Indian Code Talkers

by Wayne Cooper

The story of the code talkers is one of the little-known heroic chapters of World War II. William Karty, a 30 year-old Comanche, was working as the director of the Fort Cobb Indian Conservation Corps when war broke out in Europe, and he realized that the Comanche language could provide an unbreakable code for the army. America had been slow to react when Hitler invaded France and occupied the country in May 1940. By August, the Battle of Britain had begun and the war in Europe was escalating. By the Spring of 1941, hundreds of Native Americans had volunteered for military service. Native Americans enlisted in far greater numbers proportionally than any other racial group in America. Among the earliest volunteers was a group of Comanche Indians from the Lawton area who were selected for special duty in the U.S. Army. An army officer found out about the initiative and was thrilled with the concept of Indian Code Talkers. The twenty were soon assigned to the U.S. Army Signal Corps (only seventeen went on to battle). Of these seventeen original code talkers, only Charles Chibitty is still living. Charles Chibitty was born near Medicine Park, near Lawton, and was a high school student at Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1940.

After landing on Normandy's Utah Beach during the D-Day invasion, Charles Chibitty and the code talkers saw some of the heaviest action of the war. Chibitty moved to Tulsa after the war ended in 1945. In 1989, the French consul honored the three surviving code talkers, Chibitty, Roderick Red Elk, and Forrest Kassanavoid and were presented the Chevalier de L'Ordre National du Merit in recognition of code talker services in both world wars. In November, 1999, the U.S. Army presented a special award to Charles Chibitty, the last surviving Comanche code talker. In a ceremony at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes, Chibitty was presented the Knowlton Award for his World War II service. Charles Chibitty is pictured doing his job as a code talker on Omaha Beach. He represents all of the Oklahoma Code Talkers of World War II.

Indian Code Talkers by Wayne Cooper was dedicated on May 16, 2000 the commission was managed by the Oklahoma State Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc.

Indian Code Talkers by Wayne Cooper is located inside the Oklahoma State Senate conference room 419-C on the fourth floor of the Oklahoma State Capitol and can be viewed daily from 8:30-5:30 when the Senate is not in session.

The Artist

Wayne Cooper is an acknowledged national painter known for his portrayals of Western and American Indian subjects. He comes from a background of Indian heritage and was raised on a small ranch gaining first hand knowledge of Oklahoma ranch life.

Cooper is listed in Artists USA, Who’s Who in the Midwest, Who’s Who in American Art, International Who’s Who in Art and Antiques, Universal Directory of the Art and Personalities of the Americas, and others.

His works consist of oils, water colors, charcoals, pencil, sculpture (bronzes) and lithographs. His works are held in many private and public collections worldwide, including the halls of the Oklahoma State Senate and House of Representatives.