Across the country, state and local governments, nonprofits, certain tribes and other community organizations are going to share in a $112 million grant program for their work in veterans suicide prevention. The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (also known as SSG Fox SPGP) promotes outreach to identify veterans at risk, clinical services for emergency treatment, case management, baseline screening, education, peer support, help with connecting with benefits and more. Help can also be in the form of temporary income support, legal services, child care, financial counseling and fiduciary help.

And it works: Over 90% of veterans who got these services reported improvements in their mental health and well-being.

The grant organizations will work with local VA medical centers to verify that the individual is a veteran, has some risk factors (such as traumatic brain injury, recent loss, homelessness or history of abuse) and has been assessed as to the degree of risk of suicide.

Veteran suicide stats are, as they always have been, grim to consider. The national suicide report for 2025 says that the number of suicides have decreased (for 2023, the last year numbers were available). Specifically, 2023 had 44 fewer veteran suicides than in 2022. The report calls that an “encouraging” result — even though the number for 2023 was a whopping 6,398 veterans.

In an analysis of the stats, 61% of those veterans were not getting VA health care. The group most affected were veterans ages 18 to 34 with risk factors of homelessness, health problems and pain, with pain being the biggest risk factor.
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To learn all the details about the SSG Fox SPGP grant program, see www.mentalhealth.va.gov/ssgfox-grants/docs/SSG-Fox-SPGP-Program-Guide-508.pdf.

If you (or a veteran you know) are at risk for suicide, call the VA crisis hotline at 988, then press 1. That’s all you need to dial. Or text to 838255. Or go online to chat at
www.veteranscrisisline.net. Somebody is there 24/7. It’s free and confidential, and you don’t have to be enrolled in VA health care or benefits.
(c) 2026 King Features Synd., Inc

Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Lakota Lancaster grew up far from the ocean in rural Okmulgee, Oklahoma, but now his work supports U.S. Navy missions and protects American interests worldwide.
From a young age, Lancaster developed an interest in aircraft and aviation. After graduating from Preston High School in 2021, he enlisted in the Navy and was assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 45, a maritime patrol squadron based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.
Known as the “Pelicans,” the squadron operates the P-8A Poseidon. As an aviation electronics technician, Lancaster maintains and repairs electronic systems on the aircraft. His work supports missions such as anti-surface warfare, intelligence gathering, surveillance, and search-and-rescue operations that rely on the aircraft’s radar, communication, and sensor systems.
One of Lancaster’s favorite parts of the Navy is the opportunity to travel.
“You get to go everywhere,” said Lancaster. “It doesn’t matter if you’re on a fixed-wing platform or a boat.”
During Lancaster’s time in the U.S. Navy, he traveled to seven countries, collaborating with allied partners during exercises such as Sea Dragon 2026 in Guam. Lancaster plans to continue serving and hopes to advance through the enlisted ranks with the goal of becoming a master chief petty officer.
Sea Dragon is a U.S.-led, multinational exercise designed to train anti-submarine warfare tactics and to operate together in response to maritime security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

Story by Darl Devault, contributing editor

Oklahomans are invited to join Veterans May 14-17 at Mitch Park in Edmond to experience The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. This traveling wall honors the men and women who gave their lives in Vietnam or later died as a result of their service.
“I often enjoy walking in Mitch Park. Having the Wall that Heals there will remind me of the friends I lost during the war and the human cost of the war,” said retired Air Force Col. Chuck DeBellevue. “This will create a sacred and solemn place that helps bring a calmness to the memories of my kind and Vietnam Veterans and their families.”
DeBellevue, 80, retired to Edmond in 1998 after a distinguished 30-year military career and has since been an active speaker to members of the local and veteran communities. His story as the highly decorated last American air ace on active duty, with six aerial victories in 1972 in an F-4 Phantom
II above North Vietnam, is a source of patriotic pride and inspiration for all who hear it.
The Edmond VFW Post 4938 is hosting The Wall That Heals and is recruiting volunteers to assemble it. Through volunteer support, community partnerships, and public engagement, they invite everyone to take part in this shared act of remembrance.
The Mitch Park exhibit spans 375 feet in length and rises to 7.5 feet at
its apex, constructed of Avonite, a durable synthetic granite. It features 140 numbered panels supported by an aluminum frame.
Modern LED lighting illuminates the memorial so names can be read clearly both day and night. Visitors are welcome to do name rubbings of individual service members as a meaningful and personal way to honor those listed.
The Wall’s 140 panels contain the names of more than 58,000 Vietnam service members, 990 of whom are Oklahomans, ensuring accuracy and consistency with the original Memorial.
In addition to open viewing of The Wall, several special ceremonies and community events will take place during the four days. These moments honor specific groups, recognize service, and provide opportunities for reflection and remembrance.
May 14 – 9 a.m. Native American Vietnam Service Recognition Ceremony A ceremony honoring the service and sacrifice of Native American veterans and their Nations who served during the Vietnam War.
May 14 – 6 p.m. Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Ceremony
A long-overdue welcome home for Vietnam veterans, recognizing their service, sacrifice, and dedication.
May 15 – 6 p.m. HMONG SGU Recognition Ceremony
Honoring the Hmong Special Guerrilla Units who served alongside U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.

