Whenever we talk about the Native Americans and their participation during World War II, perhaps the first thing that comes up to our minds is the Navajo code talkers and their significant contributions to the war effort by using and sharing their language to create an undecipherable and complicated code, which is no doubt brilliant. However, they were not the only natives who put themselves in danger and helped the country during the crisis.

Navajo Code Talkers, Saipan, June 1944.

Here are some other brave Native American warriors of World War II.

Robert Arnold

Robert Arnold was born on January 21, 1923, the youngest son among the eight children, also the quiet one. The Arnold siblings grew up with another tribal family, the Sandaines, and lived together on a farm on Kelly Hill. Arnold decided to join the military when he turned 18 to help his family’s strenuous life, as there would be one less mouth to feed when he was away.

Arnold became a paratrooper and a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, an elite parachute infantry that was part of the Normandy Invasion, with a mission “to destroy vital German supply bridges, and capture causeways leading inland across the flooded areas behind the Normandy beaches where seaborne forces would land to gain control of roads and communications,”