Charles Chibitty
Charles Joyce Chibitty (November 20, 1921 – July 20, 2005) was a Native American and United States Army code talker in World War II, who helped transmit coded messages in the Comanche (Nʉmʉnʉʉ) language on the battlefield as a radio operator in the European Theater of the war. In 2013, Native American Code Talkers of World War I and II, represented by 33 Native American tribes, received the Congressional Gold Medal from the President of the United States at the U.S. Capitol. The Comanche code talkers were credited with saving the lives of thousands of American and Allied personnel . Biography. Chibitty was born in a small tent outside of Medicine Park, Oklahoma, a city located 14 miles north-west of Lawton. He attended Fort Sill Indian School as a child. While a high school student at the Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kansas, The U.S. Army was searching for American Indians including Comanche Indians for the Signal Corps in late 1940, and in 1941, to serve as code talkers in the European Theatre. He entered military service on January 2, 1941, and was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Georgia. After basic training, he was assigned  to the 4th Signal Company at Fort Benning where 17 Comanche Nation code talkers were to develop a secret code to prevent German forces from deciphering U.S. military messages. In late December, he was next sent with the division to then-Camp Gordon (Fort Gordon), Georgia. Chibitty served at Camp Gordon with the other hand-picked Comanche Indians who began training at Fort Benning as army radio operators and line repairmen. In April 1943, he and 13 of the other code talkers were next sent with the 4th Infantry Division to Fort Dix, New Jersey, Camp Gordon Johnston, Florida, Fort  Jackson, South Carolina, and Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, to stage for the European Theater. On January 18, 1944, the 4th Infantry Division shipped out of New York for England for more training and arrived January 26. In England, the division trained as the spearhead amphibious division for the invasion of Normandy. Chibitty and 12 other Comanche code talkers from the 4th Signal Company were reassigned to be with the landing infantry regiments, division artillery, and division headquarters. The other code talker (Sgt. Morris Sunrise), was transferred to another division. The 13 Comanche code talkers in the 4th Division, including Cpl . (T/5) Chibitty, landed at Utah Beach in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944 ("D-Day"). Assigned to the 22nd Infantry Regiment, the first words sent from Chibitty on the beach to his command unit in Comanche talk that day were interpreted in English as: The 14 Comanche code talkers participated in the Battle of Normandy, Battle of the Bulge, and other battles. Although none of the code talkers were killed in action, several were wounded in action, including Chibitty and his first cousin, Pfc. Larry Saupitty. In 1989, Chibitty and Comanche code talkers Roderick Red Elk and Forrest Kassanavoid were  presented with the Chevalier of the Ordre National du Mérite, and named Knights of the National Order of Merit by the French government; the 14 deceased Comanche Code Talkers were also included in the recognition-award ceremony. The role of Comanche code talkers in World War II was not recognized by the United States until 1999, in which Chibbity received the Knowlton Award from The Pentagon as the last surviving Comanche code talker. Chibitty, who was the last living Comanche code talker, died due to diabetes complications on July 20, 2005, at a hospital in Tulsa. He is buried at  Floral Haven Memorial Gardens in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Military awards. Chibitty's decorations and awards include: