Cherokee Vietnam Veteran Who Cleared Mines With the 101st Airborne Receives Medal of Patriotism

On the eve of Veterans Day, the Cherokee Nation honored one of its own. Johnny Ray Taylor of Claremore, Oklahoma, received the tribe's Medal of Patriotism at the Nov. 9 Tribal Council meeting ^[1].

Taylor served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1969 and reached the rank of Specialist 4. In Vietnam he was a combat engineer with the 101st Airborne Division, and his job was clearing mines so the men behind him could move forward safely ^[1].

His decorations include the Bronze Star ^[1].

Native Americans have long served in the U.S. military at higher rates than any other group, and the Cherokee Nation makes a point of thanking its veterans by name. Taylor's story is a reminder of what that service asked of a young man from northeast Oklahoma, and why the medal matters.

This Veterans Day, American Story salutes Specialist Taylor and every Native veteran who answered the call.