Pfc. Joseph Oklahombi, Choctaw code talker

Joseph Oklahombi was an American soldier of the Choctaw nation. He was the most-decorated World War I soldier from Oklahoma. He served in Company D, First Battalion, 141st Regiment, Seventy-first Brigade of the Thirty-sixth Infantry Division during World War I, where he was one of the Choctaw code talkers.

On October 8, 1918, Private Oklahombi was at Saint-Étienne, France. He and 23 other soldiers attacked an enemy position and captured 171 Germans while killing some 79 more. They held their position for four days while under attack. Oklahombi was awarded the Silver Star with Victory Ribbon, and the Croix de Guerre from France's Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain. At the time the members of the Choctaw nation were not formally U.S. citizens.

Oklahombi was married and had a son. He was killed on 13 April 1960 when hit by a truck while walking along a road. He was buried with military honors at Yashau Cemetery in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Per Chief Gary Batton of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, on 28 March 2016:

"Many of you know the story of the Choctaw Code Talkers of WWI and WWII and also the story of Code Talker Joseph Oklahombi, who single-handedly captured 171 Germans after moving 200 yards over open ground against artillery and machine gun fire, rushing a machine gun nest and capturing one of the guns. He not only turned the gun on the enemy for four days, keeping them under fire, he was without food and water those four days, killing numerous enemy soldiers until the rest surrendered. Although [retroactively] awarded … the Silver Star and Marshal Pétain, former Commander-in-Chief of the French Armies of the East, awarded him the Croix de Guerre, the Congressional Medal of Honor was never presented. It is a long-overdue recognition and I am working to see the Medal of Honor presented to Oklahombi."

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Biography by Geni curator Marvin Caulk:

Code Talker Joseph Oklahombi, 141st Infantry, was born May 1, 1894. From Wright City, Oklahoma, he has been lauded as oklahoma's greatest war hero of World War I. he walked from his home to enlist as Idabel, the county seat. After his basic training he was sent to France. A member of Company D, 14st Infrantry, 36th Division, a month before the armistice in 1918, He and his buddies were cut off from the rest of the company. Coming across a German machine gun emplacement with 50 trench mortars and crossing "No Mans Land", the Choctaw warrior assisted his wounded friends and carried information back to headquarters about the enemy. Oklahombi moved 200 yards over open ground against artillery and machine gun fire, rushing a machine gun nest and capturing on of the guns. Turning the weapon on the enemy, the American held the Germans down with blistering fire for four days until their surrender. Of the enemy, 171 were taken prisoner. General orders cited him for bravery for his actions. He was awarded the Silver Star to be worn on the Victory Ribbon by General Pershing, and the Croix De Guerre from Marshall Pertain.

Oklahombi, returned hom from the war with no triumphant entry into the port of New York, no bands playing nor ticket tape parade. merely another soldier from the war. He nested back into his home in the Kiamichi Mountains in southeastern Oklahoma, with his wife and son.

The Choctaw hero was always reluctant to talk about his war experiences. Refusing to even speak English in public, Oklahombi, spoke in his own Choctaw language at a reception honoring him at Southeastern State College. In 1992, his medals we reissued to his son, Jonah. They are on display at the Choctaw Capitol Meseum at Tushka Homma.

He was killed in an accident near his home on April 13, 1960.

Sources

• Barnes, Kathy Londo. "PFC Joseph Oklahombi." FindAGrave, published 21 November 2010. < link > Accessed 1 May 2022.
• Delashaw, Corie. "Oklahombi, Joseph (1895–1960)." Oklahoma Historical Society. < link > Accessed 1 May 2022.
• "Joseph Oklahombi." U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007 via MyHeritage. < link > Accessed 1 May 2022.
  • Name: Joseph Oklahombi; Record Type: Claim; Birth: May 1 1895; Claim Date: Oct 5 1960; Submission date: Oct 4 1960; Death: Apr 13 1960; Field Office Address: MCALESTER OK; Reference Number: 66230943247; Description: Death claim.
• "Joseph Oklahombi." U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI) via MyHeritage. < link > Accessed 1 May 2022.
  • Name: Joseph Oklahombi; Birth: May 1 1895; Death: Apr 1960; Last residence: USA; SSN issuing state: Oklahoma.
• "Joseph Oklahombi." Wikipedia, revision of 23 March 2022. < link > Accessed 1 May 2022.
• "Joseph Oklahombi Is Killed." McCurtain Gazette via Newspapers.com, published 16 April 1960. < link > Accessed 1 May 2022.
• Patton, James. "Native Americans in the Great War – Pvt. Joseph Oklahombi." Kansas World War I Centennial Committee, published 7 January 2017. < link > Accessed 1 May 2022.