66
D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 6
Since its inception, Medals of Honor have been awarded to nine
sons of Montana. Four of those men made the ultimate sacri-
fice: William Wylie Galt (1944), Laverne Parrish (1945), Donald
J. Ruhl (1945), and Travis William Atkins (2007). Thus far, no
member of tribes indigenous to Montana has been awarded
the MOH. Nevertheless, Plains tribes have long served in the
Armed Forces at rates disproportionately higher than any other
demographic group in the United States.
Statements by Plenty Coups, the renowned Apsáalooke (Crow)
chief, and George Horse Capture, a more contemporary Gros
Ventre scholar, illustrate a deeply rooted, original-defend-
ers-of-this-land perspective on military service. Reflecting
upon the contributions made by soldiers from a multitude of
indigenous peoples to American war efforts in World War I,
Plenty Coups informed biographer Frank Linderman that "My
heart sings with pride when I think of the fighting my people,
the red men of all tribes, did in this last great war. [If] ever the
2025
o f
BEST
M O N TA N A
A S V O T E D B Y R E A D E R S O F
3900 BROOKS S T., MIS SOUL A , M T | 4 06 -5 49 -1100 | bigsk y billiar ds suppl y.com
DESIGN
SALES
SERVICE
