Edmond Andrew Harjo (November 24, 1917 – March 31, 2014) 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 ...
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
Code Talker
A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is now usually associated with United States service members during the world wars who used their k ...
during
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 ...
.
Harjo, who served with his brothers at the
Normandy landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
and the
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...
, was the last surviving code talker from the
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma
The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is a List of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the largest of the three federally recognized Se ...
.
On November 20, 2013, a group representing thirty-three Native American tribes were awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal
The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...
, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
, for their service as code talkers.
[ Harjo was the only surviving code talker present.][ He was presented with a silver duplicate of the gold medal representing his tribe.][
]
Early life
Harjo was born in Maud, Oklahoma
Maud is a town on the boundary between Pottawatomie and Seminole counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 1,048 at the 2010 census, a 7.8 percent decrease from the figure of 1,136 in 2000. The town was named for Maud Stearns, a ...
, on November 24, 1917, on land that had been given to his mother, Yanna (''née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Grant) Harjo. His father was Tony Harjo.[ Edmond Harjo resided in the ]vicinity
Surroundings are the area around a given physical or geographical point or place. The exact definition depends on the field. Surroundings can also be used in geography (when it is more precisely known as vicinity, or vicinage) and mathematics, ...
of Maud and Seminole, Oklahoma
Seminole ( sac, Sheminônîheki) is a city in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,488 at the 2010 census. Seminole experienced a large population growth in the 1920s due to an oil boom.
History
The city was platted i ...
, for most of his life.[ He graduated from Seminole High School.][ Harjo obtained both his ]bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
and his master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. from Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City University (OCU) is a private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The university offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, graduate master's degrees and doctor ...
in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
.[
]
Military service
Edmond Harjo and his brothers 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 ...
during 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 ...
. Harjo served in the U.S. Army's 195th Field Artillery Battalion, serving with his brothers at Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
in 1944 and the Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...
in 1945.[ In 1944, Edmond Harjo was walking through a French orchard when he encountered another U.S. soldier singing in the ]Muscogee language
The Muscogee language (Muskogee, ''Mvskoke'' in Muscogee), also known as Creek, is a Muskogean languages, Muskogean language spoken by Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole people, primarily in the US states of Oklahoma and Florida. Along with Mikasuki ...
, widely known as Muscogee
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U. ...]
John Boehner
John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American retired politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. represe ...
at the Congressional Gold Medal award ceremony honoring Harjo in November 2013.[ Harjo's messages, which were spoken in the Seminole language, could not be easily translated by the Axis.][ Harjo soon trained as ]Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
code talker, using his native language to foil Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
* Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
attempts to decode
Decoding or decode may refer to: is the process of converting code into plain text or any format that is useful for subsequent processes.
Science and technology
* Decoding, the reverse of encoding
* Parsing, in computer science
* Digital-to-analog ...
or decipher Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
communications during the war.[ He was awarded a silver ]Service star
A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...
for his work as a code talker, as well as a European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and a Good Conduct Medal for his service during the war.
Civilian career
Professionally, Harjo worked as a teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
during his career. He taught in the Maud Public Schools, the Justice Schools, and the Pickett Center school in Ada, Oklahoma
Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,481 at the 2020 United States Census. The city was named for Ada Reed, the daughter of an early settler, and was incorporated in 1901. Ada is ...
, for many years.[ He was also a church elder at the Achena Presbyterian Church, which had been founded by his father, Tony Harjo, in 1884 in Maud, Oklahoma.][
]
Death
Edmond Harjo died from a heart attack at Mercy Hospital in Ada, Oklahoma
Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,481 at the 2020 United States Census. The city was named for Ada Reed, the daughter of an early settler, and was incorporated in 1901. Ada is ...
, on March 31, 2014, at the age of 96.[ He was the last living Seminole code talker.][ Harjo never married and was survived by his nieces and nephews.][ His funeral was held at the Swearingen Funeral Home Chapel in Seminole, Oklahoma on April 1, 2014.][ He was buried at the Seminole Nation Veterans Memorial Cemetery, in Seminole, Oklahoma.][
]
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harjo, Edmond
1917 births
2014 deaths
United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
Schoolteachers from Oklahoma
Congressional Gold Medal recipients
Seminole code talkers
Oklahoma City University alumni
People from Seminole, Oklahoma
People from Maud, Oklahoma
People from Ada, Oklahoma
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma people
20th-century Native Americans
21st-century Native Americans