior can
receive. He retired in January 1977.
Following his military service, he earned a B.S. in civil engineering
and his master's degree in business administration, and served as a
site manager for Boeing Services International at a U.S. Air Force
installation in Turkey. A highly patriotic man, he remained active
throughout the rest of his life in both the military and American
Indian communities. While still in the military, he returned to
France and reunited with his dear friends in the French Underground.
He was honored several times by both the Underground and the French
government.