Robert Greene Sr. (April 16, 1918 – June 21, 2010) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Makah The Makah (; Klallam: ''màq̓áʔa'')Renker, Ann M., and Gunther, Erna (1990). "Makah". In "Northwest Coast", ed. Wayne Suttles. Vol. 7 of ''Handbook of North American Indians'', ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institut ...

elder. Greene was the oldest living Makah man and the second-to-last surviving Makah

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

at the time of his death in 2010. He was a fluent speaker of the

Makah language The Makah language is the indigenous language spoken by the Makah. Makah has not been spoken as a first language since 2002, when its last fluent native speaker died. However, it survives as a second language, and the Makah tribe is attempting to ...

, an indigenous language spoken by the Makah people of

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

Biography

Greene was born on April 16, 1918, in

Neah Bay, Washington Neah Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Makah Reservation in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 865 at the 2010 census. It is across the Canada–US border from British Columbia. Originally called "Scarborou ...

, to parents, Walter and Florence Tucker-Greene. He enrolled in Chemawa Indian Boarding School, located near

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

, where he became a

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

champion. He was a fluent speaker of

, an increasingly rare language. He enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

after leaving Chemawa. Greene served in the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

during

. He would be honored at the Makah Days Parade for 52 years for service during the war.

Death

Greene died of natural causes on June 21, 2010, at the age of 92. His wife, Hazel Butler-Greene, and two daughters predeceased him. Greene was survived by four daughters, Janice La Chester, Elaine Richardson, Pam Greene and Trudy Ward, and four sons, Bob Greene Jr., Keith Greene, Craig Greene Sr. and Kevin Greene. Upon Greene's death, John Ides became the last surviving Makah veteran of World War II.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Bob 1918 births 2010 deaths Makah people United States Army personnel of World War II People from Neah Bay, Washington Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest 20th-century Native Americans