May 16 – 9 p.m. Light Up the Night – Oklahoma County MIA Tribute
A powerful evening tribute honoring the more than 100 Missing in Action service members from Oklahoma County during the Vietnam War. This ceremony will illuminate The Wall in remembrance of those who have not yet come home.
While traveling, the Walls That Heal are more accessible to many Oklahomans, highlighting their significance and encouraging community engagement. Oklahoma is graced with a permanent replica 80% the size of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., dedicated on Veterans Day 2013 in Enid. This replica was retired to Enid after traveling the country, measuring 380 feet long and 8 feet high at its tallest point, and made of anodized aluminum.
Gov. Mary Fallin proclaimed it Oklahoma’s Official Vietnam War Memorial. The memorial reminds patriots that freedom is not free, is open to the public and free of charge from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. year-round, encouraging ongoing engagement and respect.
The Wall stands at Woodring Regional Airport. “It is a somber reminder of those who gave their lives so we can live in freedom, and a tribute to honor our men and women who are serving or have served in the military,” said Gov. Fallin in 2013 at its dedication.
The Living Walls, located across the street from the Vietnam War Memorial in Enid, honor and remember our military heroes. It is dedicated to Oklahoma veterans, active duty, retired, MIA, those killed while serving, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice, fostering pride and respect among visitors.
Just west of the site is the M.L. Becker Educational Center, a collection of permanent and temporary exhibits featuring patriotic, military and war-related memorabilia. The center won a 2019 Oklahoma Museums Association award for Education and Outreach. The center is open by appointment only for student groups, except on Vietnam Veterans Day and Memorial Days, when it is open all day.
Vietnam Veterans have been the focus of a groundswell of recognition over the past 14 years as the U.S. government has executed a sustained, multi-administration effort to provide “overdue recognition” to Vietnam-era Veterans.
The 50th Anniversary Commemoration
(2012-2025), authorized by Congress and launched in 2012, was designed to thank and honor the 9 million Americans who served on active duty between November 1, 1955, and May 15, 1975.
This congressional mandate’s primary objective was to “right a wrong” for Veterans who were often ignored or mistreated upon their initial return home.
In reaction to this effort, more than 11,000 local, state, and national organizations, such as the VFW, have partnered with the Department of Defense to host thousands of community-based events.
The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 codified the nation’s commitment to Vietnam Veterans by establishing March 29 as National Vietnam War Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. Veterans Day.

That date was chosen because it marks the anniversary of when the last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam, and the last prisoners of war were released in 1973. The act added March 29 to the list of days on which the U.S. flag should be specifically
displayed to honor these Veterans.
A central feature of the 50th-anniversary efforts has been the distribution of Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pins in formal ceremonies as a “Token of Gratitude”: These pins, featuring the message “A Grateful Nation Thanks and Honors You,” were presented at public ceremonies to provide a “welcome home” that many never received. Since 2012, more than 3 million. Veterans have been publicly thanked at more than 21,000 ceremonies.
Most importantly, recognition has also shifted toward addressing the long-term physical toll of the war with expanded health research and benefits.
The VA launched the Vietnam Era Health Retrospective Observational Study in 2016, the most comprehensive health assessment of this Veteran group since the 1980s, focusing on the impacts of Agent Orange and PTSD. And most recently, the new PACT Act integration at the VA in recent years has been offering toxic exposure screenings and expanded healthcare enrollment specifically for Vietnam-era Veterans.

Lives Saved, Battles Won – WWII Oklahoma Native American Code Talkers
A Select Group of Men

Of the 38 federally recognized American Indian tribes headquartered in Oklahoma, five Nations: Comanche (17 men), Pawnee (9 men), Choctaw (4 men), Muscogee/Creek-Seminole (3 men), and the Kiowa Tribe (3 men) provided a total of 36 Code Talkers, sometimes called “Telephone Talkers.”

