wewoka has always had a lot of soldiers that came from this area. many of whom were seminoles, many of whom were not seminoles, non-seminoles, but still the same, wewoka has always represented well, there's always a lot of young men from this region that enlist in the military to uphold the freedoms of this country. now, what i want to talk about is a gentlemen that i had the opportunity to be able to take to washington as part of a delegation. his name was edmond andrew harjo. this is a image of him during world war ii. when we went to washington in 2013, to the capital to receive a congressional co-talkers medal, edmond went with us. and we were so glad that he was able to receive the congressional gold medal on behalf of the seminole nation and for his personal self, a silver medal, which was a congressional medal. >> today, we're meant to immortalize men who were, in a way, meeting for the first time. like edmond harjo, a member of the seminole nation. and during the second world war, a member of the 195th field artillery battalion. one day in 1

are here at the seminole nation museum, located in the capital of the seminole nation of oklahoma, wewoka, oklahoma. what we have here today are different exhibits that portray the history of the people. as a people, before we were separated from our homes, from our original homes in florida. i am actually the twin chief. i am the assistant chief. of the seminole nation of oklahoma. i came into office in 213. this is 219, and i'm in my second term. i have two more years to fulfill my term. of over 500 native tribes in america, the seminoles are a tribe of people of interest. part of that interest is the defiance the seminole put up during the conflicts and earlier history. to not be defeated. the only tribe in american history to never surrender when there was a war being fought against them. would never surrender to the united states north side official peace declaration with the united states, was the seminole. that brings ambience to both people who live within the united states and internationally. i think international people know who the seminoles are because of that history. all tr

wewoka. we always have a lot of soldiers in this area. still the same. there's always a lot of young men in this region that enlist in the military to uphold the freedoms of this country. what i want to talk about is a gentleman i had the opportunity to be able to take to washington as part of a delegation. this is an image during world war ii, when we went to washington in 2013 to the capitol. edmund went with us. we are so glad he was able to receive that congressional gold medal. >> tonight we meet to immortalize men who were, in a way, meeting for the first time. men like edmund >> a member of the 195th field artillery battalion. one day, in 1944, he was walking through an orchard in southern france and heard one of his brethren singing under a tree. he recognized the dialect as creek. later on, it captain heard the two talking and immediately put them to work on opposite ends of a radio. that coincidence brought these two men onto the stage of history and alongside that elite band. he is with us today. i ask all of you to join me at welcoming him he