World War II Honoree

Thomas 'Chief' Bearpaw

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Adair County, Oklahoma

Honored By

Robert S. Cox

Relationship

Relationship Not Determined

HE WAS A PROUD CITIZEN OF THE CHEROKEE AMERICAN INDIAN NATION WHO SERVED AS AN AMERICAN PATRIOT DURING WWII. HE WAS TRAINED INITIALLY IN THE AMERICAN THEATER FOR ENTRY-LEVEL ‘BASIC TRAINING’ AND THEN FOR ADVANCED MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY (MOS) QUALIFICATION. HE SERVED OVERSEAS IN THE EUROPEAN-AFRICAN-MIDDLE EASTERN THEATER, IN THE NORTH AFRICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (NATOUSA), MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTOUSA), AND EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO) DURING THE WAR. HE VOLUNTEERED TO BECOME A MEMBER OF DARBY'S RANGERS AND SERVED IN CAMPAIGNS IN NORTH AFRICA, SICILY AND ITALY. HE SERVED WITH COMPANY A, 3RD RANGER BATTALION AS A BROWNING AUTOMATIC RIFLE (BAR) MAN IN HIS PLATOON. HE RECEIVED RANGER TRAINING IN TUNISIA, PREPARING FOR THE INVASION OF ITALY. ON SEPTEMBER 9, 1943, HIS UNIT LANDED AT MAIORI IN THE VICINITY OF SALERNO, ITALY. THERE, HIS UNIT TOOK POSITIONS OVERLOOKING A PASS WITH THE MAIN ROAD TO NAPLES, ITALY. THE UNIT SURVIVED MANY GERMAN COUNTERATTACKS AND ARTILLERY BARRAGES, BUT ALSO SUSTAINED NUMEROUS CASUALTIES. ON SEPTEMBER 18, 1943, HIS 20TH BIRTHDAY, HIS UNIT WAS RELIEVED AND GOT A FEW DAY'S REST. HIS UNIT THEN MOVED TO NAPLES, ITALY AND BECAME THE FIRST AMERICAN TROOPS TO MOVE INTO NAPLES CITY. AROUND NOVEMBER, 1943, THE RANGERS MOVED INTO THE VENAFRO MOUNTAINS. THEY TOOK THEIR VENAFRO MOUNTAIN OBJECTIVE AFTER TWO WEEKS OF HEAVY FIGHTING, INCLUDING SOME HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT. ON DECEMBER 20, 1943, UNIT REPLACEMENTS ARRIVED AND HIS UNIT RESTED AT NAPLES BAY. ON ONE MISSION, HIS UNIT INFILTRATED THROUGH GERMAN LINES AND ARRIVED AT AN ENEMY CAMPSITE. MANY OF THE ENEMY WERE SLEEPING AND TAKEN BY SURPRISE DURING THE RANGER ATTACK. GRENADES WERE THROWN AND GUNS WERE BLAZING AND THERE WAS BATTLE CHAOS ALL AROUND. MANY ENEMY SOLDIERS FELL AND A FEW RANGERS AS WELL. ON JANUARY 22, 1944, HIS UNIT LANDED AT ANZIO BEACH IN ITALY AND FOUGHT THERE WITHOUT RELIEF UNTIL JANUARY 27, 1944. TWO DAYS LATER, HIS UNIT MOVED OUT FOR CISTERNA, ITALY. AT CISTERNA, HIS UNIT JOINED UP WITH ANOTHER RANGER BATTALION TO ASSAULT THE TOWN. BOTH THE ASSAULT PLAN AND EXECUTION OF THE PLAN WAS BOTCHED. FIGHTING WAS VERY HEAVY ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN. EVENTUALLY, THE RANGERS RAN OUT OF AMMUNITION, FOOD AND WATER, SUSTAINED NUMEROUS CASUALTIES AND WERE SURROUNDED BY THREE GERMAN UNITS. HIS ENTIRE BATTALION WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY WIPED OUT, AND HE AND OTHER SURVIVING MEMBERS WERE TAKEN CAPTIVE. HE WAS HELD CAPTIVE FOR NEARLY 15 MONTHS IN STALAG 2B, NEAR POLAND, AND SURVIVED THE 1,000 MILE 'BLACK DEATH MARCH' FROM POLAND TO GERMANY. ON APRIL 15, 1945, HE AND TWO OTHER AMERICANS ESCAPED DURING AN AIR BOMBARDMENT. THEY HID FOR ABOUT THREE WEEKS AND WHILE CONCEALED IN A TOWN CELLAR HEARD TANKS APPROACHING. THEY IDENTIFIED THEM AS AMERICAN TANKS AND HAILED ONE DOWN. THE TANK COMMANDER TOLD THEM TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES. 'CHIEF' REPLIED THAT HE WAS A CHEROKEE INDIAN FROM OKLAHOMA. THE TANK COMMANDER GAVE HIM A CONFISCATED BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE, WISHED THEM LUCK AND MOVED ALONG. MINUTES LATER, HE AND HIS BUDDIES WERE UNITED WITH OTHER AMERICAN SOLDIERS. AWARDED THE COMBAT INFANTRYMAN BADGE, BRONZE STAR MEDAL WITH BRONZE LETTER 'V' (FOR VALOR), PRISONER OF WAR MEDAL, GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL, AMERICAN CAMPAIGN MEDAL, EUROPEAN-AFRICAN-MIDDLE EASTERN CAMPAIGN MEDAL, AND WWII VICTORY MEDAL. AUTHORIZED THE PRESIDENTIAL (DISTINGUISHED) UNIT CITATION FOR EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM IN ACTION BY HIS BATTALION IN COMBAT AT CHIUNZI PASS, ITALY. ALSO AWARDED THE FRENCH CROIX DE GUERRE WITH BRONZE STAR FOR ACTIONS BY HIS UNIT IN COMBAT. HONORABLY DISCHARGED WITH THE RANK OF TECHNICIAN FIFTH GRADE AND ISSUED THE HONORABLE SERVICE LAPEL BUTTON.