Maybe they should have called him Kemosabe.
Posted on 05/30/2019 10:51:57 AM PDT by llevrok
AKWESASNE, Que. -- A funeral will be held Saturday for the last of the Mohawk code talkers from the Second World War, Louis Levi Oakes, who died peacefully on Tuesday surrounded by family at age 94.
Oakes was the last surviving member of a group that used the Mohawk language to help relay encrypted secure messages to Allied forces during the Second World War -- one of 33 native languages used by U.S. troops to share vital information.
"Levi was one of Akwesasne's most respected elders and the remaining survivor of the World War II Mohawk Code Talkers," the Akwesasne Mohawk Council wrote in a statement posted to Facebook. "While stationed in Louisiana, Levi and other Indigenous soldiers received training as code talkers using their traditional first languages."
"Levi was a man who utilized his language unselfishly to preserve the freedoms bestowed upon us today."
According to an obituary published this week, Oakes joined the U.S. Army at 18. He and 22 fellow recruits from Akwesasne used their unique language skills to help American troops as Mohawk language code talkers in the South Pacific, Philippines and New Guinea.
Oakes was awarded the American Silver Star for courageous conduct, before being honourably discharged in 1946. In 2016 he was among the Indigenous code talkers that received the Congressional Silver Medal.
In December 2018, Oakes was also honoured for his service by the Assembly of First Nations and members of Parliament in Ottawa, and met privately with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Oakes was born Jan. 23, 1925, in St. Regis, Que., on the Canadian side of the Akwesasne Mohawk territory that straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.
Indigenous Services Minister Seamus O'Regan wrote on Twitter this week that Oakes' loss will be deeply felt, but he will never be forgotten.
"As an 18 year old Mohawk from Akwesasne, Levi Oakes joined the U.S. Army to fight in the Pacific," O'Regan wrote. "By sending messages in his own language that couldn't be understood by the enemy, Levi saved untold lives."
According to his obituary, he worked in iron in the Buffalo area for three decades before returning to work for the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, retiring as public supervisor after 30 years of service.
It said he enjoyed gardening, driving around the community on his machinery and weaving rugs, and he cherished the time he was able to visit with his children and grandchildren.
"Levi Oakes was an inspiration to many, was truly a treasured Akwesasronon, and will forever be remembered as a hero, and a family man," the council wrote, adding flags would be flying at half-mast.
Oakes is survived by several of his children and their spouses, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
A funeral mass will be held Saturday morning at St. Regis Catholic Church, to be followed by a burial with full military honours.”
Great story!
I was not aware of the Mohawk code talkers. I knew about the Cherokee and Choctaw code talkers in WWI and the Navajos in WWII.
The name code talkers is strongly associated with bilingual Navajo speakers specially recruited during World War II by the US Marine Corps to serve in their standard communications units of the Pacific theater.
Code talking, however, was pioneered by the Cherokee and Choctaw peoples during World War I.
Code talker - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talker
I wonder how many of our enemies study Native American languages so we can’t do that to them again. :-)
Thank you sir, for your service.
My father was a radio man in the 45th Division North Africa to past Anzio said he always had a code talker (Indian) with him. On the Road to Rome he was severely wounded by artillery in a forward trench. His Indian buddy didn’t make it.
Levi Oakes....A real American hero....
Thank you, sir......
Thanks for your Dad’s service.
My Dad had a younger cousin, who was like a younger brother, who served in the 45, and he ended up with a plate in his head from the Anzio area.
Thanks for that great story.
BTW - I did not until recently that there were also code talkers in WWI
Never heard of the Mohawk talker. I guess the Navajos had better PR.
May Compatriot Oakes reach THE HAPPY HUNTING GROUND soon & rest from his labors in peace.
Yours, TMN78247
“In December 2018, Oakes was also honoured for his service by the Assembly of First Nations and members of Parliament in Ottawa, and met privately with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.”
Well, I’m sure that Oakes was impressed by the child PM.
It wasn’t the language, but rather the training that made the code talkers so effective. The Japanese weren’t stupid. They picked up the chatter on the radios and correctly guessed that it was a native American language being spoken. They also held a few Navajos from among the American POW’s in the Philippines who confirmed that the language being spoken was Navajo. They just had little idea as to how their language was being adapted to military terminology.
“May Compatriot Oakes reach THE HAPPY HUNTING GROUND soon & rest from his labors in peace.”
I’m sure “The Spirit In The Sky” is greeting him happily...
RIP.
I was making a joke. I understood how it worked. I just thought it was all Navajo. I did not realize they used other languages.
Fyi, our tribe calls The Supreme Being: “Man Above”.
Various Woodland American-Indian groups have/use similar but slightly different terms.
(I’m of PAMUNKEY, Scots & English ancestry.)
Yours, TMN78247
Wow, small world, 45th saw allot. DAD was with the 180TH Infantry Regiment.
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