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Release prepared by Tech. Sgt. Gregory Ripps, (512) 657-8654

Choctaw code talkers to be honored by Texas Military Forces

AUSTIN, Texas (Aug. 10, 2007) – The Texas Military Forces will honor the Choctaw “code talkers” of World War I during events on Camp Mabry Sept. 16.

Less well known than the Navaho code talkers in the Pacific theater of operations in World War II, the Choctaws pioneered the U.S. military’s use of an American Indian language to baffle enemy code-breakers.

Lt. Gen. Charles G. Rodriguez, Adjutant General of Texas, will present 18 Lone Star Medals of Valor to the families of the Choctaw code-talkers Sept. 16. Attending the presentation will be family members of the Choctaw code-talkers and officials of the Choctaw Nation.

There will also be a special dedication of the Choctaw code talkers exhibit at the Brig. Gen. John C.L. Scribner Military Forces Museum on Camp Mabry and a reception afterwards. These events will take place on the same day as the 36th Infantry Division’s change of command ceremony, which will have a place on the reviewing stand for the Choctaw delegation.

During World War I, Choctaw soldiers were organized into Company E of the 142nd Infantry Division, part of the Texas National Guard’s 36th Infantry Division. While on the Western Front in France, an officer overheard two Choctaw soldiers talking to each other over a radio. Since American units had suffered losses because the Germans were able to listen to their radio conversations, the thought struck him that none of the Germans would understand the Choctaws’ language.

At first eight Choctaws were quickly trained to become radio communicators, then six more. They developed a code that used Choctaw words for certain military terms and were assigned to different headquarters. During the German’s major 1918 offense in the Meuse-Argonne region, their communications resulted in a successful counterattack against the Germans, whose offensive – their last – ultimately failed.

The Lone Star Medal of Valor, the second highest decoration awarded by Texas Military Forces, will be the first U.S. military medal to recognize the service of the Choctaw code talkers.

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