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Sascha BrodskyStaff writerSECOND MESA. Ariz.FranklinI was too youngShupla still hears the sniper bulletsexploding.to be afraid.He remembers running off a landingNow I knowboat that day in 1945 onto a Pacificisland where the jungle had beenbetter.”bombed flat.I was too young to be afraid, saysShupla.Now I know better.Throughout the war, the Alliedtroops needed a way to communicatewithout being understood by the Japanese.Shupla was one of 11 Fiopis, knownas code talkers, who radioed messagesin their native Hopi language fromFranklinShuplabehind the front lines as part of a 323Infantry Battalion, 81st Division known 1943 at the age of 19 after graduatingas the “Wildcats.from high school in Santa Fe the yearTheir exploits have almost been for-before.gotten because these Hopi soldiers toldHis unit did desert training nearfew people about what they did sincePhoenix, Ariz.violence is against the Hopi philosophy.They learned codes and found ways“Killing is a terrible thing, saysto describe different kinds of weaponsShupla.in Hopi, which doesn't have military44It's nothing to talk or brag about.terms.Any kind of conflict seems remoteShupla was then sent to the Marshallfrom this high mesa where people talkIslands and the Philippines during theslowly and the wind whipping alongwar’s Pacific campaign. Sneakingthe sere, red rocks is often the onlybehind the Japanese lines, he transmit-sound.ted in Hopi to command posts aboutThe code talkers were honored for ' enemy strengths and weaknesses.the first time Friday at an unusuallyallowing artillery to pinpoint targets.subdued Veteran’s Day ceremony here.You never knew when someoneA bugler played taps.was going to shoot at you, says Shu-Traditional dancers filed into theroom with feather-covered costumes.pla, wearing a crisp, blue uniform. The Hopi Veteran's Affairs officeOn a table draped with an Americanfound the names of the code talkersflag, a sepia-toned photo showed rowsof tan, young men in khaki uniforms.after months of research.The new openness about1it _____• a _ r' !__uary, a veteran’s group marched on tribal headquarters, demanding betterhealth and counseling services.The nearest Veteran's AdministrationHospital is 250 miles away in Prescott,Ariz.The local Indian Health Service clinic “Does not meet the needs of service-related ailments,” charges EvanNuvamsa, the public relations officerfor the Hopi Veteran's Alliance.Alcoholism is a widespread problemon the reservation that hits veteransparticularly hard.Nuvamsa himself struggled withalcohol and says he was cured at atV.A. clinic in Phoenix.He wants to bring a similar programto the reservation.Sascha Brodsky/Th# Dally TimesFranklin Shupla, left, a former Hopi code talker, embraces FarrellAlcohol is a way of allowing the for-Secakuku, the chairman of the Hopi tribe.mer soldiers to talk about their experi- to be in a combat situation,Balenences and providing relief from theiradds.memories, suggests one OperationThe Veteran’s Admion doesThe mixed emotions many Ameri-Desert Storm veteran.The only time we talk about ourcans felt during Vietnam was increasednot pay for the ceremonies.Navajo code talkers also operated infor Hopis soldiers.experiences is when we are drinking inSomegroups,” says Nuvamsa.b4tnamese44We drink to forget our experiences.A V.A. officer visits the tribe once a infantryman.As an oppressed people who physically look like the Flopi,” Balenquah says, who saw combatPacific.avajo and Hopi languages are notrelated linguistically.--|--7 ” mas a World War 11Code talking began in the early months of World War I, when the Army used 14 Choctaw soldiers in the 36thmonth, but Nuvamsa says language andThe most difficult part of thecultural barriers keep him from beingmany Hopi veterans was being awayeffective.Division during the battle of St. Etienne, France.uSome people came back from Viet-f'rom the constant cycle of religious cer-emonies that make up the rhythm of life here.nam having gone into face-to-face com-Since then, other Indian tribes havesupplied code talkers, including thebat, says tribe chairman FerrellComanche, Kiowa, Pawnee, Sioux,When the veterans returned, theySeminole and Cherokee.Secakuku.began participating in rituals again.Eleven Hopis participated in the“They had a rough time coping witha .. -44But many of them couldn’t escapeMexican Border War of 1912 at a timeit so they turned to alcohol. Jthe feeling of being dirty or unworthy,” when Indians weren’t allowed to voteThe tribe’s ethic against viBalenquah says.or considered American citizens.has made it more difficult for Hopi veterans to readjust to civilian life, saysMany were forced to touch deadThere were 41 Hopis among thebodies or go into hand to hand combat,Clifford Balenquah, the only veteran’s things which are ‘Ka-Hopi’ or com-approximately 3,000 Native Americans in the Persian Gulf War.adjustment officer working on an Indi- pletely opposite to the Hopi way.iiWhen Hopis came back from the. 41 l « « «
Newspaper Details
Farmington Daily Times
Farmington, New Mexico, US
Sun, Nov 13, 1994
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Canton S.
OK, USA 22 Jan 2021
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