Real-Time Communications
Dr. John Curatola, Senior Historian at the National WWII Museum, explained that communications operated at a tactical level and the soldiers were usually dispersed throughout platoons and companies. He said code talkers operated the radios, speaking their tribe’s language or in codes.

“And so that way they would be communicating with their adjacent units or maybe to the battalion in the back, sharing information.” Curatola noted that such messages included
intelligence, ammunition levels, supply status and enemy positions-anything useful during combat.

Comanche Deployed to Europe
Comanche soldiers were assigned to the Fourth Infantry Division’s Fourth Signal Company at Fort Benning, Georgia, receiving phone, radio, Morse code, and semaphore training. Dr. William Meadows, Professor of Native American studies at Missouri State University, an author of seven books about American Indians, described the Comanche’s training and service in “The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.”

“In August 1941 they were placed under Lt. Hugh F. Foster to develop an unbreakable
Comanche-language code. Foster provided approximately 250 specialized military
terms for which the Comanches developed coded equivalents.” Training was complete
by October 30, 1941.

“Thirteen Comanche Code Talkers landed at Utah Beach during the Normandy
invasion in France. Maintaining wiremessages via field telephone and radio, they served in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany. Their service included important battles at Cherbourg, St. Lo, Paris, the Siegfried Line, the Huertgen Forest, and Bastogne. Although several were wounded in action, none were killed. The Comanche code was never broken.”

A Life of Service Beyond War
Meadows profiled Corporal Forrest Vernon Kassanavoid, a Comanche Code Talker born March 30, 1921, and died at the age of 75. Wounded by shrapnel in WWII, he received the Purple Heart. He became the first American Indian to graduate from Cameron Junior College under the G.I. Bill in 1947 and later attended Oklahoma A&M College. After the war, Kassanavoid enlisted for six years in the Oklahoma Army National Guard as a staff sergeant. He also worked as a private military supplier for the U.S. government for four years and with the U.S. Postal Service for 28 years. Later, he returned to Indianola, serving as a committeeman for the Comanche Business Committee.

Courage Under Fire
The Choctaw Code Talker Association identified four Choctaws who served in the European Theater: Schlicht Billy, Forreston Baker, Davis Pickens and Andrew Perry. Pickens and Perry were killed in action. Army 2Lt. Schlicht Billy received the Silver Star and the Purple Heart while serving with the 45th Infantry Division. His friend, Davis Pickens, was the Choctaw on the other radio and was killed in action. Billy led an attack on the Siegfried Line in Germany on March 17, 1945, becoming the first soldier to reach a German-held pillbox and toss in a grenade. During the battle, Billy was severely wounded. His actions earned him the Silver Star.

Kiowa Tribe Honored
At the 2025 Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame banquet, three Kiowa Code Talkers were inducted posthumously: Private First Class (PFC) Leonard “Red Wolf” Cozad, Sr., PFC James Paddlety, Jr., and Private John Tsatoke. They were assigned to the 689th Field Artillery, XX Corps, in the European Theater.

Chairman Lawrence SpottedBird, a Vietnam era Navy veteran, accepted on behalf of the tribe, stating, “All these Kiowa legends are deceased, but their legacy as Kiowa warriors, the legacy of all of our Kiowa warriors, lives on today.” Then, Kiowa singers drummed and sang a victory song as more than 50 Kiowa Tribal members and all banquet guests stood in respect.

Different Reasons to Enlist
Meadows identified several factors that motivated American Indians to enlist: traditional warrior culture, military preconditioning through boarding schools, unemployment, and out of tribal and national patriotism.

Using A Unique Weapon
Many American Indians recognized the irony of being forced into boarding schools that attempted to erase their language and culture, only for those same languages to become invaluable in wartime.
Meadows wrote, “As one code talker told me, he had something that other soldiers did not – his language – and his language was his weapon.”

A Record of Distinction
In an article, “American Indian Veterans Have Highest Record of Military Service,” Alan Ramirez stated American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the Armed Forces at five times the national average and have served with distinction in every major conflict for over 200 years.

“American Indians enlisted in overwhelming numbers after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941…Forty-four thousand of a total American Indian population of 350,000 saw active duty, including nearly 800 women. For this service they earned at least 71 Air Medals, 34 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 51 Silver Stars, 47 Bronze Stars and five Medals of Honor.”

Long-Overdue Honors
American Indians from at least 34 American Indian nations were given Congressional Gold Medals in recognition for WW I and WWII Code Talker service: the Navajo in 2001 and 33 others after the Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008.

