Native war chief honored with Pres. Medal of Freedom
I was really intrigued with this man's story, after reading the article on Reznet. Joe Medicine Crow will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in America, from Obama on Aug. 12.A 95-year-old Crow Indian who wore war paint into battle beneath his World War II uniform and later became an acclaimed Native American historian will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom next month...
In 1939, Medicine Crow became the first of his tribe to receive a master's degree, in anthropology. He is the Crow's sole surviving war chief, an honor bestowed for a series of accomplishments during World War II including hand-to-hand combat with a German solider, whose life Medicine Crow spared.
There's very few people I read about in the news, even celebrities, politicians, etc. I admire that as soon as I hear about them, I think, "Man, I hope there's a book about him." But even just reading his Wikipedia page and a other things on the Web makes me want to know more about Medicine Crow. I don't know much about him or his culture (Crow,) but he sounds like he's tried to live his life bravely, honorably, and with a most difficult mix of tradition and adaptation. At the very least, it sounds like a very intriguing story. Thank goodness he's also an author!
He's receiving the medal along with a prestigous, mixed group, including Ted Kennedy, Stephen Hawking, Desmond Tutu, Sidney Poitier, Sandra Day O'Connor and Harvey Milk.
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Comments
Iwo and the flag. rated for the Creek people.
He's a very deserving man, as are many Indian soldiers who've gone unrecognized. I always remind everyone that Pine Ridge, the poorest reservation, had a 90% enlistment during Vietnam...unprecedented.