Evening star., 1944-02-27
American Indians Are Writing New
Chapter in Nations War History
BY Joseph H. Baird.

When, on December 7, 1941, Japan
struck It's sneak blow" at Hawaii. most
Americans were ready to fight that
very day. But We realized-geographi
limitations being what they are-that
there was little we could do to satisfy
the desire.
When radio brought the news OF the
attack on Pearl Harbor to one of the
Navajo Indian settlements on the plains
Of New Mexico, however, the braves
not being handicapped with too much
geographic knowledge-put on their war
paint at once.
Cramming their saddle-bags with
food and ammunition, they oiled rifles,
jumped on mustangs and rode for Gal
lup, N. Mex, where they announced
readiness for battle and demanded the
location Of the nearest Japs.
That episode is typical Of the spirit
which has led the American Indians,
according to John Collier, commissioner
of Indian Affairs, to make the largest
pro rata contribution to the war effort
Of any group in the United States.
They Knew Dictatorship
Mr. Collier, a small, wiry man with
sun-tanned face and graying hair, is
normally quiet-spoken. But when he
starts discussing the part the Nations
Indian wards are playing in the fight
against Germany and Japan his face
I,a
gives you the impression Of boundless
enthusiasm for his subject.
THE Indians are completely in this
war-and they know why" said Mr..
Collier. Until 1928 the Indians in this
country knew the meaning Of dictator
ship, because they lived under one. But
now that they are being allowed to live
their own lives, they are supremely loyal
to this Government.
Most readers will recall that the
American Indian made q name for HIM
self in the World War as a hardy, even
fanatical fighter. Gen. Karl Won Prutch
OF the Imperial German Army, whose
men had reason to know, went en- rec
ord as saying:
The most dangerous of the American
soldiers Is the Indian. He Is brave above
all else. He knows far more abou1
camoufage, inherited from his ances-
tors, than any modern soldier who has
had the benefit Of science and great
laboratories. He is = dead shot. He
needs no orders when he advances. He
is an army within itself. He is the one
American soldier Germany must fear"
Again, Mr. Collier says, the Indian is
writing war history, but in larger way
because Of the increase In knowledge
and opportunity that has come to him
meanwhile.
Indians in Uniform
The Indian once estimates that there
are now about $4,000 American Indians
in the military services, of which ap-
proximately $4,000 are in the Army. The
rest are scattered through the Navy
Marine Corps and Coast Guard Accord
ing to Mr.. Collier, the ratio of volun-
teers to inducted men is higher among
the Indians than any single racial group
in the country.
And already they are beginning to
establish a name for themselves, as they
did in 19l7-l8
A recent dispatch from Marine head
quarters. in New Britain told of an In
dian unit demonstrating its heritage of
woodlore by silently inf1ltrating into the
rear Of Japanese position and cap
turing 1t after frontal attacks had failed
And Gen. Douglas Macarthur, in a
message from the Pacific. said that the
tactics of the Indian 80 brilliantly
utilized by our commander, George
Washington, again apply in basic prin-
ciple to the vast jungle-covered reaches
OF the present war"
Undecipherable Dialects
One Of the most colorful jobs done by
Indians in the AEF, 1t will be remem-
bered, was transmitting orders over
field telephones in their own tribal Ian
guages so that the enemy. even though
he tapped our wires, could not under
stand what was being said. Indian dia-
lects, known to only few white men,
are again being used in this war to tele-
phone secret instructions in battle areas.