Jun 01, 2016 — Louis Levi Oakes, the last surviving WWII Akwesasne Mohawk Code Talker was honored with a Congressional Medal at the St. Regis Mohawk reservation at Akwesasne. He was one of 23 individuals and families recognized for their code talk contributions for the Allied Forces during WWII.

You have likely heard of Navajo Code Talkers. They’re veterans from the native Navajo Nation who sent encoded messages for the Allied forces in World War II. They were pivotal at Iwo Jima and other battles.

Mohawks from Akwesasne, on the St. Lawrence River near Massena, were also code talkers. But most weren’t properly recognized until this past Memorial Day weekend when families of code talkers and one surviving veteran were presented Congressional medals.

Hundreds gathered around a stage at a lacrosse arena to witness the presentation of Congressional medals to families of Mohawk Code Talkers, an acknowledgment they thought long overdue. Twenty-three Akwesasne Mohawk Code Talkers used their language to obscure Allied Forces communication during WWII.

U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik presented the awards. She choked up when she got to the last medal for Louis Levi Oakes, as she said, "Technician, Fourth Grade, Company B, 442nd Signal Battalion US Army served with distinction and received an honorable discharge 1946. And he celebrated his birthday 94-years-old two weeks ago. Levi, thank you on behalf of a grateful nation.” Oakes was the last Mohawk veteran who was able to receive the award himself.

Congress took seven years to officially recognize the Mohawk Code Talkers. “Long-awaited is right," said Commander Michael Cook of the American Legion in Hogansburg. "I don’t know, it seems like they just left it on the back burner and didn’t want to do anything.” Cook said the delay was due to bureaucracy, but also because the code talkers had to be secret about their work during WWII until much later.

Veronica King Adams said she didn’t know much about her father, Joe King’s experience as a code talker. He preferred not talk talk about it, she said. “I wish they would have been honored years ago where they themselves may have been able to tell a story," Adams said. She’s proud of him but disappointed it took this long for recognition.

Levi Oakes, the lone surviving Mohawk Code Talker, didn’t speak much about his experience. He said he was honored to receive the medal. As for what he wanted to share about his experience during the war, it was brief: “It wasn’t too bad. I had to live with it. That’s all,” he said.

Representative Stefanik said Congress is still open to evidence of other Native American Code Talkers.

This story comes from Homefront: Fort Drum, a project at NCPR that shares the untold stories of the military in the north country. Tune in at NCPR.org or visit Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to find more stories with #homefrontfortdrum.