Roland Veteran Honored by Council

From the left are Cherokee Nation Deputy Chief S. Joe Crittenden, Tribal Councilor Bryan Warner, U.S. Army Air Force veteran Jack Shamblin and Principal Chief Bill John Baker. 

Jack Shamblin, 90, of Roland, was honored by the Cherokee Nation with the Medal of Patriotism at the August Tribal Council meeting last week.

Shamblin was recoginized by Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker and Deputy Chief S. Joe Crittenden, acknowledging his service and sacrifice to his country

Pvt. Shamblin was born in 1927 in Roland and drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force in July of 1945. Shamblin completed basic training at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas and then relocated to Geiger Field in Spokane, Wash., to begin six months of machine gunner training. After training, he deployed to Wiesbaden, Germany, where he guarded prisoners of war during the rebuild of the airfield that had been destroyed by bombing. While in Germany, Shamblin said he witnessed some of the most terrible parts of the concentration camps and the rulers that he and his fellow American troops were fighting against. Shamblin was discharged in 1947. He is the grandfather of Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, who was posthumously awarded the Cherokee Nation Medal of Patriotism in 2015.

“I want to thank the Cherokee Nation for what they have done for my family and for our health care. It is an honor to be an Okie and to be a part of the Cherokee Nation,” said Shamblin.

Each month the Cherokee Nation recognizes Cherokee service men and women for their sacrifices and as a way to demonstrate the high regard in which all veterans are held by the tribe. Native Americans, including Cherokees, are thought to have more citizens serving per capita than any other ethnic group according to the U.S. Department of Defense. To nominate a veteran who is a Cherokee Nation citizen, call 918-772-4166.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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