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UNIVERSITY HONORS AMERICAN INDIAN VETERANS --
"American Indians have served in every conflict
and
every war Americans have ever been in."
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) |
Story here...
http://www.winonadailynews.com/
articles/2007/01/30/news/01lead.txt
Story below:
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American Indian vets honored at WSU
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.
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Larry Scott
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