The Ideal American Doughboy

Fascinating article Sarah wrote for the Chokma magazine! She spent a couple of years researching and publishing the first novel written about the Choctaw Code Talkers of WWI, titled Anumpa Warrior. She went all the way to the battlefields in France for research.

This article focuses on Choctaw Code Talker Otis Leader (Choctaw/Chickasaw). It’s been said that General Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front during World War I, dubbed Otis Leader as, “The war’s greatest fighting machine.”

Otis was a widower with three children when he joined the Army. While “over there,” he was the chosen model for the portrait representing “The Ideal American Dough Boy” commissioned by the French government. He was honored with numerous medals and awards for his heroic service.

The article can be found in the Fall 2019 Chokma Magazine.