The French government and the State of Oklahoma bestowed the Chevalier de L’Order National du Merite (Knight of the Order of National Merit) on November 3, 1989 posthumously to the World War I Choctaw and to the three then-surviving World War II Comanche Code Talkers (Chibitty, Kassanavoid, and Roderick Red Elk) at the Oklahoma Capitol.

The Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame inducted the Seminole, Choctaw and Pawnee Nations and the Kiowa Tribe over time.

Comanche Code Talker Charles Chibitty reflected to Meadows, “After all of it was over with, they finally honored us at the state capitol. But to know that I at least done something for the country, what little I did…If what little we did saved some of those lives, then I’m proud I was part of it you know.”

Oklahoma’s Native Americans are immensely proud of their veteran’s service. For more information, visit tribal websites or consult library resources. • Story by Lt. Col. Richard Stephens, Jr., USAFR, Ret. website: Rich Travel Niche

March 25th is designated as national Medal of Honor Day. This year Tulsa International Airport hosted an event onsite in the Albert E. Schwab Hall.

The event was formally hosted by the Marine Corp League’s Albert E. Schwab Detachment #857. Two very special guests of honor were in attendance; Medal of Honor recipient SPC5 Dwight Birdwell and Captain Joe Ihle, who was present during the second wave at Iwo Jima. At 103, he is also Oklahoma’s oldest living marine! Semper Fi! Medal of Honor Day was officially designated by Congress on March 25, 1991. The day was chosen because on that day in 1863, the first Medal of Honor was presented to Private Jacob Parrott, for his participation in Andrews’ Raiders, a Civil War mission behind enemy lines.There are three versions of the Medal of Honor; one for the Army, one for the Navy, and one for the Air
Force. Recipients in the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard receive the Navy version, and
members of the Space Force receive the Air Force version. In 1861, President Lincoln signed a bill into law that authorized the creation of the Navy Medal of Valor, and in 1862, legislation authorized a similar medal for the U.S. Army. The Air Force Medal of Honor was
signed into law in 1956.

He kept his speech short and focused on the valor of the men he served with who didn’t come home and to helping our veterans nationwide. Staying true to every MOH recipient I have had the privilege to meet, he was humble as the day is long. He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and entered the Army on May 24, 1966. In addition to his medal of Honor, Birdwell earned two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star for meritorious service and two Purple Hearts. He received the first Silver Star for heroism on January 31, 1968, when his unit defended Tan Son Nhut Air Base during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. This is the medal that was eventually upgraded to the MOH, which was presented to him at the White House on July 5, 2022.

Birdwell was a member of the Judicial Appeals Tribunal (Supreme Court) of the Cherokee Nation from 1987 to 1999, serving as its Chief Justice from 1995 to 1996 and 1998 to 1999.

In my attempt to interview CPT Ihle, I found him to be equally as humble as Birdwell. At 103, he is also incredibly spry and sharp. He was not interested in having any attention drawn to his service during WWII or at Iwo Jima. He told me there were more than 50,000 other men that fought in that battle and that he didn’t do anything more extraordinary than the rest. I gently reminded him that the fact that he was still alive was a reflection of the grit he still possessed that was surely present during his time of service. My grandfather, whom I loved and admired dearly, also served in WWII. There is no human alive today whose presence I am more honored to be in than a WWII veteran. I smiled and firmly shook CPT Ihle’s hand as I shared this thought with him. That made him smile too, however, I did not press him to tell me any more about himself. Being in his presence was enough of a gift.

During the ceremony, citations were read for three additional Oklahoma Medal of Honor recipients. One of them was for PFC Albert E. Schwab, (the namesake of the hall the ceremony was held in), whose medal was posthumously awarded for his valiant actions on May 7, 1945 at the Battle of Okinawa, Japan. His niece and nephew were in attendance. One of the others was for LTC Earnest Childers, a member of the Creek Nation, who earned his Medal of Honor for heroic actions on September 22, 1943, in Oliveto, Italy, during WWII. The Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Tulsa is named in his honor.
Members of the Marine Corp League’s Albert E. Schwab Detachment #857, spent the
morning of the ceremony visiting the graves of some of NE Oklahoma’s other MOH recipients. According to the Oklahoma Military Heritage Foundation and state officials, there are 36 individuals with Oklahoma connections who have earned the Medal of Honor.
They are honored with a dedicated plaque in the state Capitol from conflicts ranging from the Indian Campaigns to the Global War on Terrorism. At the time of the dedication (April 2024), no other state has an installation like it. • by Jill Stephenson, staff writer