En: Charles Joyce Chibitty
Charles Joyce "Charlie" Chibitty
Brother, Charles Joyce "Charlie" Chibitty (1921-2005) Was the last Comanche code talker.
1951 October 26, Raised a Master Mason in Petroleum Lodge No. 474 in Tulsa, which merged with Millennium Lodge No. 543. 1954 Joined the Guthrie Scottish Rite. 1974 Affiliated with the Scottish Rite Valley of Tulsa OK. 2004 Received his Scottish Rite 50-year membership award from the Valley of Tulsa. Member of the The Akdar Shrine Indian Unit of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
United States Army Corporal. A World War II Code Talker, he was the last survivor of the Comanche code talkers who used their native language to transmit messages for the Allies in Europe during World War II.
Bro. Chibitty said his unit hit Utah Beach in Normandy “the first or second day after D-Day.” His first radio message was sent to another code talker on an incoming boat. Translated into English, it said: “Five miles to the right of the designated area and five miles inland, the fighting is fierce and we need help.”
Bro. Chibitty was quoted in 2002 as saying, "It's strange, but growing up as a child I was forbidden to speak my native language at school. Later my country asked me to. My language helped win the war and that makes me very proud. Very proud. I wonder what the hell Hitler thought when he heard those strange voices".
Like the larger group of Navajo Indians who performed a similar service in the Pacific theater, the Comanches were dubbed "code talkers." The group of Comanche Indians were selected for special duty in the U.S. Army to provide the Allies with a language that the Germans could not decipher.
He earned the World War II Victory Medal, the European Theater of Operations Victory Medal with five Bronze Stars, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and also Combat Infantryman Badge. He also received a special proclamation from the Governor of Oklahoma who honored him for his contribution both to Oklahoma and the United States.
In 1989, Chibitty and Comanche code talkers Roderick Red Elk and Forrest Kassanavoid were presented with the Chevalier of the Ordre National du Mérite, and named Knights of the National Order of Merit by the French government.
In 1999, he received the Knowlton Award, which recognizes individuals for outstanding intelligence work, during a ceremony at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.
He was very well known nationally for his Indian championship dancing. He reportedly was the last hereditary chief of the Comanche, having descended from the great leader, Chief Ten Bears. He's buried Oklahama, Broken Arrow. Floral Haven Memorial Gardens.
