Thank you to Sallie Thurman for all the hard work she has done researching and allowing us to share some of the text of her work. Sallie is the great granddaughter of George Menz who has his own fascinating story including the 1904 Olympics. George was a brother to World War One Code Talker William Henry Menz. The Standing Rock Code talkers have been recognized and honored in recent years and we are all indebted to them for their courageous service and sacrifice.
William Menz, photos courtesy of Sallie Thurman
"William Henry Menz was a World War I Veteran Code Talker from Standing Rock Indian Reservation. He was the son of a German immigrant, George P. Menz, and a Lakota woman, Agnes Obosawin “Stands in the Mist” Menz, from the Dakota Territory. According to oral family history, Obosawin was brought to George Menz by her mother, Yellow Eyes, and there was an exchange of a cow for her hand in marriage. George lived as a farmer and rancher who helped build the town of Winona on the other side of the Missouri River from Fort Yates. William Henry Menz was their 8th child, born in 1891, only four months after the death of Sitting Bull on Fort Yates. His mother Agnes Obosawin died when William was four-years-old.
We don’t know where William went to school, but there were many day- and boarding schools from that time period with lost or missing records. William could read and write, as well as speak fluent German, Lakota, and English. He and his siblings were noted to have spoken their native tongue, but due to pressures of assimilation and parents desiring acceptance of their children, the language was soon fading, especially in the mixed blood families. The Lakota people of Standing Rock were barred from becoming citizens at this time. They were being pressured to take land allotments, something that Sitting Bull famously fought against, shortly before he was killed after speaking out against it. The religious Ghost Dance was now outlawed, and the massacre at Wounded Knee on Pine Ridge occurred. Tension on Standing Rock was high, and the natives were pressured to assimilate to European-American culture. Many were resigned to their fate and were going along quietly at this point in history.
About 1909 William received his first allotted piece of land in Thunderhawk S.D. along with the rest of his siblings and grandmother, Yellow Eyes. He farmed until he was called to draft examination in 1917. William was one of only 36 who passed their physical examination. Of those 36, William was one of only 12 that were able to file with no exemption, meaning he was healthy enough to serve. This fact speaks to the difficult life of the tribe at that time, when food was scarce and mortality extremely high.
Despite the fact that natives were not allowed citizenship, William Menz was drafted. He was called into service during World War I through the draft of 1917,and entered the army as a private. He was first sent to Camp Dodge, Iowa where he served in Battery E, 338th Field Artillery to April 1918. He was then deployed overseas with Company 1, 326th infantry on the R.M.S. Mauretania April 1918 - May 1919. Records show him in both offensive and defensive engagements in Lucey, Marbache, Lorraine, St Michael, and Meuse-Argonne. While in the Argonne Forest he was exposed to mustard gas, an early form of chemical warfare, which caused both acute and chronic, long-term effects in thousands of troops. He was sent home to Standing Rock, ND on a surgeon’s certificate of disability in June 1919.
There were two questionnaires regarding his services that William responded to – one in 1920, and another in 1921. In the first one in 1920, “Private William Menz “Sioux”, twenty-nine, from Selfridge, North Dakota, wrote:
“In regard to my war experience, I will say that, I have been in the thickest of the battle, including the St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, offensive. During the Argonne drive we remained in the front lines for twenty-four days without being allived (relieved), they few divisions remained in the front lines at the length time.”
“We undo (endure) some hardships while the drive was being made, heading directly towards the City of Metz.”
“This war required a lot of suffering but we were fighting for a good cause, such as freedom of the (?), and the rights of menkind.”
“Though what I have wen through during the war, and the experiences I had, has helped me a great deal, would do it again if the country needs me again.”
In the 2nd questionnaire, dated June 11, 1921, “Menz was more specific about his experiences and less specific about serving again: “While in the world war, I have say that I have went through without a scratch, but although I suffered considerable I thought I was doing my duty. In the Argonne Forest, where we were under constant fire from Artillery, from the Germans, we nevertheless pushed our way forward, until the signing of the Armistice. I served one year overseas, and 6 months in the U.S.A.”
Back at Standing Rock, despite suffering from his war injuries, William Menz married Christina Halsey, also from Standing Rock, on Aug 24, 1922. The couple had two children; Faye Marie Menz born June 6, 1923 in Fort Yates, and William Menz Jr. born Aug 7, 1925 just three days after his father’s passing.
The mustard gas exposure in Argonne Forest had caused damage to William’s stomach. Family reports suggest that an attempt to save his life was made using treatment with a sheep’s stomach. However, William died one month after this surgery at the hospital at Fort Yates, on Monday Aug 3, 1925. His listed cause of death is stomach cancer, a known result of mustard gas poisoning. Code Talker Private William Menz is currently buried in the St Peter’s Cemetery at Fort Yates.
The diligent work of LaDonna Allard, Jennifer Martel, and others from the Department of Veteran Affairs of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whom researched the records of tribal members that served in the wars, revealing William Henry Menz as a Lakota Code Talker in World War 1. We now know that these native soldiers were sworn to secrecy and that their families, including my own, never knew of his role as a Code Talker. William’s unique upbringing, learning to speak Lakota, German, and English undoubtedly proved a valuable resource in his ability to monitor transmissions for the military.
We thank the efforts of SRST, LaDonna Allard, Jennifer Martel, and others who brought to light this mystery for this unknown period of service. On Dec 12, 2013 there was a ceremony to honor these warriors of World War I for their service of Code Talking. The families of these warriors received Congressional Silver Medals at the Prairie Knights Casino on Standing Rock in their name.
William Menz’s siblings were George B Menz, Joseph Menz, Frank Menz, Henry Menz, Edward Menz, Thomas Menz, Annie Menz-Hodgkinson, Emma Menz-Leonard, Mary Menz, and Katie
Menz.
William Menz and Christina Halsey have many grandchildren through their daughter Faye Marie Menz-Archambault; Christine, Gail, twins Yvonne & Lavonne, Gary, Clayton JR, and Virginia all presently living in Denver, and enrolled at Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
On behalf of the entire Menz family, we are grateful to all who contributed to this wonderful tribute."
“Prior to 2008, only the Navajo had received US government recognition for their unique and effective service as Code Talker, under the Honoring the Navajo Code Talkers Act of 2000. A lengthy grassroots movement that began in the late 1980s finally resulted in a 2004 Senate committee hearing on the contributions of Native American Code Talkers in American Military History. Subsequently, after four years of legislation and lobbying, the Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008 was signed into law on October 15, 2008. In recognizing tribes that were not covered by the Navajo Act of 2000, this act directs that one Congressional Gold Medal be struck and awarded to each tribe, as well as one Silver Medal to be awarded to each surviving Native American individual who has been identified as a Code Talker. The act defines a ‘Code Talker’ as a ‘Native American who (a) served in the Armed Forces during a foreign conflict in which the United States was involved; and (b) transmitted (encoded and translated) secret coded messages for tactical military operations during World War I and World War II using their native tribal language (non-spontaneous communications)’. In the cases of those veterans already deceased, the Silver Medal is awarded to surviving family members.” - William C. Meadows"
Below are additional photographs and documents from the collections of Sallie Thurman that