Joseph Oklahombi (May 1, 1895, Bokchito, McCurtain County, Oklahoma-April 13, 1960) was an American soldier of the Choctaw nation. [1] He was the most-decorated soldier from Oklahoma during World War I, where he served in the Thirty-sixth Infantry Division's Company D, First Battalion, 141st Regiment, Seventy-first Brigade during World War I, where he was one of the Choctaw code talkers.
On October 8, 1918, Oklahombi was at St. Etienne, France. He and 23 other soldiers attacked an enemy position and captured 171 prisoners while killing some 79 German soldiers. They held their position for 4 days while under attack. He was a private at the time. [2] Oklahombi was awarded the Silver Star with the Victory Ribbon, and the Croix de Guerre from France's Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain. At the time the members of the Choctaw nation were not formally U.S. citizens.[3]
He was married and had a son named Jonah. He was killed on April 13, 1960 when hit by a truck while walking along a road, and was buried with military honors.