{"id":1972,"date":"2025-07-03T12:07:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T12:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1972"},"modified":"2025-07-03T12:07:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T12:07:50","slug":"the-inspiring-story-of-joe-medicine-crow-the-plains-war-chief-who-fought-the-nazis-during-world-war-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1972","title":{"rendered":"The Inspiring Story Of Joe Medicine Crow, The Plains War Chief Who Fought The Nazis During World War II"},"content":{"rendered":"

Born in 1913 on the Crow Reservation in Montana, Joseph Medicine Crow was raised in the warrior tradition of his people \u2014 which he put to good use while serving in France and Germany.<\/h2>\n

When Joe Medicine Crow died in 2016, he was the last living Plains Indian war chief, ending a tradition that stretched back hundreds of years.<\/p>\n

\n

Becoming a war chief was not easy \u2014 and even less so after the U.S. government had all but eradicated the Indigenous way of life on the Great Plains. The feat required passing four tests, including touching a living enemy, stealing an enemy\u2019s weapon, and successfully leading a war party. Finally, a person had to sneak into an enemy camp to steal a horse.<\/p>\n

Generations of men passed this test and became war chiefs. But the last feat became all but impossible as Native Americans were forced onto reservations and horses slowly disappeared from the battlefield in the 20th century.<\/p>\n

And yet Joe Medicine Crow managed to accomplish all four tasks almost by accident, and in a place few members of the Crow Nation had ever visited. He earned the honor fighting Nazis in Germany with the U.S. Army.<\/p>\n

Joe Medicine Crow\u2019s Warrior Upbringing<\/h2>\n

Born on the Crow Reservation in Montana in 1913, Joe Medicine Crow learned the traditions of the Crow Nation from an early age. His grandfather, White Man Runs Him, had been a scout for General Custer prior to the Battle of Little Bighorn. His other grandfather, Chief Medicine Crow, was a revered war hero.<\/p>\n

\"Joe<\/p>\n

Joseph Medicine Crow<\/span>Joe Medicine Crow was the first member of his tribe to earn a master\u2019s degree, and left his Ph.D. program to volunteer for service in World War II.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joe grew up hearing stories about Crow warriors. He learned to ride horses bareback, survive the harsh Montana winters, and hunt game. Joe also heard how his ancestors had become celebrated warriors and war chiefs.<\/p>\n

As he grew older, his tribe\u2019s history inspired Medicine Crow to study history and anthropology in college. And in 1939, he became the first member of the Crow Nation to\u00a0earn<\/a>\u00a0a master\u2019s degree. But on his way to a doctorate, Medicine Crow left the University of Southern California to volunteer for the Army.<\/p>\n

Joe Medicine Crow came from a long line of Crow scouts. The Army recognized his skills and assigned Joe to scout for the 103rd Infantry Division in 1943. And by the end of 1944, he was in France, pushing the Nazis back to Germany.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Joe Medicine Crow In World War II<\/h2>\n

Before battles, Joe Medicine Crow\u00a0painted two red war stripes on his arms in the Crow tradition<\/a>, hidden under his uniform. He also carried a yellow eagle feather into battle. The sacred feather came from a Sun Dance medicine man.<\/p>\n

Fighting across France, it seemed unlikely that Joe Medicine Crow could pass every test to become a war chief. But somehow, he did.<\/p>\n

\"MacArthur<\/p>\n

US Army<\/span>General MacArthur standing with Native American troops. A total of 25,000 Native American soldiers fought in World War II.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

During a raid in a small French town, Joe found himself alone in an alley with a German soldier. Medicine Crow used his rifle to knock the German\u2019s gun to the ground, thus taking a weapon from an enemy. He was also able to take the German as a prisoner of war, touching a living enemy.<\/p>\n

As an infantry soldier, Joe rarely led missions. But during a dangerous moment when German soldiers surrounded Joe\u2019s company, his commanding officer put Joe in charge. He had to brave land mines, enemy fire, and overwhelming numbers of enemy soldiers to bring ammunition back to his company.<\/p>\n

