Choctaw Code Talkers Honored with Fort Worth Historical Marker

Descendants of the 19 Choctaw code talkers gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 1 to unveil a historical marker honoring the WWI soldiers who pioneered the use of Native American language as unbreakable military code. The Choctaw group, who trained at Camp Bowie during WWI, is considered the first Native American code talkers—paving the way for the more famous Navajo code talkers of WWII. Nuchi Nashoba, president of the Choctaw Code Talkers Association and great-granddaughter of code talker Ben Carterby, called the marker 'a full-circle moment,' noting the soldiers served before Native Americans were recognized as U.S. citizens—citizenship was not granted until 1924.