Remains of Choctaw Korean War Veteran Return Home After 68 Years by KENDRA GERMANY Member of the Able Company, 1St Battal- 5 to Sept
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December 2018 Issue Remains of Choctaw Korean War Veteran Return Home After 68 Years by KENDRA GERMANY member of the Able Company, 1st Battal- 5 to Sept. 5, 1953, all remaining POWs remains unrecoverable Jan. 16, 1956. ion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infan- were exchanged during Operation Big Kaniatobe remained at the Punchbowl The remains of a Choctaw veteran, try Division. Exchange. All returning POWs from both for over 60 years, until the Defense POW/ Pvt. Charles Gibson Kaniatobe, returned The 21-year-old was killed in action operations were questioned regarding MIA Accounting Agency requested the home Nov. 15, after being deemed unre- July 10, 1950, as a result of heavy fighting other POWs, but none could provide any disinterment of 10 unknown soldiers in- coverable for nearly seven decades. with the North Korean People’s Army at information about Kaniatobe. cluding Unknown X-173. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Chonui, Republic of Korea. The intense Due to having no information or leads The remains were disinterred in Octo- provided the Kaniatobe family trans- battle left hundreds of U.S. troops dead or to his whereabouts, Kaniatobe was de- ber 2017. portation to DFW International Airport, missing. clared dead Dec. 31, 1953, by the U.S. Based on recovery location, and histor- where his casket was welcomed by the Due to the large number of U.S. casu- Army. ical information involving Kaniatobe, the U.S. Army Honor Guard, a USO Honors alties, grave registration troops set up Kaniatobe was posthumously promot- Indo-Pacific Directorate believed there Team, the Choctaw Nation Honor Guard, makeshift graves on-site as a temporary ed to the rank of Private (Pvt-2), and his was a high possibility Unknown X-173 relatives, and representatives of the solution. family was notified of his actions. He was was Kaniatobe. Choctaw Nation. During the battle north of Taejon, a awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Thanks to scientific advancements Assistant Chief Jack Austin Jr. and temporary cemetery, American Cem- Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service and mitochondrial DNA sequencing, re- District 1 Council person Thomas Wil- etery No.1, was established. An uniden- Medal, the United Nations Service Med- searchers were able to identify Kaniato- liston accompanied Kaniatobe’s sisters, tified soldier known as Unknown Ameri- al, the National Defense Service Medal, be by comparing DNA samples from his Clara and Ann, as well as his niece and can X-173 was interred there. the Korean Presidential Unit Citation remains to those of his living siblings, nephew Kimberly and Rick Kaniatobe, Throughout the remainder of the war, and the Republic of Korea War Service Clara, Ann and James. on the flight from Durant to Dallas. Oth- the United Nations Command request- Medal. Kaniatobe was finally laid to rest back er family members were accompanied on ed a list of American and allied service The American Graves Registration home in Idabel Nov. 17 and was buried shuttles by representatives of the Choc- members held captive by the Chinese Services hoped to recover the remains with full military honors. taw Nation, including District 9 Council People’s Volunteer Forces and the Kore- of all American and allied troops from Kaniatobe was also recognized at the person James Dry. Family members from an People’s Army. Kaniatobe was never the demilitarized zone after the war. It 2018 Choctaw Veterans Day Ceremony, the Dallas area were also in attendance. mentioned on any of the lists. wasn’t until 1954 that Operation Glory and his family was presented with an One even traveled all the way from Ari- The American Graves Registration would take place. The operation lasted American flag by Chief Gary Batton. zona to attend the event. team continued the search for American from Sept. 1 until Oct. 30, 1954. “So many Choctaws like Pvt. Kania- “It was an honor to join the family of remains. From May 22 through June 10, The remains of over 2,900 soldiers were tobe have given their lives in service to Charles Kaniatobe as his remains ar- 1952, soldiers of the 392nd Quartermaster recovered. The U.S. Army’s Central Iden- their country. It is a blessing that Kania- rived at DFW International Airport. Graves Registration Company conducted tification Unit processed the remains for tobe is finally home after all these years,” The plane-side honors were emotional a field search to locate Kaniatobe in the identification in Kokura, Japan. During said Chief Gary Batton. for everyone involved. It is amazing that area between Chonui and Choch’iwon. this process, 848 sets of American re- The Choctaw Nation would like to thank thanks to scientific advances, Kaniatobe During the search eight sets of