This is not to take away from any Native American Code talkers in WWI and WWII.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talker
Use of Cherokee
The first known use of Native Americans in the American military to transmit messages under fire was a group of Cherokee troops utilized by the American 30th Infantry Division serving alongside the British during the Second Battle of the Somme. According to the Division Signal Officer, this took place in September 1918. Their unit was under British command at the time.[2]
Use of Choctaw
In the days of World War I, company commander Captain Lawrence of the U.S. Army overheard Solomon Louis and Mitchell Bobb conversing in the Choctaw language. He found eight Choctaw men in the battalion.[3] Eventually, fourteen Choctaw men in the Army’s 36th Infantry Division trained to use their language in code. They helped the American Expeditionary Forces win several key battles in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France, during the final big German push of the war. Within 24 hours after the Choctaw language was pressed into service, the tide of the battle had turned. In less than 72 hours the Germans were retreating and the Allies were in full attack.[3]
These soldiers are now known as the Choctaw code talkers.
My Dad was part Cherokee, and he never talked about what might have been his role in WWI if he hadn’t been seriouly injured in a truck accident at a military base in the states and got a medical discharge before being shipped overseas in WWI.
He would have been one of the messengers on motorcycles with a very short half life in combat.
He had a small group of Choctaws/Cherokee vets, he played dominoes and cards with for a long time after both wars.
My dad was a crack shot with pistols, rifles and shotguns.
I have since wondered if his role might have been as a “guard” for the code talkers.
As a tribal member, go talk to the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council, they will be glad to fill in some blank spots of information.