"Few who knew Charlie Whitepipe knew anything about the months he lay in a hospital bed in New Guinea during World War II, sick and forced to watch his buddies sail away without him.

Few knew about the young Rosebud soldier's time spent suffering from jungle rot and malaria, diseases earned from months spent up to his neck in flooded foxholes.

Few knew he was sent home after two years on New Guinea, where he served as a forward observer and radioman for an artillery unit on the American-occupied island.

He never got to use his Lakota language to transmit messages like his commanding officers had planned should their communication lines be cut.

Decades later, however, his role as one of a handful of Sioux code talkers during WWII would earn him praise from senators, presidents and fellow soldiers.

Whitepipe died June 26, 2006."

Get the Story:
Honoring Sioux Code Talker Charlie Whitepipe (RezNet News 10/9)

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Senate passes Code Talker recognition bill (10/1)
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