Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On November 19, 2013, eight Meskwaki men gained recognition for serving as code talkers when the United States honored them with the Congressional Gold Medal. Nearly 16% of the eligible Meskwaki population living in Iowa served in World War II.
Twenty-seven Meskwaki men volunteered to serve in the United States Army following the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Trained in Marshalltown, the men went on to serve together in the 34th Division of the 168th Infantry. After the initial training in Marshall County, the Meskwaki soldiers received additional training in Louisiana before shipping out to the Eastern Hemisphere.
Eight of the men went on to serve as code talkers in the Allied campaign into North Africa. Frank Sanache, Willard Sanache, Dewey Youngbear, Edward Benson, Judy Wayne Wabaunasee, Mike Wayne Wabaunasee, Dewey Roberts, and Mike Twin all used their fluency in the Meskwaki language to aid in military communications during the campaign. Those men received additional training for code talking in Scotland and England before deployment to North Africa.
Frank Sanache often scouted out far ahead of his unit and directed artillery fire via walkie-talkie before the Germans captured him in Tunisia. Sent to a hard labor camp in Poland, he spent over two years as a Prisoner of War before Allied forces liberated the camp at the end of the war. Sanache, the last living Meskwaki code talker, passed away at the age of 86 in 2004. Although all of the men passed before gaining the Congressional Gold Medal, their distinguished service resounds as a resounding point of pride for all Iowans. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar
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