Charles Joyce Chibitty, 83 of Tulsa, ,Oklahoma, departed us on July 20, 2005. He passed on after battling a long illness. He was the last of the Comanche Code Talkers from World War II. He was also a retired glass worker. He was very proud to be a World War II veteran and Native American. Charles enjoyed speaking about both, especially to younger generations. He traveled across the U.S. to speak about what he had done in the war. He was preceded in death by his wife, Elaine; son, Sonny and a daughter, Pam. He will be remembered by many as a true hero, great dad and very dear friend. He is survived by his
granddaughter, Lacey, which he has been raising as his own daughter for the past 13 years; two grandsons. Charlie was presented with the Knowlton Award in recognition of his
significant contributions to military intelligence efforts. Along with16 other Comanche Indians, Charlie was part of the Army's 4th Signal Company, also known as the Code Talkers. The unit was instrumental during the Normandy invasion. After attending Haskell Indian School at Lawrence, Kan., he enlisted in the U.S. Army in January 1941. Cpl. Chibitty earned the World War II Victory Medal, the European Theater of Operations (5th Bronze Star) Victory Medal, the Europe African Middle East Campaign Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. He was also a champion boxer in the Army. In 1989, the French
Government honored the Comanche Code
Talkers by presenting them the "Chevalier of
the National Order of Merit." In 1992, former
Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney presented
Charlie a certificate of appreciation for his
service to the country. Chibitty has also
received a special proclamation from the
Governor of Oklahoma who honored him for
his contribution both to Oklahoma and the
United States. He was also nationally known
for his Indian championship dancing.

    Eulogy for a Veteran ; Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the mornings hush, I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight. I.. am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there, I did not die. .

- By Geoffrey Armstrong Wright - My impression of him is fragmented. But I think that I found the
central fragment, the core of his character. It seems as though, sitting down to a symphony, I heard only the finale. What fascinates me is that Charlie's life has no foreshadowing of ending. As long as wind -'blows, his life and legacy will continue to twist and turn along courses only wild horses know. He is the result of love, tears, tradition, change, freedom, exile and most of all, pain. The loss of one's wife is the loss of one's whole present self. The loss of one's children is the loss that was never meant to be. Charlie has survived both. I cannot, imagine how he escapee! depression. He still smiles. Smiles more than. I do, and I am only twenty-one; have all life and roads before rne, and -^:. no one I love has died. The spirit of the wind truly abides with him. He spends his days like the wind spends itself: wild and with flair. He is, for all intents and purposes, though no offense is intended, a showoff. It seems he needs to be. Everything an average man would share with his wife and boast to his son, he flashes to neighbors and acquaintances in snips of newspapers and snatches of "that was when...." The center of his character is transformation. In this one man, this single Indian, there is vintage Comanche blood, and a modern American standard of living. There is the sediment of age and a volcanic youth embodied in his adopted daughter. Dominating the horizon, there is a burial mound. But by its side and next to his heart, there is a stone - and it is rolled away. Charlie Chibitty, like the wind, is just passing through...and might just circle around again.

 Funeral Service 10:OOA.M. ~ Tuesday ~ July 26, 2005

- Floral Haven Funeral Home Chapel

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma