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World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Lt. Col. Ernest Childers
"The American Indian has only one country to defend, and when you're picked on,
the American Indian never turns his back." --Ernest Childers - 2001
In the 20th century, five American Indian soldiers have been among those receiving the United States 'highest military honor: the Medal of Honor. Given for military heroism "above and beyond the call of duty," these distinguished warriors displayed extraordinary bravery in the face of their enemy. Two of these men sacrificed their lives. A Native American Creek from Oklahoma, and a first Lieutenant with the 45th Infantry Division. Childers received the Medal of Honor for heroic action in 1943 when, up against machine gun fire, he and eight men charged the enemy. Although suffering a broken foot in the assault, Childers ordered covering fire and advanced up the hill, single-handedly killing two snipers, silencing two machine gun nests, and capturing an enemy mortar observer. Childers, who retired in 1965 at Fort Still, Okla., first arrived at Fort Drum - then called Pine Camp - on Nov. 8, 1942, to train before going overseas.
"They gave their tomorrows so that we could have our to-days."
Hoka Hey
"Take pride in what you do and be the best in what you do," said retired Army Lt. Col. Ernest Childers, a Creek Indian born in Broken Arrow, Okla. "Kill or be Killed. Kill them before they do it to you, if you go to war."
Ernest Childers, One of five American Indians to receive Medal of Honor passes away
CITATION:
CHILDERS, ERNEST
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 45th Infantry Division. Place and date: At Oliveto, Italy, 22 September 1943. Entered service at: Tulsa, Okla. Birth: Broken Arrow, Okla. G.O. No.: 30, 8 April 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action on 22 September 1943, at Oliveto, Italy. Although 2d Lt. Childers previously had just suffered a fractured instep he, with 8 enlisted men, advanced up a hill toward enemy machinegun nests. The group advanced to a rock wall overlooking a cornfield and 2d Lt. Childers ordered a base of fire laid across the field so that he could advance. When he was fired upon by 2 enemy snipers from a nearby house he killed both of them. He moved behind the machinegun nests and killed all occupants of the nearer one. He continued toward the second one and threw rocks into it. When the 2 occupants of the nest raised up, he shot 1. The other was killed by 1 of the 8 enlisted men. 2d Lt. Childers continued his advance toward a house farther up the hill, and single-handed, captured an enemy mortar observer. The exceptional leadership, initiative, calmness under fire, and conspicuous gallantry displayed by 2d Lt. Childers were an inspiration to his men.
Ernest Childers - Coweta, Oklahoma
Creek Heritage - "The Creek Nation (also known as the Muskogee) was a confederacy--an alliance of separate and independent tribes that gradually became, over a long period, a single political organization. Through most of its history, however, the Confederacy was a dynamic institution, constantly changing in size as tribes, for whatever reason, entered the alliance or left it. ... This fluctuating population base...has confounded the attempts of historians and anthropologists to generalize about the Creeks. One can be clear or correct, but rarely both." According to Creek traditions, the Confederacy migrated to Georgia in the southeastern United States from the Southwest. The confederacy was probably formed as a defense against other large groups to the north. The name "Creek" came from the shortening of "Ocheese Creek" Indians -- a name given by the English to the native people living along the Ocheese Creek (or Ocmulgee River). In time, the name was applied to all groups of the confederacy.
When a Creek town reached a population of about 400-600 people they would split, with about half moving to a new, nearby site. The new town would build its ceremonial center and develop its own villages, but would also retain a "mother-daughter" relationship with its original town. This is how the confederacies were formed. Creek legends tell of palisaded, compact towns. By the 1700's Creek towns began to spread out, reflecting a move to an agrarian lifestyle. At the end of this century it was not uncommon for each town to have outlying homes separated by a mile or more of crops. The Creek adopted the plow and ax and raised livestock. While most Creek still lived in traditional huts (not teepees) roofed with wood shingles or grass some began to build log homes with chimneys. By the end of the century Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins described the Creek towns as being "well fenced with fine stocks of cattle, horses and hogs surrounded by fields of corn, rice and pototoes (sic)."
The modern capitol of the Creek Nation is in Okmulgee, OK.
Heroes honored at Chilocco reunion
By Ty McMahan Tulsa World 7/1/01
The school boasts two alumni who have been awarded the Medal of Honor. When Ernest Childers joined the National Guard unit on the Chilocco Indian Agriculture School campus in 1937, he never knew it was his first step to becoming a hero. Seven years later, as a second lieutenant serving in World War II, a parade was held outside a U.S. Army hospital in Italy for Childers and the Medal of Honor was placed around his neck. He was the first American Indian ever to receive the award. Saturday, fellow Chilocco alumni and armed forces members honored Childers at the Company "C" Veterans Breakfast, which was held as part of the annual Chilocco alumni reunion. Around 400 alumni from across the nation gather at the yearly reunion to reminisce about times they spent at the school near Ponca City, which shut its doors in 1980. The reunion takes place every year and alternates locations between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. This year's four-day event, which runs through Sunday, was based at the Sheraton Hotel in Tulsa. Festivities included class reunions, a pow-wow, games, a banquet and a dance. Childers, Creek Indian, is one of two Chilocco alumni to receive the Medal of Honor. Jack Montgomery also received the honor in 1945. Charles LeClair, a retired Army chaplain and member of Chilocco's class of 1948, said it is very rare to have two Medal of Honor winners from the same school. "I would say that there is no other school in the country that has two medal winners that are heroes of the caliber of these men," LeClair said. Chilocco was established for American Indian students as a four-year academic and trade school. Many American Indians got their start in the military by serving in the school's National Guard unit. One of those veterans, Vernon Tsoodle, said since the school closed the reunions have been much more sentimental. "It was a sad occasion to see it close," Tsoodle said. "But it is always neat to come back and meet with your old schoolmates." Childers earned his Medal of Honor for his actions on Sept. 22, 1943, in Oliveto, Italy. Although Childers had previously suffered a fractured foot, he and eight other soldiers advanced up a hill toward enemy machine- gun nests. Moving ahead by himself, he killed two snipers who were firing on him from a nearby house. "I felt the heat from the bullets, so I came to the conclusion that they were after me," Childers said. After taking out both machine-gun nests, Childers continued his advance toward a house farther up the hill and single- handedly captured an enemy mortar observer. Childers' nephew said his uncle is a hero among military men and women and American Indians. "Every where within the Indian community people say `Ernest Childers is an inspiration to me,' " said Ken Childers, who served in Vietnam as a Navy pilot. Montgomery received his Medal of Honor for action on Feb. 22, 1944. Armed with a rifle and hand grenades, the first lieutenant crawled into a German infantry position consisting of four machine guns and a mortar and killed eight of the enemy and captured four.
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 26, 2001
Remarks by the President in a Ceremony Honoring the Navajo Code Talkers
Rotunda, U.S. Capitol
Listen to the President's Remarks
View the President's Remarks
Washington, D.C.
1:41 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Today, America honors 21 Native Americans who, in a desperate hour, gave their country a service only they could give. In war, using their native language, they relayed secret messages that turned the course of battle. At home, they carried for decades the secret of their own heroism. Today, we give these exceptional Marines the recognition they earned so long ago.
I want to thank the Congress for inviting me here, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank Senators Campbell, Bingaman and Johnson and Congressman Udall for their leadership. I want to thank Sergeant Major McMichael, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Washington, D.C.
The gentlemen with us, John Brown, Chester Nez, Lloyd Oliver, Allen Dale June and Joe Palmer, represented by his son Kermit, are the last of the original Navajo Code Talkers. In presenting gold medals to each of them, the Congress recognizes their individual service, bravely offered and flawlessly performed.
With silver medals, we also honor the dozens more who served later, with the same courage and distinction. And with all these honors, America pays tribute to the tradition and community that produced such men, the great Navajo Nation. The paintings in this rotunda tell of America and its rise as a nation. Among them are images of the first Europeans to reach the coast, and the first explorer to come upon the Mississippi.
But before all these firsts on this continent, there were the first people. They are depicted in the background, as if extras in the story. Yet, their own presence here in America predates all human record. Before others arrived, the story was theirs alone.
Today we mark a moment of shared history and shared victory. We recall a story that all Americans can celebrate, and every American should know. It is a story of ancient people, called to serve in a modern war. It is a story of one unbreakable oral code of the Second World War, messages traveling by field radio on Iwo Jima in the very language heard across the Colorado plateau centuries ago.
Above all, it's a story of young Navajos who brought honor to their nation and victory to their country. Some of the Code Talkers were very young, like Albert Smith, who joined the Marines at 15. In order to enlist, he said, I had to advance my age a little bit. At least one code talker was over-age, so he claimed to be younger in order to serve. On active duty, their value was so great, and their order so sensitive, that they were closely guarded. By war's end, some 400 Navajos had served as Code Talkers. Thirteen were killed in action, and their names, too, are on today's roll of honor.
Regardless of circumstances, regardless of history, they came forward to serve America. The Navajo code itself provides a part of the reason. Late in his life, Albert Smith explained, the code word for America was, "Our Mother." Our Mother stood for freedom, our religion, our ways of life, and that's why we went in. The Code Talkers joined 44,000 Native Americans who wore the uniform in World War II. More than 12,000 Native Americans fought in World War I. Thousands more served in Korea, Vietnam and serve to this very day.
Twenty-four Native Americans have earned the highest military distinction of all, the Medal of Honor , including Ernest Childers , who was my guest at the White House last week. In all these wars and conflicts, Native Americans have served with the modesty and strength and quiet valor their tradition has always inspired.
That tradition found full expression in the Code Talkers, in those absent, and in those with us today. Gentlemen, your service inspires the respect and admiration of all Americans, and our gratitude is expressed for all time, in the medals it is now my honor to present.
May God bless you all. (Applause.)
(The medals are presented.) (Applause.)
END 1:48 P.M. EDT
Veterans Park in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma The park is centered around a statue dedicated to Lt. Col. Ernest Childers, World War II Medal of Honor recipient from Broken Arrow. The statue is one of the last works by internationally known Native American sculptor, the late Allan Houser.
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