Post by Okwes on Apr 26, 2007 12:12:05 GMT -5
American Indian vets honored at WSU
Duane Wanna, from the Sisseton-Wahpeton Lake Traverse Reservation in northeast South Dakota, participates in the American Indian Veterans Honoring Ceremony held Monday at Winona State University in Winona , Minn. (Photo by James A. Bowey/Winona Daily News)
By Käri Knutson / Winona Daily News
.
The contributions of American Indian Veterans were celebrated Monday with a ceremony at Winona State University’s Kryzsko Commons’ East Hall.
Representatives of the Flandreau Color Guard, Sisseton Vietnam Veteran Color Guard, Sisseton Bravo Color Guard, Sisseton Agency Village American Legion Post 314 Color Guard, American Legion Post 9 Color Guard of Winona, Veteran of Foreign Wars Post 1287 Color Guard and Hiawatha Valley Color Guard marched and carried flags in honor of all those who served.
An estimated 12,000 American Indians served in World War I and 44,000 served in World War II, according to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs. That was out of an estimated total American Indian population of less than 350,000, making them the largest ethnic group to serve per capita.
Donald Loudner, national commander of the American Indian Veterans, talked about his group’s efforts to represent and help American Indian vets.
“American Indians have served in every conflict and every war Americans have ever been in,” Loudner said.
He said that many veterans don’t come forward to receive benefits that they are eligible for. American Indian Veterans is working to improve care for those veterans and also surviving spouses who may be eligible.
Loudner introduced Clarence Wolf Guts, a World War II veteran who was a Lakota code talker during the war.
“These code talkers were the real heroes of World War II,” Loudner said.
American Indians transmitted messages using codes based upon their native languages. Wolf Guts joined the service when he was 18, serving in the Pacific.
“I’ll do whatever I can,” Wolf Guts remembers thinking when he was called upon to be a code talker.
Wolf Guts is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and lives on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota. Wolf Guts is modest and brief when talking about his time in the service.
“I love everyone. It doesn’t matter what color you are,” Wolf Guts said. “In the eyes of the good Lord, we’re all brothers and sisters.”
Contact Käri Knutson at kknutson@winonadailynews.com or 453-3523.
Duane Wanna, from the Sisseton-Wahpeton Lake Traverse Reservation in northeast South Dakota, participates in the American Indian Veterans Honoring Ceremony held Monday at Winona State University in Winona , Minn. (Photo by James A. Bowey/Winona Daily News)
By Käri Knutson / Winona Daily News
.
The contributions of American Indian Veterans were celebrated Monday with a ceremony at Winona State University’s Kryzsko Commons’ East Hall.
Representatives of the Flandreau Color Guard, Sisseton Vietnam Veteran Color Guard, Sisseton Bravo Color Guard, Sisseton Agency Village American Legion Post 314 Color Guard, American Legion Post 9 Color Guard of Winona, Veteran of Foreign Wars Post 1287 Color Guard and Hiawatha Valley Color Guard marched and carried flags in honor of all those who served.
An estimated 12,000 American Indians served in World War I and 44,000 served in World War II, according to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs. That was out of an estimated total American Indian population of less than 350,000, making them the largest ethnic group to serve per capita.
Donald Loudner, national commander of the American Indian Veterans, talked about his group’s efforts to represent and help American Indian vets.
“American Indians have served in every conflict and every war Americans have ever been in,” Loudner said.
He said that many veterans don’t come forward to receive benefits that they are eligible for. American Indian Veterans is working to improve care for those veterans and also surviving spouses who may be eligible.
Loudner introduced Clarence Wolf Guts, a World War II veteran who was a Lakota code talker during the war.
“These code talkers were the real heroes of World War II,” Loudner said.
American Indians transmitted messages using codes based upon their native languages. Wolf Guts joined the service when he was 18, serving in the Pacific.
“I’ll do whatever I can,” Wolf Guts remembers thinking when he was called upon to be a code talker.
Wolf Guts is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and lives on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota. Wolf Guts is modest and brief when talking about his time in the service.
“I love everyone. It doesn’t matter what color you are,” Wolf Guts said. “In the eyes of the good Lord, we’re all brothers and sisters.”
Contact Käri Knutson at kknutson@winonadailynews.com or 453-3523.