Joe Medicine Crow was born October 27, 1913, on the Crow Indian reservation near Lodge Grass, Montana. One of his grandfathers, White Man Runs Him, was a scout for George Armstrong Custer before the Battle of the Little Big Horn
He was raised by his elders in the tribe’s warrior tradition. He was taught to master his fear, to ride bareback, to track game, and to withstand extreme cold. He was also schooled in the stories of those who had distinguished themselves in the battle against the Crow’s ancient enemies, the Cheyenne and the Lakota.
Joe Medicine Crow was the first member of his tribe to go to college, and was in graduate school in California when America entered WW
He was in the 103rd Infantry Division and fought in Europe. Whenever he went into battle, he would paint red stripes on his arms beneath his uniform, and he carried in his helmet a sacred, yellow-painted eagle feather provided by a Sun Dance medicine man to shield him from harm.
While in combat, and without quite meaning to, He performed the four necessary war deeds to become a war chief First, he led a seven-man squad carrying explosives through a wall of artillery fire to blast German positions along the Siegfried Line. Then, while helping to take over a German-held village, he ran into a German soldier, knocking him down He quickly disarmed the soldier, taking away his rifle Finally, he stole dozens of horses from a battalion of German officers.
Joe Medicine Crow the last Crow War Chief
The last Plains Indian War Chief
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