BRAVO
About us
Organizational Structure
BRAVO SD is non-profit veterans organization. The BRAVO SD chapter headquarters is located in Sisseton, South Dakota. Because the national Bravo chapter is no longer established, the chapter is comprised from veterans all across the United States. The Bravo SD chapter is headed by the following members:
PRESIDENT: Myron G. Williams
COMMANDER: Mike Greeley
(Greetings)
This website is a dream of many people. I am really grateful to Tony Diamond the CEO of BRAVO for giving us, Native American veterans a forum which we can tell our story. I met Tony at a VIETNAM VETERANS INTERTRIBAL ASSOCIATION meeting in Oklahoma. I was asked to sit on the Board of Directors to represent the Dakota region. At first I did not know who or what BRAVO was until Tony got up that day to tell his role in VEVITA. He said, We need a forum, a voice. Without it, we would go nowhere.
At that time, it was the dream of a man named Harold Barse, a counselor in the Norman Oklahoma Vet Center, to help Native American veterans return home. Harold is also from the Sisseton Wahpeton reservation. His father was an enrolled member of the tribe and former chairman. He could see that the pow wow played an important role in bringing that soldier home. Oklahoma had hosted these healing pow wows throughout the years and Harold made a comment about bringing that type of pow wow north to Dakota country. These pow wows came north and many opportunities opened up for veterans to voice their concerns and begin a native healing process.
What followed was a VA counseling tape made by members of the vet center counseling community. The first film was called Shadow of A Warrior. Another film was called Warriors, which was produced by Deb Wallwork and Prairie Public Television. Warriors won many awards and opened many people's eyes about the plight of Native American veterans and the huge numbers of natives which served in the military. Through this process of powwows being hosted each year by different tribes across the United States, a network of Native American veterans began to form, a true brotherhood of brothers. There was also an outpouring of non-Indian veterans wanting to follow the healing ways of the Native American veterans.
Tony Diamond remained true to his word and gave us a forum to voice our concerns and tell our stories. Tony formed a CIA (Council of Indian Affairs) within BRAVO. This Board was headed up by a man, which I grew to greatly admire. His name was Dick Baker. A man who tirelessly fought for our native rights in Washington DC and in getting the VEVITA nationally recognized and chartered. Dick fought to get a monument erected to honor the role of Native American veterans and was told there would be no more construction of monuments on the Mall (Washington, DC). However, shortly thereafter more monuments were erected. Dick Backer, an employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, was told of a plague that was in the basement of the BIA collecting dust. Dick worked tirelessly trying to get this plague erected. Dick was finally successful and given a spot in Arlington National Cemetery.
If someone was to ask me where this plague is, all I can say is that when you come into Arlington National Cemetery from the main gate take a left to the end. The grandfather plaque is located near a cotton wood tree. There has been a Native American requesting to be buried close to this small monument.
The dedication ceremony was something nobody will ever forget. The people that were there felt the power of its dedication an still talk about the red tail hawks that came as well as the eagles. Preparing for that event was something one can never forget. I got calls from veterans all over the country asking me to represent them or take flags for them and many sent tobacco offerings.
Althought it was basically a Vietnam veterans event many older veterans wished us well. The words of one decorated WWII veteran stated that once we get established then to tell all of their stories... He talked of all Indian units that had formed. One of them was an all indian airborne unit which my uncle Wallace was a part of. Rev. Rondell talked about the all indian units an the bravery they exhibited in World War II. But he reminded me that once we get our things done that their story needed to be told. It was an old medicine man that we called Grandpa Pete. Pete Catches from Pine Ridge who probably said it best. That this country needs to know the sacrifices that were made by our soldiers.
BRAVO was involved in a 4 directions march from Angel Fire NM, Wind River Reservation Wyoming, Sioux Falls SD, and from Sisseton SD to Pine Ridge SD. The elders who advised us as what we needed to do said we needed to do one last march to Washington DC to leave our medals there. The march represented a kind of a protest of the way Native American veterans were treated. But finally it was decide not to march to Washngton but that America needs to know the sacrifice that Native veterans made.
When the various tribes were analyzed as to the amount of peole who served in the military the percentages are astounding. I was at a meeting in Washington once when the subject came up. The blacks got up to give the percentage and then the hispanics gave theirs ,which to everyone seemed high. But when a native representative was asked, an individual from the indian vet center working group, stated that the low end was probably around 60% for some tribes. There were some tribes in the 90% range but most were in the 80% range. The people there were shocked and could not believe it until the figures were verified.
This high percentage has created much turmoil on the reservation . The elder women reminded me often that during World War I the veteran had the old support system. These were vets who were not even American citizens but they still went to defend this country. Then they said the World War II vets slowly began to bring alcohol into the homes which was caused by war trauma...today known as PTSD. Many were wounded but being from a reservation an living on one many went went without benefits and so did their families.
But what surprised me was my grandpa's younger brother simon. He was a World War II vet. He said almost all the men used to get a small check so everyone used to say Indians got a check every month. He once told some people, "Was you in the military? Well this is why I get one its becasue of my wounds in the military". As each generation went to war we had all this trauma coming home, since statistically 60 to 70% of the Native American soldiers served in combat.
Being on the Board of directors of BRAVO I had a few chances to visit with Gen Westmoreland, who was the chairman of the BRAVO board then. He used to talk of the legacy of the Indian warriors. The same as when i used to visit with General Weyand at the 25th divisions hospitality rooms in Wasington during Memorial Day and Veterans Day . I used to go therealmsot every year looking for my men ... the men I served with an also my good friend and platoon leader Ernest Tuggle. My men have been slowly finding me but I still haven't found my good friend and leader . A man I had a lot of faith in and trusted greatly.
There have been many people I have met on my military and veteran journey. Many good people. As Rev Rondell and others have told me . You want to meet a spirtual person talk to a combat vet. They will tell you how sacred life is and how precious it is. They know how to pray and have a very strong belief in GOD. As the organization name starts off with . BROTHERHOOD . We will share our stories which overlap and share that common bond of brotherhood, a brotherhood of human beings.
My culture has a word which is Mitakuye Owasin-- which means all my relatives and some say for we are all related
Enjoy the site. It belongs to you and these are your stories.
President Myron G. Williams
