Photo: U.S. troops surrounding American Indians at Wounded Knee, S.D., 1890. (Miller Studio, Gordon, Neb./Library of Congress)
COMMENTARY
By Troy Turner
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in mid-July ordered a full review of the 20 medals of honor given to U.S. Army 7th Cavalry troopers associated with the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre. While the reasons to warrant such a move are many, not least among them is the issue of stolen valor.
Setting the record straight is not only the right thing to do for moral reasons, but it also is paramount in protecting the credibility, honor and respect that comes with being bestowed the Medal of Honor.
The task at hand
More than 300 men, women and children were killed at Wounded Knee on Dec. 29, 1890, most of them unarmed and too weak to fight.
Clearly, the most important goal of the ordered review should be to acknowledge and properly address any wrongdoing committed by U.S. troops in an action that came when there seemed to be little threat remaining from the withered tribe; unsuspecting of attack and encamped during a frigid South Dakota winter.
Army casualties totaled 25 killed and 39 wounded, some of whom likely were hit by friendly fire in the confused situation, military records state.
Austin’s orders called for the formation of a special review panel. Included in its duties, the panel “will access whether conduct demonstrated any disqualifying actions, such as: intentionally directing an attack against a non-combatant or an individual who has surrendered in good faith, murder or rape of a prisoner, or engaging in any other act demonstrating immorality.”
The suggestion that not only a lack of valor existed, but that crimes committed could be behind the actions that led to 20 medals of honor is a far cry from what the Army at the time described as heroic actions. Finding the truth about each one more than a century later will be a challenge as researchers delve into military records, eyewitness reports and any other evidence available.
Courage or scourge?
No doubt, there may be merit behind some of the 20 medals awarded, based on qualifying actions as defined by the Medal of Honor standards at the time. But the fact remains, there were 20 medals presented for actions at a so-called battle that even during that day was considered a one-sided engagement, and a variety of interesting notes accompany the citations.
Take, for example, John E. Clancy, assigned to an accompanying artillery unit. Clancy “twice voluntarily rescued wounded comrades under fire of the enemy” his nomination stated before he received the Medal of Honor two years later in January 1892.
Clancy’s rank? Musician.
Sgt. William Austin was among the first honored for his involvement at Wounded Knee. “While the Indians were concealed in a ravine, assisted men on the skirmish line, directing their fire, etc., and using every effort to dislodge the enemy,” his citation read.
Critics claim many of those killed were trying to escape or hide from the onslaught, such as running to nearby ravines and underbrush.
First Sgt. Jacob Trautman was recognized for having “killed a hostile Indian at close quarters, and, although entitled to retirement from service, remained to the close of the campaign.”
For that, Trautman was awarded the Medal of Honor on March 27, 1891.
Capt. Charles Varnum did not receive his medal until Sept. 22, 1897, almost seven years later, although his action came a day after Wounded Knee, in what is referred to as the Drexel Mission Fight.
Varnum had earlier served with Lt. Col. George Custer’s 7th Cavalry in the Battle of Little Big Horn, where he commanded a unit of scouts and was nearby, but not present, when Custer met his demise.
Meanwhile, this is what today’s U.S. Army includes in its historical description of the Lakota Sioux camped at Wounded Knee:
Burial party at Wounded Knee.
“In the late 1880s the Lakota way of life was under severe stress. The U.S. government pressured the Lakota to adopt western ways, such as farming and private property, and in the process reduced the land set aside for reservations to free it up for settlement by others. Due to poor management and budget cuts, the Bureau of Indian Affairs also reduced rations provided to the Lakota. Coupled with a severe drought, food was scarce and illness increased.”
It wasn’t Austin’s idea
Critics of Austin’s mandate might include those who think it merely smacks of politics during an election year, but if politics plays any role, it goes back to Congress starting in 1990.
A Senate resolution introduced Oct. 15, 1990, “Declares that the Congress, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre of Dec. 29, 1890, acknowledges the historical significance of this event as the last armed conflict of the Indian wars period resulting in the tragic death and injury of approximately 350 to 375 Indian men, women and children of Chief Big Foot’s band of Minneconjou Sioux.”
The resolution “expresses the deep regret of the Congress on behalf of the United States to the descendants of the victims, survivors, and their respective tribal communities.”
Then, more recently from Congress, came the joint explanatory statement added to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.
A House bill “contained a provision (sec. 585) that would rescind each Medal of Honor awarded for acts at Wounded Knee Creek, Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, on December 29, 1890, and direct the Secretaries concerned to remove the name of each individual awarded a Medal of Honor for such acts from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard Medal of Honor rolls maintained under section 1134a of title 10, United States Code.”
Referring to the 1990 century-later anniversary resolution, Congress in 2022 noted “In that resolution, the Congress expressed deep regret on behalf of the United States to the descendants of the victims, survivors, and their respective Tribal communities.
“However, these Medals of Honor were awarded at the prerogative of the President of the United States, not the Congress. We encourage the Secretary of Defense to review these medals and to provide a briefing on any such review.”
Thus, Secretary Austin in July 2024 is following the wishes of elected congress members serving in the 1990 and 2022 sessions in ordering the Army to conduct the review of Wounded Knee.
It’s not the first time
Perhaps all, or none of the 20 Medals of Honor awarded to Army troopers for action associated with Wounded Knee will be rescinded. Some may be found deserving, others undeserving.
Nor is it the first time such a review has taken place regarding the nation’s highest military award for valor.
Congress ordered a similar review board formed in 1916, as qualifications for the medal evolved from the time it was created during the Civil War in the 1860s.
Of the 2,625 Army Medals of Honor reviewed, the board in 1917 chose to rescind 911 of them, including those presented to President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral guards, and others to Union troops who simply chose to stay and protect the capitol longer than their service contracts required.
Most were rescinded because, as the board noted, “there is no evidence of distinguished gallantry.”
The Medal of Honor is surrounded by story after story of heroism and valor, and it includes a diverse history of presentation.
It sometimes is not awarded until years later after the action in which it was earned. Sgt. Bennie Adkins of Opelika, Alabama, for example, fought heroically in Vietnam during March 1966 in defending a camp overrun by vastly superior numbers, repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire in helping evacuate injured soldiers, and even escaped a tiger while crawling through the jungle to escape.
He finally was recognized for his actions by receiving the Medal of Honor on Sept. 15, 2014.
Others like Adkins faced overwhelming odds in combat and despite the threat, were willing to sacrifice their lives for the good of others; and for that they were recognized.
Can we say the same about all 20 of the soldiers recognized after Wounded Knee, a battle more commonly referred to as a massacre? Or do the medals cheapen the honor that belongs to the real heroes in the history of the medal.
The results of the special review panel ordered into action by Secretary Austin remain to be seen.
The order itself, however, is to be commended; foremost for moral reasons, but also for another:
The Medal of Honor should always be worthy of its name.
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Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Airmen visit the Wounded Knee Memorial on Pine Ridge Reservation, S.D., Jan. 26, 2024. (Photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jessica Kind)
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