;The Original Patriots,’ by Chag Lowry

EUREKA, Calif. – Chag Lowry’s (Yurok/Maidu/Pit River) book, ”The Original Patriots: Northern California Indians of World War Two,” is an ambitious and impressive collection of 60 personal accounts of WWII men and Women’s Army Corps veterans. Also included are a few stories from those women who worked as riveters, welders and performed other tasks on the home front. It’s American Indian written, produced, edited and sponsored.

Nearly every page is filled with photographs of the men and women as they looked in their 1940s service uniforms – both in and not in action – as well as how they looked recently as Lowry photographed them. Lowry also included accompanying maps and details to help illustrate the stories. Seeing every veteran’s photographic transition from young to old brings their stories all the more to life. These were men who had brothers, relatives and plenty of friends who fought and didn’t make it home.

The author’s grandfather, Stanley Lowry, fought against the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge in Europe among other battles and rose to the rank of second lieutenant. His great-uncle Leonard fought against the Japanese and was promoted to captain. Both won a Silver Star in WWII, and Leonard became one of the most decorated American soldiers in history after also going to the Korean War.

One question looming over the book asks why American Indian men and women would so readily volunteer to help a United States that had been so cruel to them. In the first chapter, the book details the atrocities and genocide committed against California Indians after the Gold Rush, as well as the later boarding schools that sought to forcibly erase what was left of their culture from their minds.

Also included is a brief roundup of 1914 – 18 WWI events, photographs and captions of northern California American Indians involved in that war. Even though American Indians weren’t given U.S. citizenship until the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act, they still volunteered for military service in high numbers.

A unique aspect of Lowry’s book is his choosing to tell the individuals’ stories with the ”Q and A” interview format. Lowry wanted the storyteller to be the prime source of information, not the author. The end result is smooth, as Lowry demonstrates an admirable ability to eventually get the veterans to talk about often bottled-up war experiences never spoken aloud before. (Some interviewees didn’t talk about their war experiences at all, per se, and Lowry was careful not to needlessly press them.)

The intensity noticeably rises and falls as the author asks veterans about growing up during that era and

eventually gets them to provide details about what they did and saw in the war. Veterans said going to the military-styled boarding schools actually prepared them for boot camp, as they were already used to continuous drilling and being yelled at.

Readers get the sense that the veterans felt that if they didn’t get their stories out, they’d be lost forever. Perhaps like their grandfathers before them, the storytellers wanted to convey this knowledge for future generations. Some of the veterans featured have since passed away.

As told from all the fronts, the book has gems of unique, random and revealing WWII information that could only be told by those that had been in the thick of it.

Veterans tell of the rage and terror they felt at Kamikaze bombers; being bogged down in a swampy fox hole with dead bodies surrounding them; the haunting scenes following the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima; and how they had to replace hardened combat troops with fresher and greener recruits after the Japanese were defeated to occupy them, because those that had been in battle against them for so long simply hated them too much.

On the European Front, harrowing images were described, such as how German prisoners of war drank bloody goo from their canteens for nourishment; how burning bombers crashed toward the ground with desperate men jumping out in burning parachutes; how the bodies of entire villages were dug up; and how they had to stand by idly as civilians committed vigilante acts against Germans and those that they deemed German sympathizers.

But all the experiences weren’t negative; as the reader can almost see, the old men and women smile as they recount all the good times they had just doing their jobs with their friends.

These American Indian members of the ”Greatest Generation” never bragged about their heroism; they simply told of an era and how they experienced it. However, they were always quick to mention the disdain and hurt they felt when they got home and read signs on bars that said, ”No dogs or Indians allowed.” This was after experiencing little to no prejudice against them while in the service, where their ”warrior reputation” was welcomed.

American Indians in WWII volunteered for the military at the highest rate per capita out of any ethnic group, a fact that still stands to this day. This was and is their country even more so than anyone else’s. When they saw a threat to their land, they had to defend their home.

”The Original Patriots” is a respectful salute to not just the northern California Natives, but to all Indian veterans who fought in WWII and American wars.

For ordering information, visit www.originalpatriots.com.