Joe Medicine Crow took on the challenge and successfully led seven men in the mission, saving the company.<\/p>\n

At that point, Joe had completed three of the steps to become a war chief. But how was he going to steal horses from the Nazis?<\/p>\n

The Nazi Horse Raid<\/h2>\n

Horses and modern warfare seem incompatible. The rules for becoming a Plains war chief had been created for a different type of battle than American troops faced on the front lines of World War II.<\/p>\n

But even modern armies relied on horses to transport artillery and in cavalry units. And although the Nazi army was famously mechanized, some companies still relied on horses because of their limited access to oil.<\/p>\n

\"Nazi<\/p>\n

BreTho\/Wikimedia Commons<\/span>German cavalry with a seized Soviet tank in 1944.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the chaotic German retreat in the war\u2019s final days, Medicine Crow tracked Nazi SS troops fleeing on horseback. The loud clopping on the road made it easy for Joe to follow the men.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe followed their trail in the moonlight and arrived at a villa,\u201d Joe\u00a0recalled<\/a>. \u201cWe came there and found a little pasture with a barn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s company surrounded the barn in the early morning hours, ready to attack \u2014 until Joe came up with an idea for the horses.<\/p>\n

He told his commanding officer, \u201cMaybe I should get those horses out of the corral before you attack, because some of those SS guys might be able to escape on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his commanding officer\u2019s consent, Joe snuck toward the corral. He quickly created a bridle from a short rope, the same way Crow warriors had done for centuries. And then Joe leaped on a horse and rode away, creating a stampede of 50 more horses and causing chaos in the Nazi ranks. And just as Joe made it out of firing range, his Army division started launching artillery shells.<\/p>\n

As Joe Medicine Crow rode back to his camp, he began singing a Crow praise song.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sang this song a little bit and rode around the horses,\u201d Joe said. \u201cThe horses looked at me. Finally, I left them in the woods.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time Joe returned to the farmhouse, the Germans had surrendered. Used to covering long miles on his feet, Joe decided to stay on his horse a while. \u201cIt was good, better to ride than walk.\u201d But a mile down the road, his commander said, \u201cYou better get off. You make too good a target.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Joe Medicine Crow returned home after the war, the elders named him a war chief.<\/p>\n

Joe Medicine Crow\u2019s Medal Of Freedom<\/h2>\n

Joe Medicine Crow became a war chief for the Crow. He also\u00a0earned a Bronze Star and the French Legion of Honor<\/a>\u00a0for his service.<\/p>\n

In 1948, Joe became the official Crow Nation historian and anthropologist. He taught younger generations about the Battle of Little Bighorn and Crow traditions. He even wrote the script for reenactments of the Battle of Little Bighorn that is still used today. And it\u2019s based on oral histories he was told as a child.<\/p>\n

And in 2009, President Barack Obama\u00a0awarded<\/a>\u00a0him the Medal of Freedom. Then 95 years old, Joe Medicine Crow performed a ceremonial dance after receiving the medal. Joe died in 2016 at the age of 102.<\/p>\n

To this day, the only other Crow soldier who has come close to achieving the four feats of valor necessary to become a war chief is Joe Medicine Crow\u2019s nephew. During the Vietnam War, Carson Walks Over Ice served as a Green Beret and managed three requirements. But he was unable to snag a horse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did get two elephants, and that should have counted for something,\u201d Carson Walks Over Ice said. \u201cBut the elders did not see it my way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Born in 1913 on the Crow Reservation in Montana, Joseph Medicine Crow was raised in the warrior tradition of his people \u2014 which he put to good… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Inspiring Story Of Joe Medicine Crow, The Plains War Chief Who Fought The Nazis During World War II - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1972\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Inspiring Story Of Joe Medicine Crow, The Plains War Chief Who Fought The Nazis During World War II - 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