remains mains were still unidentifiable. the staff of DFW International Airport, is finally home,” said Assistant Chief were recovered, none of which could be These soldiers were interred as “un- the DFW Airport Police Department, the Jack Austin Jr. associated with Kaniatobe. knowns” in the National Cemetery of the USO Honors Team, the U.S. Army and ev- Kaniatobe was born Jan. 31, 1929, to In the spring of 1953, all sides agreed Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Ho- eryone involved in ensuring Kaniatobe’s Walter Kaniatobe and Wilcey Shaw Kani- to a limited exchange of prisoners of nolulu, Hawaii. arrival home was a special event. atobe. He was the eldest of 10 children war. During what is known as Operation Due to lack of information and having For more information on the Defense and a resident of Idabel, Oklahoma. Little Switch, select sick, wounded and no leads to the location of his remains, the POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s projects, As a Korean War veteran, he was a injured POWs were released. From Aug. U.S. Army declared Charles Kaniatobe’s visit http://www.dpaa.mil. The U.S. Army Honor Guard loads the casket of Pvt. Charles Kaniatobe for his Ann and Clara Kaniatobe pay respects to their The remains of Pvt. Charles Gibson Kaniatobe, long-awaited journey home from the DFW International Airport to his hometown of brother Charles – a moment the Kaniatobe were positively identified in October 2018, after Idabel, Oklahoma. family has waited 68 years for. 68 years of being missing in action. Choctaw Nation Growth Continues into 2019 to-purchase housing program providing homes in all day, July 10, 1950. His remains were among those of 164 districts of the Choctaw Nation with more to be added Americans recovered on Friday, Oct. 6, 1950, and were in 2019. finally identified in September of this year. The LEAP program is helping families overcome We honored the family during our Veterans Ceremo- obstacles to become new homeowners. There are also ny on Saturday, Nov. 10. It was a standing ovation for homeownership opportunities such as the Homebuyer Pvt. Kaniatobe and his family. Advantage Program and Homeowners Finance Service Faith, family and culture keep us united–strong for tribal members who live anywhere in the United families, good citizens and caring people who strive to States. put the needs of others first are what this time of year The Storm Shelter Program age limits have been is all about. reduced to 45 years old or older to receive the full grant May you have a blessed Christmas and happy New amount and tribal members 18-44 can receive half of Year. the grant amount to have a new storm shelter installed. The program is available to tribal members in the high tornado risk areas of Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. Among the health services available to Choctaw FFC tribal members who travel to the hospital and clinics 2 in the Choctaw Nation, the Eyeglasses, Dentures and Hearing Aid Program is now open to any eligible Choc- Chief Gary Batton taw to help provide eyeglasses, dentures or partials, and hearing aids. The Christmas season is a time of faith and family. We have had many unique celebrations this year. The Every year brings change and this is the first year our Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, visited the families will gather for the holiday without my mom Choctaw Nation during his trip to the United States in and mother-in-law. March. It was a wonderful cultural experience shared It is the first Christmas with the addition of our between our Chahta people and Ireland. daughter-in-law. Change is inevitable. The memories of This year marks the 100th anniversary of the group our mothers are always with us and we know there is of Choctaw men who became the first Code Talkers, hope for a bright future because there is peace as it is helping bring an end to World War I. We honored our all in God’s hands. Tvshka ancestors with a monument in Antlers, unveil- Other changes this past year have included the open- ing it on Friday, July 6. Bridges throughout Oklahoma ing of the new headquarters. It opened in June and is were also named for the Code Talkers. providing much-needed services in a centralized loca- Another Choctaw soldier, one who gave the ultimate tion. sacrifice, has finally been brought home to rest. On We have just announced a new expansion to the Thursday, Nov. 1, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Choctaw Casino & Resort-Durant which will add 1,000 Agency announced the remains of one of our Choc- by Deidre Elrod taw warriors, Army Pvt. Charles G. Kaniatobe, would more jobs for people living in and near Bryan County. The family of U. S. Army Pvt. Charles G. Kaniatobe was The economic impact is far-reaching because many of be returned to his family for burial with full military honored by Chief Gary Batton during the annual Choctaw Na- our tribal members and employees live in Texas.